INGREDIENTS

• 1 x carrot
• 1 x onion
• 1 x garlic clove
• 2 x celery stalks (ends removed)
• 1 x zucchini
• 1 x can of red kidney beans (rinsed)
• 1 x can diced tomatoes
• 3 x fresh tomatoes
• 200g x machheroni pasta
• 3 x sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 1.5 tbsp. of dry oregano
• 1 x vegetable stock cube
• 5 x cups of water (for the soup base)
• 120g x parmesan
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

METHOD

1. Finely dice the carrot and the onion, dice the garlic, slice the celery stalks in half and then slice into small pieces. Slice the zucchini into half moons. Dice the fresh tomatoes and set aside. 
2. Place the carrot, onion, garlic and celery into a hot a pan with a large drizzle of olive oil. Stir through cooking for 3 minutes or until aromatic. 
3. Add the beans, the diced tomatoes, the fresh tomatoes, the oregano and the fresh rosemary (remove the rosemary from the sprigs). Crumble in the vegetable stock cube, add the water and stir all the ingredients through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover the pot with a lid, bring the soup to a boil then reduce the heat and cook for 15 minutes. 
4. After 15 minutes, add the machheroni pasta and the zucchini, stir through and cook for 8 minutes (or until the pasta is cooked through) covered with a lid (adding more water if necessary at the end).
5. Season with extra salt and pepper and serve with a bit of shaved parmesan or grated parmesan on top of each serving. 

Notes:

• This soup is best eaten the day of cooking as the pasta soaks up the majority of the soup overnight.

Prep time: 10 minutes.
Cook time: 25 minutes.
Serves: 4-6.

Recipe and photos by Anastasia Zolotarev. Click here to see her blog.