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Overhead view of a rustic bowl of vegetable minestrone swirled with bright green pesto, steam rising over a linen napkin.

Minestrone alla Genovese: Simmered Soup with Pesto

A Ligurian vegetable and borlotti bean soup simmered slowly, finished off heat with a spoonful of pesto for color and aroma.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Italian (Ligurian)
Calories: 385
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Soffritto & Vegetables
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion medium (150 g); diced
  • 2 stalks celery (100 g); diced
  • 2 carrots medium (150 g); diced
  • 1 Yukon gold potato large (250 g); peeled, diced
  • 1 zucchini medium (200 g); diced
  • 100 g green beans trimmed, cut into 2 cm pieces
  • 150 g savoy cabbage or Swiss chard shredded
Beans, Tomato & Broth
  • 400 g canned borlotti beans drained and rinsed
  • 200 g canned crushed tomatoes
  • 1 piece parmesan rind (about 40 g); optional
  • 1.5 l vegetable stock or water
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt plus more to taste
  • black pepper to taste
Pasta & Pesto Finish
  • 150 g ditalini or other small pasta
  • 5 tbsp pesto alla genovese (about 75 g); homemade or good-quality store-bought
  • grated parmesan for serving

Method
 

Build the Soffritto
  1. Heat olive oil in a 5-quart / 4.7L Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrot with a pinch of salt. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until the vegetables soften and the onion turns translucent.
Simmer the Soup
  1. Add potato, zucchini, green beans, and cabbage. Stir for 2 minutes to coat everything in the oil.
  2. Stir in crushed tomatoes, borlotti beans, parmesan rind, and stock. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 25 minutes, until the potato is tender when pierced with a knife.
  3. Fish out the parmesan rind and discard it, or chop up any soft bits and stir them back in. Taste the broth and season with salt and pepper, keeping in mind the pasta and pesto still need to go in.
Finish with Pesto
  1. Add the pasta directly to the pot. Simmer for 9 to 11 minutes, stirring occasionally so it doesn't stick to the bottom, until al dente.
  2. Take the pot off the heat completely. Let it sit for 2 minutes so it stops bubbling, then stir in 3 tablespoons of the pesto. Adding pesto to a boiling pot dulls its color and turns it bitter within minutes, so this only works off heat.
  3. Ladle the soup into bowls and top each with a small spoonful of the remaining pesto and a scatter of grated parmesan. Serve right away.

Notes

  • Add the pesto off heat only, never while the soup is boiling
  • Fish out the parmesan rind before the pasta goes into the pot
  • Cut vegetables into similar sizes for even cooking
  • Freeze the base without pasta or pesto for best texture later