Gennaro’s Fast Cook Italian | Minestrone Soup

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, finely chopped
• 1 small fennel bulb, finely chopped
• 1 courgette (zucchini), cut into small chunks
• 1 large potato, peeled and cut into small chunks
• 280g/10 oz Savoy cabbage, shredded
• 6 cherry tomatoes
• a handful of fresh basil leaves
• 1 1/2 litres/52 fl oz/6½ cups vegetable stock (bouillon)
• 1 × 400-g/14-oz can of borlotti (cranberry) beans, drained
• 50 g/1¾ oz/one-third cup frozen peas
• 75 g/2½ oz small pasta shells (pastina)
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• grated Parmesan, to serve
• Pesto sauce, to serve (optional)