Mustard Soup with Vegetables

On a day when I was feeling chilly and grumpy, I thought of minestrone soup. I like the concept of soup with vegetables, beans, and pasta in it, but I wanted to do something different, more filling and more sinus-clearing. After all, this was going to be our entire dinner, so it had better be satisfying.

So I decided on vegetable soup with tortellini, all spiked with a significant dose of whole-grain mustard. With some buttered bread, it was a lovely, simple dinner. And, as with most of my recipes, it can be varied according to what you have in your fridge and cupboard.

Ingredients:
1 red onion
olive oil
3 carrots
5-6 purple spouting broccoli
2 vegetable stock cubes
1 litre water
2 tbsp whole-grain mustard
1 container cannellini beans
1 package cheese tortellini or 200 g spaghetti, broken in pieces
1 tbsp coriander or parsley
black pepper

Instructions:
1. Dice the onion and fry it in oil in a pot. Meanwhile, peel and chop the carrots into small pieces, and chop the broccoli.
2. Add the stock cubes to the pot and mush them up a bit.
3. Add the carrots and broccoli and stir for a minute, then add the water.
4. Bring the water to a boil and cook the vegetables for about 10 minutes.
5. Add the mustard, beans, and pasta, and cook as long as it says on the pasta package.
6. Season with herbs and pepper, then serve.