Day 85: minestrone for the miles
It’s the early-May Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK and with an extra day off it was the perfect excuse to relinquish the Saturday household chores and take a relaxed (socially distanced) stroll around the markets and shops of nearby towns, and then spend the afternoon meandering through the countryside.
So grateful for making the most of that: as I sit here writing this today, the rain pours and it is definitely not outdoor pursuit weather (or my idea of it anyway: I spent enough time on field trips during my geology degree mapping outcrops in coastal force winds and driving rain to completely justify never having to unwillingly partake in rain excursions again).
But as it was, the sun was mildly glorious on Saturday and we set about packing the rucksack for a walk along our favourite nearby route. Cold beers? Check! Blanket? Check! Dog’s water? Check! Food? Ah, no, the bread is still proofing! Luckily, Nigella wrote many quick-fix solutions to such conundrums in that mid-late naughties wonder, Nigella Express. And within said wonder you will find Minestrone in Minutes.
Nigella’s Minestrone in Minutes
Minestrone ranked at the bottom of my soup list growing up. A bad experience I can recall quite clearly of chewing on floury pulses. We don’t need to touch again on my despise for hard, floury pulses, but I do now spend a little more on tinned beans if I’m using them; an extra 50p (if you can) really does make the difference - I find anyway. The borlotti beans I used for this minestrone were soft, moist, and buttery: just the way I like them. The jarred pasta sauce in the cupboard was tomato, fennel, and pepper and I used the whimsical Conchigliette Piccole (mini pasta shells).
Flavour musings
This was a last-minute decision, but so express that in the time we packed the rucksack and got the dogs ready, it too was ready and flasked and we were on our way!
Stopping halfway on our countryside walk to sip cold beers and slurp on cupfuls of Nigella’s Minestrone in Minutes bolstered waning legs and replenished energy levels with much needed carbohydrates for the uphill walk back. It was a minestrone for the miles!
