The CSIRO Healthy Gut Diet - Greek Bean Soup With Crumbled Feta

The CSIRO Healthy Gut Diet – Greek Bean Soup With Crumbled Feta.

Following its previous best selling health books, the CSIRO has now turned their attention to the gut, of which they are the forefront of scientific research – helping us to understand how it is pivotal to a healthy metabolism, a healthy brain and a healthy immune system. Research has also led to the discovery that feeding our gut bacteria with a particular type of fibre called resistant starch is a major piece in the gut health puzzle.

The CSIRO Healthy Gut Diet has 85 easy-to-cook recipes, plus fibre-boosted daily meal plans – with authors Dr Tony Bird and Penny Taylor providing another variation of a high in fibre and resistant in starch diet designed to benefit the gut and overall bodily health. This is a crucial understanding lending to the prevention of the rising rates of bowel cancer and other intestinal conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome.

SERVES 4

PREPARATION 15 minutes

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COOKING 2 hours 15 minutes

200 g dried cannellini beans
1 × 400 g tin salt-reduced chopped tomatoes
2 sticks celery, halved lengthways and cut into 1.5 cm thick slices, leafy tops reserved
3 small carrots, halved lengthways and cut into 1.5 cm thick slices
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons dried
Greek-style oregano pinch chilli powder (optional)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup (165 g) small pasta such as risoni or orzo
200 g salt-reduced feta

Place the beans in a large heavy-based saucepan or stockpot, then cover with 3 litres water and bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low–medium and simmer for 1 hour or until all the beans have sunk to the bottom of the pan. Drain, discarding the water, then return the beans to the pan.

Add the tomatoes, celery, celery tops, carrot, onion, 1 teaspoon of the oregano and chilli, if using. Cover with 2 litres cold water and bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low–medium and simmer for 1 hour or until the beans are tender.

Using a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic with the remaining oregano leaves, then stir into the soup. Stir in the olive oil and season to taste with freshly ground black pepper. Add the pasta and cook for another 15 minutes or until it is al dente. Ladle the soup into 4 bowls, then crumble 50 g feta over the top of each one and serve.

The beans don’t need to be soaked in water before cooking in this recipe; it might sound odd, but it works!

Recipes extracted from The CSIRO Healthy Gut Diet by Dr Tony Bird, Dr Michael Conlon and Pennie Taylor. Available now, Macmillan Australia, RRP $34.99.