An authentic Italian vegetarian minestrone soup made without tomatoes and using Pesto instead, cabbage and potatoes, for a hearty, traditional green minestrone di Verdure.
- 1 onion - diced (small)
- 4 cloves garlic -sliced
- 1 carrot -diced
- 1 stick celery -diced
- 2 cups green cabbage -shredded
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 8 sprigs thyme
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 qt low sodium vegetable stock + more as needed
- 1.5 cups golden potatoes -diced into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1.5 tsp sea salt + more to tatse
- 15 oz canned borlotti or cannellini beans - drained and rinsed well
- 1 cup baby arugula or spinach
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 bunch fresh basil ( leaves only)
- 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts, walnuts or hazelnuts
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lemon -juiced
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese -grated
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 pinch sea salt - to taste
- 4 inches Parmesan rind ( optional )
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Heat up a soup pot on medium flame with a lug of olive oil.
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Add the onion, celery and carrot and saute together with a pinch of salt for about 10 minutes.
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Add the garlic, rosemary, thyme and peppercorns and toss to coat.
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Stir in the cabbage and cook another 5 to 10 minutes until wilted.
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Add the diced potatoes, Parmesan rind and vegetable stock and bring to a simmer. Cook together until the potatoes are cooked through, another 10 minutes.
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Stir in the cooked beans and adjust seasonings to taste with more sea salt.While the minestrone is cooking make the pesto.
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Add the basil, olive oil, garlic, nuts and half of the lemon juice to a food processor and puree until smooth. Adjust seasonings to taste with sea salt and more lemon juice.
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Ladle the minestrone into bowls and serve with spoonfuls of the pesto on top.
For the Vegan option simply omit the Parmesan rind from the broth, and the grated cheese from the pesto sauce.
Italian Soups:
Italian Vegetable Farro Soup
Easy Carrot Ginger Soup
Tuscan Tomato Soup
Vegetarian Kale Soup
Ooh, this sounds so good! How much potato did you add? I didn’t see it in the ingredient list. Thanks!
Hi Amy, there is about 1.5 cups of diced potato.
This look amazing. I will add this to my soup recipe rotation for the colder months!