The CSIRO Healthy Gut Diet - Greek Bean Soup With Crumbled Feta. <div class="gmail_default">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.</div> <div class="gmail_default"></div> <div class="gmail_default">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.</div> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>SERVES 4</b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>PREPARATION </b>15 minutes</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>COOKING </b>2 hours 15 minutes</span></p> <ul> <li class="p2"><span class="s1">200 g dried cannellini beans</span></li> <li class="p1"><span class="s1">1 × 400 g tin salt-reduced </span><span class="s1">chopped tomatoes</span></li> <li class="p1"><span class="s1">2 sticks celery, halved lengthways </span><span class="s1">and cut into 1.5 cm thick slices, </span><span class="s1">leafy tops reserved</span></li> <li class="p1"><span class="s1">3 small carrots, halved lengthways </span><span class="s1">and cut into 1.5 cm thick slices</span></li> <li class="p1"><span class="s1">1 red onion, finely chopped</span></li> <li class="p1"><span class="s1">1 1/2 teaspoons dried</span></li> <li class="p1"><span class="s1">Greek-style oregano </span><span class="s1">pinch chilli powder (optional)</span></li> <li class="p1"><span class="s1">1 clove garlic, crushed</span></li> <li class="p1"><span class="s1">1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil</span></li> <li>1/4 <span class="s1">cup (165 g) small pasta such </span><span class="s1">as risoni or orzo</span></li> <li class="p1"><span class="s1">200 g salt-reduced feta</span></li> </ul> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Place the beans in a large heavy-based saucepan or stockpot, then </span><span class="s1">cover with 3 litres water and bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce </span><span class="s1">the heat to low–medium and simmer for 1 hour or until all the beans </span><span class="s1">have sunk to the bottom of the pan. Drain, discarding the water, then </span><span class="s1">return the beans to the pan.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Add the tomatoes, celery, celery tops, carrot, onion, 1 teaspoon of the </span><span class="s1">oregano and chilli, if using. Cover with 2 litres cold water and bring to </span><span class="s1">the boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low–medium and simmer </span><span class="s1">for 1 hour or until the beans are tender.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Using a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic with the remaining </span><span class="s1">oregano leaves, then stir into the soup. Stir in the olive oil and season </span><span class="s1">to taste with freshly ground black pepper. Add the pasta and cook for </span><span class="s1">another 15 minutes or until it is al dente. </span><span class="s1">Ladle the soup into 4 bowls, then crumble 50 g feta over the top </span><span class="s1">of each one and serve.</span></p> <p class="p12"><span class="s1"><i>The beans don’t need to be soaked in water before cooking in this recipe; it might sound odd, but it works!</i></span></p> <img class="alignnone wp-image-111723" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/women-love-tech/image/upload/v1537605008/CSIRO_v9ws29.jpg" alt="The CSIRO Healthy Gut Diet is published Pan Pan Macmillan." width="2421" height="3071" /> 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.
