A hearty wholesome soup that is full of green veggies and punctuated with classic pesto that elevates the flavors big time. This soup is really good to make around the busy holiday season when your’e out and about and surrounded by sweets, and rich food. I find it grounding and balances all the festive eating. Excellent as a make ahead soup and kept covered in the fridge. Simply heat and eat. The pesto is a classic recipe and stays fresh upto 5-8 days in an air tight container or frozen. Use bottled pesto if basil is not available fresh.
Green Minestrone with Pesto
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3 small cloves garlic minced
- 8-10 stems asparagus or 1 cup sliced green beans
- 1 small shallot, sliced
- 2 medium zucchini, diced
- 1 medium parsnip, diced
- 5 cups veggie broth
- 1 medium leek, washed throughly and chopped
- 1 cup chickpeas
- 3 cups curly kale, washed and roughly chopped
- PESTO
- 3 cups loosely packed basil leaves
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ cup walnuts
- ¼ cup vegan or regular parmesan
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, I love California Olive Ranch Millers Blend
- In a sauce pan warm the oil and sauté shallots, garlic and leeks until the leek and shallots are soft about 5 minutes.
- Add the parsnip, kale and cook further for another 2 minutes until the kale is bright green. Add the veggie broth and simmer for 10 minutes till veggies are soft.
- Add the zucchini, chickpeas and asparagus until zucchini is just tender but not mushy. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
- While the soup simmers blend all the ingredients for the pesto.
- Serve the soup topped with pesto and a drizzle of olive oil.
Leave a Reply