Cool, and affordable, soup for summer: Recipe for Cool Summer Minestrone

Take the edge off summer's heat with a cool bowl of minestrone. And do it on a budget.

In this summer-friendly take on the classic Italian soup, protein-rich canned cannellini beans along with canned green beans and diced tomatoes are combined with chicken broth and instant brown rice to create a 10-minute dinner.

The secret to this soup's rich taste is the prepared pesto, which adds basil, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts and garlic, all wrapped up in one ingredient.

Cool Summer Minestrone

175 ml (3/4 cup) instant brown rice

175 ml (3/4 cup) water

1 can (398 ml/14 oz) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (398 ml/14 oz) cut green beans, drained

1 can (398 ml/14 oz) diced tomatoes with juice

1 can (398 ml/14 oz) reduced-sodium chicken broth

125 ml ( 1/2 cup) prepared basil pesto

Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

In a large saucepan, combine rice and water. Bring to a simmer, cover and remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes.

Add cannellini beans, green beans, tomatoes with juice, chicken broth and pesto. Stir well, then season with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 346 calories, 140 calories from fat, 16 g fat (3 g saturated, 0 g trans fats), 10 mg cholesterol, 40 g carbohydrate, 14 g protein, 8 g fibre, 1,216 mg sodium.