A good pasta dish is easy to whip up with a small handful of ingredients, namely pasta, oil and herbs. But for a nutritious and filling meal, the addition of leafy greens and colourful vegetables is essential.

One flavour expert goes one step further when making this signature pasta dish, known as ‘pasta e fagioli’, by adding a staple 40p cupboard ingredient; beans.

Sharing his delicious recipe, Matt Webster from Seasoned Pioneers described the dish as “a hearty, healthy, vegetarian Italian soup”, adding that this recipe “will hit the spot”.

Made with a cheap blend of ingredients, namely carrots, celery, garlic, beans, and pasta, the meal is perfect for batch-cooking or saving leftovers to enjoy days after cooking it.

And the best part is, it cooks in a mere 40 minutes so you can eat and clean up all within one hour.

Pasta E Fagioli recipe

Ingredients

200g short pasta (macaroni or shell pasta works well)

One large bunch of kale

Two stalks of celery

One onion, diced

Four cloves garlic, minced

A handful chopped fresh parsley

Two cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (48p in Sainsbury’s)

One can chopped tomatoes

1l vegetable stock

700ml water

Two bay leaves

One tsp dried oregano

½ tsp chilli powder

One tbsp lemon juice

Three tbsp olive oil

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

Method

Cooking this authentic Italian dish is easy to do in three quick steps, but some preparation is required beforehand.

First, chop the kale into small bits then wash the celery and do the same. Now peel the carrots and diced them just like the celery, ensuring the stalks are removed.

Peel and dice the onion, chop the parsley and mince the garlic. Set everything aside for later and make a start on the base of the soup.

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat then quickly add the onions, carrots and celery before leaving to cook for 10 minutes until soft.

Now add the garlic and fry for another 30 seconds until fragrant. Stir in the tomatoes until bubbling then add the stock.

Follow with the water, bay leaves, oregano and chilli powder then stir everything together and allow to simmer.

Transfer 350ml of the liquid from the pot into a blender along with a tin of cannellini beans, then blitz until smooth.

Pour the blended liquid back into the pot with the other tin of beans (left whole), the pasta kale and parsley. Cook for 20 minutes (or until the pasta is done) before serving.