I don’t watch cooking shows very often. They always make me so hungry and a little bit jealous of how perfect and organised it all looks on the screen. Of course I’m aware of the many takes and hours it all requires, but still. Other reason is that those shows I found on german tv are normally aired on Saturday mornings. Since my plans for that day consist of lazy mornings, where I drink my coffee in bed, I normally skip the shows in hope I could watch it online some time later.

But I did catch one episode of Jamie Oliver last week. He was cooking minestrone. And good thing for me that I was just finishing my breakfast, so I didn’t get that usual grumble in my stomach.

I thought about the soup yesterday, when I was wondering what to do with some of the veggies in my fridge. It wasn’t very hard to visualise myself throwing it all into one pot, you know, Jamie’s style, telling everyone it’s an old italian recipe and then seeing us happily eating it.

Next thing I knew I was throwing everything into a pot, I did smile, but instead of Jamie’s style, which somehow doesn’t suit me, I managed to pull a few quirks of my own. I’ll skip the details as to those quirks, but the soup hit the spot! It was so delicious! I have to admit I changed the original recipe a little bit, adapting it to what I actually had in my fridge. It only made it perfect, not only very good and full in vegetables, but also a very good option if you don’t know what to do with the rests you have left.Serves 4-6.  Cooking time: 15-20min

300g of broad white beans, frozen, canned or dried and soaked overnight

1 small cauliflower, or a half of a big one

half a broccoli

2 handfuls of brussels sprouts

1 stick of celery

1 chicken breast

2 sprigs of rosemary

150g bacon

2 carrots

olive oil

1 stock cube

salt and pepper to taste

150g of macaroni

1.5L water

Peel the carrots and cut in matchsticks, brussels sprouts in halves, and cauliflower and broccoli in small florets. Dice the celery. Clean the chicken.

Take a big pot, heat a little bit of oil and add the bacon, cut in stripes. Throw the rosemary and cook until the bacon is crispy. Take the rosemary out. Add the carrots, celery and the brussels sprouts and cook on high heat with the lid on. Put also the beans if you are using dried ones.

When the vegetables are glassy, crumble the stock cube over them and pour 1,5 litres of water to the pot. When the water starts to boil add the whole chicken breast and the broccoli and cauliflower and cook for ca 8min. Afte that time, take the chicken out and add the macaroni and beans, if you are using the canned or frozen ones. Salt to taste and let it cook for another 5min. In the meantime, cut the chicken in small pieces. Pour the soup on a plate, garnish with fresh parsley and the pieces of chicken and serve!