Tuscan-Style Squash, Cannellini Bean, Ricotta Soup

I made a mixed roast salad with feta and lemon at the weekend for the a "last of the summer rooftop party".  Everybody brought a dish and they had a drone and everything.  Obvs!  I had a leftover squash and whipped up a very easy Tuscan-style zuppa.  I thought you could throw in some conchiglitelle pasta or vermicelli to bulk it up even more.  Its pretty light using ricotta but is also delicious with just a squeeze of lemon juice if you wanted to keep it vegan.  I chopped everything quite small and the same size which always speeds up the cooking time.

GF/Vegetarian

Serves 2

6 tbsp olive oil

1 white onion, diced

1 medium carrot, roughly chopped into small pieces

1 celery heart, roughly chopped into small pieces

200g butternut squash, roughly chopped into small pieces

100ml white white

1 tbsp tomato purée 

900ml hot vegetable stock

250ml cannellini beans (I used tinned)

1/2 ground cumin

bunch of sage leaves, roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves, diced

sea salt and black pepper

zest of a lemon and the juice of half

3-4 tbsp ricotta cheese

Set a large saucepan to a medium to high heat and add 4 tablespoons of the olive oil to warm up.  Add in the onion and celery and allow them to cook for 3 minutes before tipping in the carrot, squash and tomato purée.  Mix everything together pouring in the white wine and allow the flavours to infuse and the alcohol to cook off for 2 minutes.  Pour over the hot stock bringing pan to the boil and then down to a gentle boil for 10 minutes or so until all the veg is cooked through.  

While the veg is cooking, set a frying pan to medium to high heat and add the remaining olive oil.  Then add the chopped garlic and sage leaves to fry for about 1 or 2 minutes until just cooked and the sage is crispy.  Stir in the cannellini beans, cumin powder, sage garlic mix into the soup and then season with salt, pepper and the lemon zest and juice.  You can blitz a little of the mix in a blender if you want to thicken it but I left mine chunky.   Serve with a dollop of ricotta and finish like the Italians do with a last glug of extra virgin olive oil.  Bene!