Minestrone alla Genovese
This is not a set-it-and-forget-it soup. It requires attention to the order of the vegetables so that everything finishes cooking at the same moment.
Consistency in the cut is the secret to even cooking.
Dice your vegetables into uniform, bite-sized cubes. If some pieces are massive and others are tiny, the small ones will turn to mush before the large ones soften.
- Heavy-bottomed Dutch oven
- Sharp chef's knife
- Large wooden spoon
- Pestle and mortar or food processor
What goes in.
- 1/2 cupbasil leaves, packed
- 2 clovesgarlic
- 1/4 cuppine nuts
- 1/2 cupParmigiano-Reggiano, grated
- 1/2 cupextra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbspolive oil for the base
- 1yellow onion, diced
- 2carrots, peeled and diced
- 2stalks celery, diced
- 2waxy potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 cupgreen beans, cut into 1-inch lengths
- 1zucchini, diced
- 6 cupsvegetable stock or water
- 1/2 cupsmall pasta like ditalini
Tempering the Pesto
Never boil the pesto. Add it to the pot only after you have removed the soup from the burner to preserve the bright, raw character of the basil.
The method.
Prepare the base
Heat the olive oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Cook until the onions turn pale gold, about 8 minutes.
Build the soup
Add the potatoes and cover with stock. Bring to a boil, then lower to a steady simmer until potatoes are just tender, about 15 minutes.
Add the greens
Stir in the green beans, zucchini, and pasta. Cook until the pasta is al dente and the green beans retain a slight snap, roughly 10 minutes.
Make the pesto
While the soup simmers, crush basil, garlic, and pine nuts. Incorporate the cheese and slowly drizzle in the olive oil until a thick paste forms.
Emulsify
Remove the pot from the heat. Stir the pesto into the soup, adding a ladle of broth to the mortar first to loosen the paste before combining.
Other turns to take.
Winter variation
Swap zucchini and green beans for cubed winter squash and chopped chard or kale.
When it doesn't go to plan.
Use waxy potatoes like Yukon Gold so they hold their shape rather than dissolving into the broth.
If you find the soup too thin, crush a few of the cooked potato cubes against the side of the pot to release starch and thicken the base.
Wait to add salt until the very end, as the pesto and cheese provide significant seasoning.
The ones that keep coming up.
Can I use store-bought pesto?
You can, but the flavor will be muted. Homemade pesto adds a necessary sharpness to the broth that shelf-stable versions often lack.
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