Our pea and ham minestrone recipe is the perfect meal-in-one

Name: Our pea and ham minestrone recipe is the perfect meal-in-one
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 serving(s)
Ingredients: 1 tbsp. olive oil; 1 onion, finely chopped; 2 celery sticks, sliced; 1 L vegetable stock; 300 g gammon steaks; 125 g small shape pasta; 100 g spring greens, shredded; 275 g frozen peas; finely grated zest and juice 1/2 lemon; large handful basil, leaves picked and sliced; 50 g Parmesan, finely grated

Use any shape of short pasta you have to make this vibrant and flavoursome soup.

By The Good Housekeeping Cookery TeamUpdated: 14 May 2025

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This vibrant and flavoursome pea and ham minestrone is the perfect lunch and makes a great midweek meal option too.

It won't break the bank either, costing £1.22 per portion and includes lots of delicious and filling ingredients like onion, celery, ham, pasta, spring greens, frozen peas, lemon, basil and finely grated Parmesan.

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Yields:

4 serving(s)

Prep Time:

20 mins

Cook Time:

30 mins

Total Time:

50 mins

Cal/Serv:

417

Ingredients

1 Tbsp.
olive oil
1
onion, finely chopped
2
celery sticks, sliced
1 l
vegetable stock
300 g
gammon steaks
125 g
small shape pasta
100 g
spring greens, shredded
275 g
frozen peas
finely grated zest and juice 1/2 lemon
large handful basil, leaves picked and sliced
50 g
Parmesan, finely grated

Directions

1. Step 1Heat the oil in a large pan over low heat and fry the onion and celery for 10min, until softened.
2. Step 2Pour in the stock and bring up to a simmer. Add the gammon steaks and cook for 5min, or until cooked through. Lift the steaks on to a board and leave until cool enough to handle.
3. Step 3Meanwhile, turn up the heat under the pan to high and bring to the boil. Stir in the pasta and cook according to pack instructions, to al dente, adding the spring greens and peas for the final 3min of cooking.
4. Step 4Meanwhile, finely chop the ham, discarding any fat or sinew.
5. Step 5Add the ham, lemon zest and juice, basil and most of the Parmesan to the pan. Check seasoning. Ladle into 4 bowls and sprinkle over the remaining Parmesan. Serve.

GH Tips

For an even speedier supper, leave out step 2 and stir 275g shredded ham hock into the hot stock, together with the spring greens and peas.

One of our top tips to make sure the broth is full of flavour is to add your Parmesan rind into the pan while everything is simmering away. Remove the Parmesan rind at the end, and serve your minestrone with a crusty bread roll or fresh slices of sourdough bread.