Minestrone Genovese (Vegetable Soup with Pesto)
Submitted by Seubs070
Minestrone genovese: classic Ligurian vegetable soup with white beans, potatoes, butternut squash, zucchini, and pasta, finished with fragrant basil pesto stirred in at the end.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
70 minREADY
80 minThis is the real Genoese minestrone, the one that finishes with a last-minute swirl of pesto stirred off the heat so its raw basil, garlic, and pine nut oils stay bright. Cook the pesto in and you kill everything that makes it special; stir it in at the end and you get that unmistakable green perfume in every bowl.
The vegetables go in staggered, not all at once. Beans and potatoes first, then squash, zucchini, tomato, and mushrooms, then carrot, celery, garlic, and onion. Each addition gets the cook time it needs, so nothing turns to mush while the heartier roots are still raw.
Pressing the beans and potatoes against the side of the pot as they simmer is the classic Ligurian trick for body. The released starch thickens the broth naturally, giving the soup the dense, almost creamy texture it’s known for.
The traditional serving temperature is tepid, not hot. The pesto aromatics and bean starches express themselves more clearly at warm room temperature than at scalding heat.
Chef Tips
- Use small tubular pasta like ditali or tubetti; they cradle the broth better than long noodles.
- Peel tomatoes by scoring an X on the bottom, dunking in boiling water 30 seconds, then shocking in ice.
- Make pesto fresh for best color; jarred works but loses the bright green vibrancy.
- Top each bowl with grated parmesan and a good drizzle of olive oil.
Variations
- Swap kidney beans for borlotti or cannellini for a different bean character.
- Add a parmesan rind during the simmer for extra savory depth.
- Stir in chopped kale or Swiss chard with the final vegetables for more greens.
Ingredients
Directions
Drain the beans and combine with the water in a Dutch oven.
Bring to a boil and cok at a high heat for 10 minutes.
Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for another 5 minutes.
Add the potatoes, squash, zucchini, tomato and mushrooms and cook over medium heat, stirring from time to time.
After about 15 minutes, add the carrot, celery, garlic and onion.
Simmer for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the olive oil and salt. Continue simmering, pressing the beans and potatoes against the side of the pot to make the soup dense.
After another 15 minutes cooking, add the pasta and simmer for 9 or 10 minutes until it is al dente.
Just as the heat is turned off, stir in the pesto.
Let the soup cool until it is tepid and serve it with drizzles of olive oil on top.
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