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Cabbage and sausage minestrone
( SERVES 4 )

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This soup is also great with diced chorizo instead of the pork sausage and kale instead of the cabbage. Replace the sausage with 200g diced chorizo and swap the cabbage for chopped de-stemmed kale or silverbeet. Be sure to add the vegetables right at the last minute so they don't overcook.

Ingredients

1 can	Cannellini beans, 400g, drained and rinsed, or 1½ cups cooked beans
2 cans	Chopped tomatoes in juice, 400g each, or cherry tomatoes in juice
8 cups	Chicken stock
40 g	Pasta shapes, dried
1 tsp	Fennel seeds, finely chopped
4	Pork and fennel sausages
4 cups	Finely shredded cabbage, you want packed cups here
2 Tbsp	Chopped parsley, to serve (optional)
¼ cup	Parmesan cheese, finely grated, to serve (optional)

For the sofrito flavour base

2 Tbsp	Extra virgin olive oil
1	Onion, finely chopped
2	Garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 stalk	Celery, finely chopped
1 small	Leek, white part and half the green, sliced thinly
1	Bay leaf
1 tsp	Thyme leaves

Directions

To make the sofrito flavour base, heat oil in a medium pot, add all other ingredients and cook until lightly softened (15-20 minutes). Discard bay leaf. (You can make this base in bulk and store in a jar in the fridge for up to a week or divide into cup-sized measures and freeze.)
Add beans, tomatoes, stock, pasta and fennel and bring to a simmer. Squeeze small nuggets of sausage out of their skins into the soup, discarding skins. Simmer until pasta is almost tender (8-10 minutes).
Just before serving add cabbage and cook until wilted (a further 3-4 minutes). Adjust seasoning to taste, ladle into warm bowls and sprinkle with parsley and parmesan if desired.