Soup eaten by 'world's longest-lived families' is hearty and easy to make

The family lived in a remote Sardinian village and had a combined age of more than 800 years. The hearty, healthy soup has now gained fame as one of the key factors to living a long and healthy life. Soup is a delicious winter meal, as it's packed with immune-boosting ingredients. There are many ways to make soup, but this recipe is super easy to make.

The recipe notes from Blue Zones said: "A bountiful dish that is eaten every day for lunch by some of the world's longest-lived families in Sardinia, Italy. It can be made with seasonal vegetables from the garden, but always includes beans and fregula, a toasted pebble-sized semolina pasta that is popular in Sardinia."

Ingredients:

½ cup of dried peeled fava beans

½ cup of dried cranberry beans

cup of dried chickpeas

Seven tablespoons of olive oil

One onion, chopped

Two carrots, chopped

Two celery stalks, chopped

Two teaspoons of minced garlic

One can of tomatoes

Three potatoes, diced

One ½ cups of chopped fennel

¼ cup of flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Chopped fresh basil

cup of fregula

½ tsp of salt

½ tsp of black pepper

¼ cup of grated pecorino Romano

Method:

Soak the fava beans, cranberry beans and chickpeas in a large bowl of water for at least eight hours before draining and rinsing.

Warm three tablespoons of olive oil in a large soup pot. Add the onion, carrots, and celery, stirring often, and cook for five minutes.

Add the garlic and cook for 20 minutes before adding the tomatoes, potatoes, fennel, parsley, basil, and chickpeas. Add enough water so that everything is submerged by one inch.

Raise the heat to high and bring to a full boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer slowly, uncovered, until the beans are tender.

Add more water if necessary and cook for around one to one and a half hours. Then, stir in the pasa with the salt and pepper, adding more if it seems dry.

Continue simmering, uncovered, until the pasta is tender, which should take around 10 minutes.

Pour one tablespoon of olive oil into each of the serving bowls, divide the soup among them, and top with a tablespoon of grated cheese.

Other fresh veggies can be added, including cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and even courgette.