Peel and finely chop the onion. Trim the dry ends off the celery stalk, then dice the celery. Trim and peel the carrot, then dice it to match. Dice the tomato.

Put a large pan on a medium-low heat for 1 min, then add 1/2 tbsp olive oil and all the diced veg. Season with a little salt and pepper. Fry, stirring occasionally, for 10 mins till the veg have softened but not picked up any colour. If they start to brown, turn the heat down and add 2-3 tbsp water to the pan.

While the veg fry, peel and grate or crush the garlic clove. Fill your kettle and boil it. Crumble the stock cube into a measuring jug. Pour in 1 ltr boiling water. Stir to dissolve the stock cube.

When the veg have softened, add the garlic. Cook and stir for 1 min. Pour in the veg stock and bring to the boil.

While the vegetable broth simmers, snap the spaghetti into 2-3cm-long pieces. When the broth is boiling, add the spaghetti and turn down the heat a little. Simmer for 5 mins.

Meanwhile, roughly chop the baby red chard. Snap the woody ends off the asparagus (bend the spears and they will snap at the right point). Chop the asparagus into chunks around 2cm long. After 5 mins, add the chard and asparagus to the broth and simmer for 3-4 mins (without no lid on the pan to keep the veg green). The veg should be just tender and the spaghetti cooked but still with some bite.

Taste the soup and add a pinch of salt and pepper if you think it needs it (the pesto is well seasoned, so you might want to wait till you're at the table before adding extra salt and pepper). Ladle the soup into warm bowls, swirl 1 tbsp pesto over each bow and serve.