A delicious healthy Italian soup choke full with vegetables served with a dollop of pesto. Skip the Parmesan and you have a tasty vegan soup. This by no means authentic. But then again I have eaten so many versions of this soup in Italy that Im clueless of what’s authentic. What seems standard is the tomato-vegetable broth, white beans, and seasonal vegetables.
Here’s how I make it. I like it with extra broth, if you prefer thicker reduce the amount of broth or water.
Minestrone Siciliano : Italian Vegetable Soup with Pesto
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 celery stalk, diced
- 1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2 moon
- 2 clove garlic minced
- 1/2 cup peas
- 1/2 cup diced green beans
- 1 cup diced zucchini
- 1 cup chopped cauliflower or broccoli or romensco
- 3-4 medium plum tomatoes, fresh puréed or canned if you have to
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped Italian parsley leaves
- 4 cups hot vegetable stock
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper,
- 3/4 cup cannellini beans cooked or any beans you have handy
- 1 cup sliced Savoy cabbage or baby spinach/ kale/Swiss chard
Garnish
- Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 1 teaspoon herb or basil pesto or fresh torn basil leaves
- cold pressed extra virgin olive oil.
- In a heavy-bottomed soup pot, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat until warm.
- Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Lower the heat to low, and add the carrots and garlic. Sauté till fragrant.
- Add green beans, zucchini cauliflower. Sauté for 2 minutes.cook for 5-6 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften.
- Add the tomatoes and the parsley. Cook for 5 more minutes so that the flavors meld.
- Add the beans, stock and season with salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Simmer for 10 minutes. Remember to stir the soup occasionally. Add more water or stock, if necessary.
- Serve garnished with Parmesan, pesto and a drizzle of your best cold pressed extra virgin olive oil.
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