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Culinary Explorer
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Minestrone alla Genovese
Created by
Genoa's answer to vegetable soup, where summer vegetables simmer until tender, then a spoonful of fragrant pesto stirred in at the end changes everything you thought you knew about minestrone.
Soups & Stews
Italian, Ligurian
Weeknight
Comfort Food
45 min
Active Time
1 hr 15 min cook•2 hr total
Yield8 servings
Every region of Italy has its minestrone, and each insists its version is the true one. They are all correct and all wrong. Minestrone is not a recipe but a principle: vegetables, beans, liquid, time. What separates Genoa's minestrone from all the others is one ingredient added at the end.
The pesto arrives off the heat, stirred into the finished soup or spooned into each bowl. It must never boil. When the hot broth meets the cold basil paste, the perfume rises immediately. Pine nuts, garlic, Parmigiano, basil, the finest Ligurian olive oil: everything that makes pesto Genovese what it is now transforms this soup into something that could only come from one place on earth.
The vegetables should be summer vegetables if you are making this in summer: zucchini at their smallest, green beans so fresh they snap, tomatoes warm from the vine. In winter, use heartier greens and root vegetables. The Genovese understand that minestrone follows the seasons. What remains constant is the pesto at the end, the bright green swirl that announces where this soup was born.
Minestrone alla Genovese predates the arrival of tomatoes and potatoes from the New World, though both have since become essential. The addition of pesto distinguishes it from every other Italian minestrone and reflects Liguria's obsession with fresh basil, which grows prolifically in the maritime climate. Genovese sailors reportedly packed pesto on their ships, adding it to whatever soups they could make at sea.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
1/2 cup
yellow onion
Quantity
1 medium
diced
celery stalks
Quantity
2
diced
waxy potatoes
Quantity
2 medium (about 12 ounces)
peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
zucchini
Quantity
2 medium
halved lengthwise and sliced 1/2-inch thick
green beans
Quantity
6 ounces
trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
borlotti beans
Quantity
1 cup fresh shelled or 1 can (15 ounces)
drained and rinsed if canned
ripe tomatoes
Quantity
2 medium
peeled, seeded, and chopped
Savoy cabbage
Quantity
1 small head (about 8 ounces)
cored and shredded
vegetable or light chicken broth
Quantity
8 cups
small pasta
Quantity
1 cup
ditali, tubettini, or broken spaghetti
kosher salt
Quantity
to taste
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
freshly ground
pesto Genovese
Quantity
1/2 cup
at room temperature
Parmigiano-Reggiano
Quantity
for serving
freshly grated
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| extra virgin olive oil | 1/2 cup |
| yellow oniondiced | 1 medium |
| celery stalksdiced | 2 |
| waxy potatoespeeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes | 2 medium (about 12 ounces) |
| zucchinihalved lengthwise and sliced 1/2-inch thick | 2 medium |
| green beanstrimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces | 6 ounces |
| borlotti beansdrained and rinsed if canned | 1 cup fresh shelled or 1 can (15 ounces) |
| ripe tomatoespeeled, seeded, and chopped | 2 medium |
| Savoy cabbagecored and shredded | 1 small head (about 8 ounces) |
| vegetable or light chicken broth | 8 cups |
| small pastaditali, tubettini, or broken spaghetti | 1 cup |
| kosher salt | to taste |
| black pepperfreshly ground | to taste |
| pesto Genoveseat room temperature | 1/2 cup |
| Parmigiano-Reggianofreshly grated | for serving |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy 6-quart soup pot or Dutch oven
- •Wooden spoon
- •Ladle
Instructions
- 1
Build the foundation
In a heavy soup pot, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and celery. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until the onion becomes translucent and begins to turn pale gold at the edges, about 12 minutes. Do not rush this. The foundation of every Italian soup is patience with the soffritto. What happens in these first minutes determines everything that follows.
- 2
Add the potatoes
Add the cubed potatoes to the pot. Stir them into the soffritto and cook for 5 minutes, letting them absorb some of the flavored oil. The potatoes will eventually break down slightly and help thicken the soup. This is correct and desirable.
- 3
Layer the vegetables
Add the zucchini, green beans, and borlotti beans to the pot. Stir everything together. Add the tomatoes and the shredded cabbage. The pot will seem very full. The vegetables will cook down considerably.
If using dried borlotti beans, soak them overnight and cook them separately until nearly tender before adding to the soup. Canned beans work adequately here because the soup simmers long enough to meld the flavors. - 4
Add broth and simmer
Pour in the broth. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to maintain a lazy simmer. Cook uncovered for 45 minutes to one hour, stirring occasionally. The vegetables should become very tender, some beginning to fall apart. The broth will reduce and concentrate. Season with salt and pepper, remembering that the pesto will add salinity.
Ligurian cooks traditionally use vegetable broth or water here. A light chicken broth adds depth without overwhelming the vegetables. Beef broth would be wrong. This is a delicate soup. - 5
Cook the pasta
Add the pasta directly to the simmering soup. Stir well to prevent sticking. Cook until the pasta is tender but still has pleasant resistance, usually 2 to 3 minutes less than the package suggests. The pasta will continue to absorb liquid as the soup rests. If the soup becomes too thick, add a splash of hot water.
- 6
Finish with pesto
Remove the pot from heat. Let it rest for 5 minutes. The pesto must never boil. Stir the room-temperature pesto into the soup, or place a generous spoonful in each bowl and ladle the soup over it. The heat of the soup will release the basil's perfume. This is the moment that transforms vegetable soup into something distinctly Genovese.
- 7
Serve properly
Ladle into warm bowls. Pass Parmigiano-Reggiano at the table. The cheese is not optional, though Ligurians often use Pecorino Sardo or a blend of both. Serve with good bread. This soup is a meal, not a course.
Chef Tips
- •Make your own pesto if possible. The jarred versions, however convenient, lack the brightness that fresh pesto brings. The soup will still be good with jarred pesto, but it will not be transcendent.
- •Borlotti beans are traditional, but cannellini work well. Fresh shell beans in summer are ideal. Do not use kidney beans. They belong in another country's cooking.
- •The soup thickens considerably as it sits. This is expected. Add hot water or broth when reheating to reach your preferred consistency. Some Ligurians prefer it thick enough to eat with a fork.
- •Broken spaghetti is traditional in some Genovese households, though small tubular pasta is more common today. The pasta shape matters less than cooking it directly in the soup, where it absorbs flavor.
Advance Preparation
- •The soup base can be made one day ahead without the pasta. Refrigerate and reheat gently. Cook the pasta when reheating, adding more broth as needed.
- •Add pesto only at serving time. Pesto that has been heated loses its vibrancy. Keep it at room temperature while the soup reheats.
- •This soup does not freeze well once the pasta is added. The pasta becomes mushy. You may freeze the base before adding pasta and pesto.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 515g)
Calories
385 calories
Total Fat
22 g
Saturated Fat
4 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
17 g
Cholesterol
8 mg
Sodium
1050 mg
Total Carbohydrates
33 g
Dietary Fiber
6 g
Sugars
5 g
Protein
11 g
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