Once you’re a pesto pro, move on from soup and try these warm-weather dishes; salmon with basil pesto; pesto pasta with grilled chicken, cherry tomatoes and rocket; or ricotta dip with roasted cherry tomatoes and basil pesto.
Spring minestrone soup
Meet Spring Minestrone. The dazzling and delicious little sister to Autumn, or Harvest Minestrone. Of course she’s female, she’s repping birth and fertility here! And she’s unashamedly different. A true minestrone soup must contain pasta, legumes, tomatoes and Parmesan cheese. These ingredients and a sofrito base (sautéed carrot, celery and onion) result in an orange-hued broth with an earthy-flavoured undertone. Hearty, robust and warming. Spring minestrone is a whole other story- strikingly green and gloriously uplifting, with a sweet leeks and herby base. Lush and verdant, this minestrone soup showcases seasonal vegetables; leeks and asparagus, and year-round reliables; peas, spinach and Tenderstem broccoli. I’ve used cannellini beans, a white bean, so as not to interfere with the grassy greens, and a dainty ditalini pasta. You can use any bean or pasta shape you have in your pantry. As a rule, smooth-sided pasta is for soups and ridged pasta for sauces. But I rarely adhere to such kitchen stipulations. Finally, my green minestrone soup has been adorned with a homemade, emerald-coloured pesto crown. This punchy addition is bursting with fragrant basil, tangy Parmesan cheese, and a shot of lemon juice. It elevates this dish from green vegetarian minestrone soup to a frolic in a freshly mown meadow and then a plunge in a fast-flowing river.
Serving suggestions
Laden with pasta, legumes and greens, this deceptively dainty vegetarian minestrone soup is a standalone square meal. All I would add is bread, a spongy focaccia or a chewy sourdough.
Storage and leftovers
This green minestrone soup is best consumed on the day while hot and toothsome. The bountiful tender vegetables; zucchini, broccoli, asparagus and spinach will not survive the freezing, thawing and reheating. I usually advocate for freezing soups, but in this case, your once al dente dish of greens may result in an unappetising silage. I even hesitate over refrigeration, although it will just about tolerate a brief 2-4 day-stay in the fridge and gentle reheating on the hob. Add a splash of water or stock if the pasta has slurped up all the liquid in that time.
More hearty vegetarian soup recipes
Tuscan Chickpea Soup Vegetarian Borscht Pasta e Fagioli Summer Sorrel Soup (Green Borscht)
