Minestrone Verde with a nice dollop of homemade pesto on top
What? Hot soup in the summertime? If it’s Minestrone Verde the answer is an emphatic YES, and here’s why: it's a farmer’s market in a bowl.
The Occasion: This soup is perfect for a light lunch or supper the same day you visit the farmer’s market, or when you find an especially fresh batch of local veggies in your grocery’s produce aisle.
The Occasion: This soup is perfect for a light lunch or supper the same day you visit the farmer’s market, or when you find an especially fresh batch of local veggies in your grocery’s produce aisle.
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What Makes it Special? The abundance of fresh green veggies. Feel free to make substitutions, although the recipe from Cooking Light’s June issue is pretty great as-is. The filled tortellini; the delicate but flavorful broth; the dollop of pesto on top. Fact is, it’s all special.
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Serve With: Crusty bread and the cheese of your choice.
The Verdict: Love this! Fresh vegetables truly are the stars of the show although there’s fierce competition from the light but flavorful broth and the satisfying tortellini (or dumplings of your choice). You’ll have plenty of pesto left over. Use it for more soup, pasta salad, or alongside grilled chicken and fish. In a pinch you can use store-bought pesto, but as always fresh is best.
| Print This Recipe- Minestrone Verde |
Minestrone Verde
Recipe source: Cooking Light
INGREDIENTS:
DIRECTIONS:
Recipe source: Cooking Light
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil (from about 3 bunches)
- 2 tablespoons shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 1 tablespoon pine nuts
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 cups thinly sliced leeks
- 2 small zucchinis, sliced into half-moons
- 4 cups unsalted chicken stock
- 8 ounces refrigerated tortellini
- 3 cups coarsely chopped fresh baby spinach (about 3 oz.)
- 1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
DIRECTIONS:
- Process basil, cheese, pine nuts, and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped.
- Add 1 1/2 tablespoons oil; process until very finely chopped and fully combined, stopping to scrape sides of bowl as necessary. Set aside.
- Heat remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a medium Dutch oven over medium. Add leeks; cook, stirring often, until softened, about 6 minutes.
- Stir in zucchini; cook, stirring occasionally, until zucchini is just tender but not browned, about 4 minutes.
- Add chicken stock, and increase heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 8 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook tortellini in a stockpot of boiling water 3 minutes less than package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain.
- Add tortellini, spinach, and peas to soup. Cook until spinach is wilted, about 1 minute.
- Stir in lemon juice and salt.
- Ladle soup evenly into 4 bowls. Top each serving with pesto, and sprinkle evenly with pepper.
Pesto is a great summer condiment. What else do you use it for? Tell all in the Comments
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