Minestrone

The time for long sleeves, many layers and Ugg boots is almost gone for another year. While I am a true winter baby and always will be, I can say that this year I am looking forward to some warmer weather and more daylight hours. But there are so many things to love about winter: scarves, drinking a billion cups of tea a day (who am I kidding, I do this in summer too), snuggling up on the couch with a book and a blanket, and warming yourself from the inside out with a big bowl of minestrone.

In my opinion, soup needs to be hearty and chunky in order for it to be classed as a meal. I am not about eating lunch or dinner and then getting hungry again an hour later because my meal was not filling enough.

This is why I class minestrone as the queen of all soups. It is full of veggies (and pasta, cha-ching) and hence will keep you full and satisfied, tastes delicious and can be generally doused in parmesan cheese and still remain FODMAP friendly.

As a side note, I was so relieved when I found out parmesan was a safe food. It has got to be one of my favourite cheeses. I used to sprinkle it on chocolate ice cream as a child (no, I don’t know what I was thinking) and once I even sent a dish of it back at a restaurant when I was 6 because I knew it was off (what a snob).

Anyway – back to the soup. This recipe is modified as compared to a more traditional minestrone to make it friendly for those of us on the low FODMAP diet, but I believe it still delivers. I made mine in a slow cooker but the recipe could easily be made on a stovetop in a soup pot – just add some more liquid as needed because more of it will evaporate, and adjust the cooking time.

It’s a fantastic make-ahead lunch option during winter, a great freezer meal to pull out and reheat when needed, and a wonderful family dinner. Pair it with some low FODMAP bread or parmesan crisps (my mouth waters at the thought), and you are good to go!