Sausage minestrone

• olive oil↗2 tbsp tbsp

  plus extra for drizzling

• onions↗2

  finely chopped

• carrots↗6

  roughly diced

• celery↗4

  sticks, roughly diced

• garlic cloves↗4

  roughly chopped

• good-quality sausages↗8

  skins removed and sausagemeat broken into walnut-sized pieces

• tomato purée↗1 tbsp tbsp
• 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
• chicken stock cube↗1

  crumbled

• can cannellini bean↗400g

  drained and rinsed

• golden caster sugar↗1 tbsp tbsp
• red wine vinegar↗1 tbsp tbsp
• large pack parsley↗

  roughly chopped

• Tapenade toast

  (see 'goes well with'), to serve

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Put the oil, onions, carrots, celery and garlic in a large saucepan. Cook gently over a low heat for 15 mins or until soft. Meanwhile, tip the sausage pieces into a non-stick frying pan, turn up the heat and sizzle for a few mins to brown. Put to one side.

2. 2

   Stir tomato purée through the soft vegetables and cook for 1 min more. Pour in the tomatoes, 3½ cans of water and the stock cube. Stir and simmer for 10 mins. Add the sausage pieces and beans, and bubble down for 10 mins until sausages are cooked through. Season and stir in the sugar, vinegar and parsley. Spoon into bowls, adding a Tapenade toast (see 'goes well with') to float, and a drizzle more olive oil, if you like.