
Minestrone verde with pesto

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This is the recipe we make in the restaurant during spring, going into summer. We finish it with a little fresh pesto but, if you prefer, you can just drizzle on some good peppery extra virgin olive oil. Obviously, when you make minestrone, you can cook all the vegetables together if you are in a hurry, but the proper way to do it is slowly, adding the vegetables separately in stages, so that they are all cooked to the same consistency and keep their own identity, with the potatoes only just soft. It's up to you. Also, if you don't have any vegetable stock, you could just use water or make a quick stock from all the vegetable trimmings, apart from the fava bean skins (they turn the stock dark green), and add a couple handfuls of peas, to give an extra sweetness. Cook them all gently in a little olive oil until they start to become soft and mushy, then pour in about 8 1/2 cups of water, simmer for about 20 minutes, pour through a fine sieve, and you are ready to make your minestrone. We use just a tablespoon each of cooked borlotti (cranberry) beans and chickpeas. Normally l would say cook these yourself, but since we are talking about such a small quantity, on this occasion if you don't happen to have any already cooked, use good-quality canned beans and chickpeas but rinse them very well first.
ingredients
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serves: 4
2 carrots
2 white onions
1 leek
2 stalks celery
1 small bunch of Swiss chard
2 zucchini (with blossoms if possible)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small bunch cavolo nero (Tuscan kale, roughly chopped) (optional)
1 handful of fresh peas
1 handful of fresh fava beans (blanched and skin taken off)
1 handful of spinach (roughly chopped)
8 1/2 cups good vegetable stock
1 medium potato (peeled)
1 tablespoon cooked borlotti (cranberry) beans
1 tablespoon cooked chickpeas
1 tomato
leaves some basil to garnish
4 teaspoons pesto (or about 4 tablespoons extra virgin oil, if you are not serving the soup with pesto)
salt
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Amount per Serving
Calories: 287
- Total Fat: 11.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
- Sodium: 211.2 mg
- Total Carbs: 40.5 g
- Dietary Fiber: 9.4 g
- Sugars: 12.2 g
- Protein: 11 g
preparation

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