Better For You Minestrone

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Makes: 4

Ingredients:
2 tbs olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 fennel, finely sliced
1 carrot, finely sliced
1⁄4 cup tomato paste
4 cups vegetable stock
2-3 cups water
3⁄4 cup McKenzie's Italian Style Soup Mix, rinsed
1 zucchini, sliced
1⁄2 cup frozen peas
2 cups kale leaves, torn into small pieces
1⁄2 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
McKenzie's Salt & Pepper Grinder, to taste

Method

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan or pot and add onion and garlic. Cook for several minutes until tender. Stir in fennel and carrot, cooking a further 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.

2. Add stock, water and soup mix. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes until legumes are tender.

3. Add zucchini, peas and kale to soup and cook a further 2 minutes. Stir in parsley just before serving and season well.

Nothing makes the cold weather easier to deal with than a hearty, home-made meal.

Winter comfort food is usually associated with heavy meals packed full of meat but this doesn't have to be the case. McKenzie's has developed a new range of recipes which features family classics like bolognese and lasagne, minus the meat and packed full of goodness and flavour.

Give your favourite Italian pasta dishes a veggie twist when you substitute meat for lentils and a variety of fresh herbs and vegetables - McKenzie's Meat-Free Bolognese, McKenzie's Pumpkin & Lentil Lasagne and McKenzie's Better For You Minestrone are as appetising to they eye as they are to the tastebuds.

Heat things up in the home with McKenzie's Power Packed Burritos and McKenzie's Super Powerful Vegetable Soup. These home-made dishes come to life when combining fresh and delicious assorted vegetables and spices - a sure fire way to chase the cold away.