Italian Cuisine
Classic Minestrone with Pesto
Minestrone is the quintessential Italian comfort food and an exceptionally practical soup for your everyday menu. Its brilliance lies in a rich, dense vegetable broth where the sweetness of carrots, depth of celery, and tenderness of white beans merge into a perfect base. Small pasta shapes add satisfying substance, while a vibrant spoonful of basil pesto stirred in just before serving instantly transforms the flavor, releasing fresh herbal and nutty aromas. This soup responds beautifully to resting, turning deeper and more aromatic over time.
Dishday
Recipe overview
- Total time
- 40 min
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cooking
- 25 min
- Servings
- 2
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Cuisine
- Italian Cuisine
Nutrition
per serving
- Calories
- 310 kcal
- Protein
- 11 g
- Fat
- 12 g
- Carbs
- 39 g
- Fiber
- 7 g
Step by step
Method
- 01
Prepare all the vegetables
Prepare all the vegetables: dice the onion, carrot, celery, and peeled potato into small, equally sized cubes to ensure balanced cooking textures.
- 02
Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat
Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Sauté the onion, carrot, and celery (the Italian 'soffritto' base) for 5 minutes until soft and translucent.
- 03
Stir in the tomato paste and potato cubes
Stir in the tomato paste and potato cubes. Cook and stir continuously for 2 minutes to caramelize the tomato base and eliminate its raw acidity.
- 04
Pour in hot water or vegetable broth, bring to a steady boil,…
Pour in hot water or vegetable broth, bring to a steady boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 12 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
- 05
Rinse the canned white beans
Rinse the canned white beans. Stir the beans and dry pasta directly into the pot and cook over medium heat for 6-7 minutes until the pasta reaches perfect al dente.
- 06
Turn off the heat, adjust the seasoning with salt, and let th…
Turn off the heat, adjust the seasoning with salt, and let the soup stand covered for 3 minutes to allow the flavors to fuse into a rich, velvety consistency.
Dishday
Useful advice
Cooking tip
Dice all vegetables into small, uniform cubes roughly the size of a bean so they cook evenly and fit comfortably on a soup spoon.
How to serve
Serve the soup piping hot, placing a cool dollop of fresh pesto right in the center of the bowl to let the herbal aroma unfold gradually as you stir.
How to store
Minestrone keeps beautifully in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, developing an even deeper and richer flavor profile.
Note
Add the pasta at the very end and leave it slightly undercooked, as the residual heat of the hot broth will finish cooking it perfectly.
