Minestrone Soup

Nothing says comfort more than a bowl of good hot soup.  I have often wished that we could have temperate weather in Singapore, and I can slurp hot soup from a mug in front of a cozy, warm fireplace.  Well, the fact is, I'm here on a humid, tropical island, the closest I can get is when it pours buckets around here, which strangely, has been happening for the past few days. 

So, I spent the day (alright, an hour or so) in front of a pot, lovingly stirring the vegetables over the stove, and loving how the colours all come together.  Warming colours, hearty taste... It felt like fall..

A rainy day, a bowl of heartwarming soup and a good book..
Beautiful combination.

Minestrone Soup (adapted from taste.com)
serves 4

3 bacon rashers, rind removed, roughly chopped
2 carrots, peeled, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
1 desiree potato, peeled, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1L (4 cups) beef stock
1 300g can red kidney beans, rinsed, drained (I didn't add beans)
1 425g can rich and thick finely chopped tomatoes
40g (1/2 cup) 3-minute rollini pasta (I broke some penne pasta and spaghetti into small pieces) 
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh continental parsley (I didn't have parsley)
I added :
1 yellow onion
a pinch of dried chilli flakes for a little bit of heat

Directions
- Place the bacon, carrots, celery, potato and garlic (& onion if using) in a large saucepan and stir to combine. Cook over high heat, uncovered, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
- Add the beef stock, red kidney beans and tomatoes to the pan, cover and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
- Increase heat to high. Add pasta and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes (my pasta took about 8-9 mins) or until pasta is al dente. Season with salt and pepper, (and chilli flakes if adding). Ladle into serving bowls and sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.