How to make Clodagh McKenna's Italian minestrone soup

WHEN I lived in northern Italy I made minestrone soup all the time. It’s packed with wholesome vegetables, with aromatic flavours of garlic, oregano and sweet tomatoes. I add in cannellini beans, though substituting them with chickpeas makes the soup very nourishing. A mix of half-and-half works, too. I tend to double or treble my recipe and then freeze the extra soup in small containers — it always works, so it’s good to have on hand.

I love tucking into this soup with my rosemary “Clodagh” bread, which is my take on traditional soda bread. It’s so simple to make — just weigh, mix, shape and bake. You’ll need 350g wholemeal flour, 200g white flour, two teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda, one tablespoon of finely chopped fresh rosemary, 350ml milk and 250ml natural yogurt.

Preheat your oven to 220C (gas mark 7). Sieve the white flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large mixing bowl, then stir in the wholemeal flour. Using clean hands, mix the flours and the finely chopped rosemary together and make a well in the centre of the bowl. Whisk together the yogurt and milk and slowly pour into this well. Use a fork to mix the liquid into the flour — make sure there are no dry lumps and ensure the dough is completely wet. Pat your hands with flour and shape the dough into one round, then place on a floured baking tray.

Next, flour a large knife and cut a cross into the top of the dough, about two thirds of the way through. Brush the bread with the milk and yogurt mixture, which gives a lovely golden colour to the bread once its baked. Lastly, sprinkle fresh rosemary and sea salt on top of the bread.

Pop in the pre-heated oven for 25 minutes, then reduce the heat to 180C (gas mark 4) and bake for a further 25 minutes. To test whether the loaf is cooked, tap the back with your knuckles — it should sound hollow. Leave to cool on a cooling rack then serve with the soup.

Serves: 4

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 22 minutes

Serve with: Broglia Gavi di Gavi DOCG, £10.49 from Waitrose

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

1 courgette, finely chopped

800ml hot vegetable stock

400g tin of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

400g tin of good-quality tomatoes

1 tsp dried oregano

Sea salt, freshly ground black pepper

1. Place a large saucepan over a medium-high heat. Pour in the olive oil then stir in the onion and garlic. Cover and allow to simmer for two minutes.

2. Stir in the carrot, celery and courgette. Cover and leave to cook for a further 10 minutes.

3. Pour in the vegetable stock, tomatoes and cannellini beans. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer.

4. Stir in the dried oregano, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for about 10 minutes. Serve with the soda bread.