Italian Summer Minestrone Soup with Pesto
Minestrone is the classic Italian vegetable soup, and an excellent way to enjoy the bounty of summer. In Italy, the soup is often finished with pesto, which adds its beautiful, bright green color, as well as a great deal of flavor. The salty Pecorino or Parmesan cheese in the pesto also seasons the soup – for this reason it’s good to underseason the soup just slightly, and then adjust seasoning when adding the pesto if necessary.
The Ingredients for Minestrone: All of Summer's Bounty, and a Rind of Parmigiano-Reggiano
The soup simmering away, after adding the second group of vegetables
Simmering for Another 2 hours, to Cook the Cannellini Beans
Heat & Knives
The Recipe
Source: A Ligurian Kitchen: Recipes And Tales from the Italian Riviera
For the pesto (my recipe):
Bunch of basil
tbsp of pine nuts
tbsp of walnuts (optional)
freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and/or Pecorino cheese
Good extra-virgin olive oil
For the minestrone:
10 cups (2 ½ quarts) cold water
2 teaspoons salt, plus more for seasoning
1 small carrot, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch dice
1 small Italian eggplant, cut 1/2-inch dice
½ large onion, chopped
1 small Savoy cabbage, cut in 1/4-inch strips
1 Yukon gold potato, cut in 1/2-inch dice
4 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut in 1/2-inch pieces
1 small Parmigiano-Reggiano rind
2 zucchini, cut in 1/2-inch dice
1 medium leek, cut in 1/2-inch dice
3 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 cup dried cannellini or borlotti beans, presoaked (or use canned beans)
1 cup coarsely chopped spinach leaves
3 tablespoons fruity extra-virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
Make the pesto:
Make the minestrone:
Bring the water to a boil in large pot, add 2 teaspoons of salt, and reduce to a slow simmer.
Add the carrot and eggplant, and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Add the onion, cabbage, potato, green beans, and the Parmigiano rind and simmer for another 10 minutes.
Add the zucchini, leeks, tomatoes, beans (only if the beans were dried and presoaked; hold them if they were canned), and a pinch of salt and continue simmering, uncovered, for 1 ½ to 2 hours.
Add the spinach and beans (if canned) and simmer for another 5 minutes. At this point the vegetables should be very soft and the liquid should have reduced a bit.
Remove the rind, stir in the olive oil, adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper and let the minestrone cool off the heat. Serve the minestrone warm, at room temperature, or cold, topped with a generous dollop of pesto. (Use any leftover pesto to make pasta or for another batch of minestrone).
