Home Made: Good, honest food made easy. Tana Ramsay

      1 Heat the oil in a large pan on a low-medium heat, then gently fry the onions, garlic and prosciutto (or pancetta) for 8-10 minutes, until softened. Add the celery along with salt and a good helping of pepper – go easy on the salt as the prosciutto is salty. Add the cannellini beans, chickpeas, bay leaves and stock and bring to the boil. At this point you can leave the base of your soup to simmer for 5 minutes, or leave it to cool and continue later, reheating it before adding the remaining ingredients.

      2 You can buy minestrone pasta but it is slightly more old fashioned. Place the spaghetti in the centre of a thin, clean tea towel and roll it up like a cigar/Christmas cracker, nice and tightly. Place the tip of the roll at the edge of the table, push against the table and pull down. This breaks the pasta up beautifully, slightly uneven but perfect for a rustic soup.

      3 As soon as you add the pasta and other vegetables to the soup, you need to be careful of your timings so as not to overcook – the soup is so much nicer with slightly crunchy veg and al dente pasta. Add the pasta, courgettes, green beans and asparagus to the soup and simmer for about 8 minutes, until the veg are ready and the pasta al dente. Lastly, add the spinach and cook for 1 minute or so, until wilted. Adjust the seasoning and top with a handful of basil.

      4 To serve, ladle into large warm bowls and sprinkle some Parmesan over the top. Alternatively, add a teaspoon of pesto (see page 214) per serving.

      1 First, reserve one quarter of each green and red pepper and a 2cm/3/4 inch slice of the cucumber. Put into an airtight container and keep in the fridge until just before serving the soup. When you are ready to make the garnish, finely chop these vegetables and place in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon of the tarragon vinegar and 1 tablespoon of the oil. Stir the chopped tarragon through and set to one side.

      2 To make the soup, put the tomatoes, the remaining green and red peppers and cucumber, the onion, chilli and garlic in a food processor and roughly chop. Pour in half the tomato juice and process for a couple of minutes until the vegetables are finely chopped.

      3 Add the remaining tarragon vinegar and oil and blitz for a few seconds. Season well with salt and pepper and taste. Pour into a large bowl, stir in the rest of the tomato juice and put in the fridge to cool thoroughly for up to 24 hours. (If you need the soup in a hurry, place in the freezer for 30 minutes instead.)

      4 When ready to serve, pour the soup into six bowls and divide the chopped garnish between each bowl. Finally, add an ice cube to each and serve.

      1 Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan on a low-medium heat, add the onions and garlic and cook for 8-10 minutes, until softened.

      2 Increase the heat and add the mushrooms – it will look like a huge amount but they do shrink so much. Throw in the parsley and about 1 teaspoon of salt, then grind in some pepper. Cook, stirring, for a few minutes, until the mushrooms have shrunk enough to fit comfortably in the pan. They will give off some liquid; continue cooking for about 20 minutes, until the liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms are completely tender.

      3 Put the mushroom mixture into a food processor along with about 150ml/5fl oz water and blitz – you don’t want it completely smooth, but leave it fairly thick.

      4 Transfer to a saucepan and add 300ml/10fl oz milk and the crème fraîche. Add more milk if necessary to get the soup to the right consistency. Bring to boiling point and check the seasoning – be very generous with the pepper. As I said before, the soup at this stage does not look appetizing! However, as it heats through, the smell and taste are amazing.

      5 Serve the soup in warm bowls, add 1 teaspoon of crème fraîche in the centre of each, drizzle the truffle oil over and sprinkle with chives – delicious.