The Italians know all about healthy eating with dishes like pasta e fagioli.

IT could be a winning recipe for mums-to-be - lashings of fruit, vegetables, fish and olive oil - and after nine months cooking time' you could serve up a healthy, allergy-free baby.

A new six-year study shows that pregnant women who eat that classic Mediterranean-style diet - already recommended to help boost heart health and stave off cancer - may prime their babies for better health.

Greek-based research on nearly 500 women on the Spanish island of Menorca found that two-thirds of the mums-to-be on a high quality Mediterranean diet had children up to 50 per cent less likely to suffer from complaints such as asthma and allergies.

As the UK has one of the highest rates of childhood asthma worldwide - one in 10 children suffer -- charity Asthma UK has welcomed the study.

Leanne Male, assistant director of research, says: "It adds to previous research showing that a Mediterranean diet, which traditionally contains higher levels of fresh fruit and vegetables, can have a beneficial effect on asthma symptoms, and specifically in this study that these benefits can be passed to the pregnant mother's unborn child."

Try these two recipes which are groaning with those vital Mediterranean ingredients and goodness - an Italian hearty pasta and bean soup, pasta e fagioli and a French dish, cod with puy lentils.

WHAT DO I NEED?

Serves six

50ml/2fl oz extra-virgin olive oil

2tbsp chopped onion

3tbsp chopped carrot

3tbsp chopped celery

3 or 4 pork ribs

4 tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1kg/2lb fresh borlotti beans

(white or red)

750ml/1 pt meat broth

salt

freshly ground black pepper

250g/8 oz small macaroni

15g/ oz butter

2tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese

WHAT SHOULD I DO?

Put the olive oil and chopped onion in a soup pot and turn on the heat to medium. Cook the onion, stirring it, until it becomes coloured a pale gold. Add the carrot and celery, stir once or twice to coat them well, then add the pork. Cook for about 10 minutes, turning the meat and the vegetables over from time to time with a wooden spoon.

Add the chopped tomatoes and their juice, adjust the heat so that the juices simmer very gently, and cook for 10 minutes.

Shell the beans, rinse them in cold water, and put them in the soup pot. Stir two or three times to coat them well, then add the broth. Cover the pot, adjust the heat so that the broth bubbles at a steady but gentle boil, and cook for 45 minutes to one hour, until the beans are fully tender.

Scoop up a ladleful of the beans and mash them through a food mill back into the pot.

Add salt, a few grindings of black pepper and stir thoroughly. Check the soup for density, it should be liquid enough to cook the pasta in. If necessary, add more broth. When the soup has come to a steady, moderate boil, add the pasta. Taste for doneness after a few minutes and stop the cooking when the pasta is tender, but still firm to the bite.

Before turning off the heat, swirl in the butter and the grated cheese. Pour the soup into a large serving bowl or into individual plates, and allow to settle for 10 minutes before serving with crunchy croutons. It tastes best when eaten warm, rather than piping hot.

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