With the exception of the cannellini beans and the Parm, nearly everything else in this soup is green. And delicious. And healthy.
I made this soup over Christmas – a big batch of it that my cousin Gary and I had several of the days he was visiting. There’s another green minestrone here on my blog that was equally as good. Since I’m watching carbs, I made this one with cannellini beans and no pasta, but you can add pasta to it and more beans too. I adjusted the proportion of veggies to broth, to make this a very thick soup with a lot less broth. I wanted chunky (I don’t mean chewy, just dense with vegetables). The original recipe, came from Bon Appetit, but I have no idea when. I don’t subscribe to epicurious, so I can’t look it up.
This soup has no meat in it – just a full vegetable repertoire, from flavorful leeks, Swiss chard, zucchini, green beans, peas (I omitted this time) plus the onions and celery (the soffritto). There’s a fair amount of prep work here with chopping a bunch of things, and if I’d used my food processor it would have been faster, certainly. The pesto here is made with pistachios and I altered it also, as the original recipe made a huge batch and called for an enormous amount of olive oil – far more than needed for a pesto (my opinion) and more than needed for this batch of soup. The soup is all gone, but I still have a lot of pesto left – it will be great in some future soups since I make soups frequently.
When serving this – ladle it out into wide bowls, then sprinkle with some freshly grated Parm and then drop a big, heaping spoon of the green, nutty, oozy pesto on top. Serve with toast if you’d like. But, I’ll just say, the soup is very filling, even if there’s only one can of beans in it! This soup is enhanced by making it a day ahead.
What’s GOOD: really delicious vegetable soup – thick with green veggies. Do use good, flavorful broth – vegetable broth might work here, but I used chicken broth for more flavor. Loved the pesto on top, and the grated Parm sprinkled on top too. You will get a bit of protein from the beans (very few) and the nuts (not much). You could add pancetta to the soffritto if you’d like some extra flavor.
What’s NOT: only that there’s a fair amount of chopping to be done.
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Spring Green Minestrone with Pistachio Pesto
Serves: 8
SOFFRITTO:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 large onions, finely chopped
6 medium leeks, white and pale-green parts only, finely chopped
6 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 bulb fennel, finely diced
Kosher salt
PESTO:
1/2 cup raw pistachios
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups sweet basil leaves (packed)
2 cups Italian, flat-leaf parsley, use some of the stems (packed)
3/4 cup olive oil, divided
1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated finely
2 teaspoons lemon zest, finely grated
Kosher salt freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more if desired
SOUP:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon thyme, dried
4 bay leaves
8 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed, sliced in half crosswise
4 cups Swiss chard, stems removed, chopped
3 chopped zucchini
14.5 ounces canned cannellini beans, drained & rinsed (and add more if you prefer)
4 cups frozen, defrosted peas, optional
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Thinly shaved Parmesan (for serving)
8 pieces 3/4-inch-thick slices country-style bread, toasted
1. SOFFRITTO: Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Cook onions, leeks, fennel and celery, stirring often, until soft but not browned, 6-8 minutes. Season with salt. Soffritto can be made 3 days ahead. Let cool; cover and chill, or freeze up to 1 month.
2. PESTO: Preheat oven to 350°. Toast pistachios on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing once, until golden brown, 6-8 minutes. Let cool; crush using a small saucepan (you want a mix of sizes).
3. Pulse garlic, basil, parsley, and half of the oil in a food processor until a coarse puree forms. Transfer to a medium bowl and mix with Parmesan, lemon zest, crushed nuts, and remaining oil; season with salt and pepper. Pour into a glass jar and set aside. Chill. Pesto will keep for a week or two. If keeping it longer, add a thin layer of olive oil to the top (to keep it from developing mold).
4. SOUP: Heat oil in a medium pot over medium-high. Cook thyme, bay leaf, and the soffritto, stirring often, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add green beans and zucchini; cook about half way, maybe 3 minutes, then add Swiss chard, drained and rinsed cannellini beans, peas and cook until chard is wilted and peas are tender, about 3 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and black pepper. To maintain a greener, fresher appearance don’t overcook the soup. This is a soup you do not want to put “on the back burner” to sit for hours – you’ll end up with a mushy gray soup.
5. Serve soup, topped with some Parmesan and a very large tablespoon of the pesto on top. Serve with toast, if desired.
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