Green soup with pasta

There's something soothing about a plate where the dominant colour is green. Or perhaps it's just me, after eating rather too many cakes, chips and suchlike in recent days. Anyway, this soup - or is it a stew - or a pasta dish? - looked appealingly healthy. And it tasted remarkably good, while being a simple dish to knock together.

You could vary the veg in this as you see fit, but I think it's nice to stick to a green palette. Next time I might add some peas.

Ingredients

Serves 4

4 celery sticks, chopped
1/2 head Savoy cabbage, shredded
2 leeks, sliced into rings
A few handfuls whole green beans (I used frozen)
250g pasta shapes such as fusilli, penne or macaroni
1 stock cube
1-2 tbsp pesto, to taste
Parmesan, to serve (optional)

Method

Place the celery and leeks in a pan and pour over boiling water. Simmer for five minutes and then add the pasta and crumbled stock cube. Add more boiling water if necessary so that the pasta is covered.

Bring back to the boil and simmer for a couple of minutes. Then add the cabbage and green beans. Simmer for a few minutes longer until the pasta and vegetables are cooked. Adjust the amount of liquid if necessary - this can be anything from a minestrone-like soup to a pasta dish with just a little liquid in the base.

Season with plenty of black pepper and ladle into serving bowls. Thin the pesto down by mixing it with an equal volume of the pasta water and drizzle over the dish.

Serve with freshly grated Parmesan, if desired.