HEALTHY MINESTRONE SOUP

INGREDIENTS: - 1.5L water - 2 cans of chopped tomatoes - 1 L of vegetable or chicken stock - 3 stalks of celery - 1&1/2 red onions - 2 large potato - 3 cloves of garlic - 1 carrot - 1 handful of parsley - A sprinkle of oregano - 4 leaves of chopped basil - A small handful of coriander - dried thyme - dried mixed herbs - fat free bacon (optional for vegetarians) - 1 cup of macaroni or risoni Pasta - 1/8-1/4 of red cabbage - lemon juice to the taste - salt and pepper to the taste - 1/2 a can of chopped Baby corn (optional) - olive oil - 4 table spoons of white sugar

METHOD: - Chop up all vegetables to bite size pieces.Ppotatoes and carrots should be cut in small cubes. - Peel off skin on garlic cloves, crush the clove with your knife and chop each clove finely. - Pour roughly 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a medium sized saucepan on medium heat. - Fry: onions, garlic, celery, bacon, baby corn and add red cabbage after frying the prior vegetables for approx 2 minutes. - When all veggies are golden and bacon is cooked but not crispy add the canned tomatoes. Allow to simmer for 2 minutes.

- Turn heat to high and add stock, potatoes and carrots, bring to boil. - Add water and again bring to boil. - Once boiling, add pasta, lemon juice and a sprinkle of salt. - Stir occasionally so pasta does not stick to bottom of sauce pan. - Once the pasta is cooked add herbs and sugar (the sugar is essential as it neutralises the high acidic levels in the tomatoes) after 1 minute of stirring, season with salt and pepper. - Serve with a ladle into soup bowls with soup spoons, I recommend serving with crispy ciabatta bread.