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Minestrone genovese

Serves 4

1 hour 45 mins to cook

Easy

Create Neil Perry and Richard Purdue’s hearty Minestrone Genovese with this simple recipe.

Ingredients

100ml fruity olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 sticks celery, diced
1 medium leek, diced
1.5 litres water
400g tin borlotti beans, rinsed and drained
3 bunches of leafy winter greens (eg, cavolo nero, silverbeet, chicory or cime di rapa), picked, washed and sliced into 1cm strips
2 pieces parmesan rind, each about the size of your thumb
100g short pasta, risoni or ditalini are ideal
Sea salt and pepper

Pesto:

1 clove garlic
1 tbsp pine nuts
Sea salt
1 bunch basil, leaves picked
100ml fruity olive oil
2 tbsp finely grated parmesan

Method

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat for a minute, then add onion, carrot, celery and leek.

Cook about 10 minutes to soften vegetables, but do not let them colour.

Add water and beans; bring to a simmer.

Add shredded greens and stir until wilted. Add Parmesan rinds and simmer slowly for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, make pesto: Preferably in a mortar and pestle, otherwise a food processor, make a puree by pounding together the garlic, pine nuts and a pinch of sea salt. Add basil to form a paste, then fold in olive oil and parmesan. Season to taste.

After soup has cooked for 1 hour, add pasta and cook a further 15 minutes. Season well with salt and pepper. If soup is very thick, add a glass of hot water.

Divide among 4 bowls and stir a tablespoon of pesto through each.

Serve immediately.

Notes

Recipes by Neil Perry, Qantas Creative Director - Food, Beverage & Service and Richard Purdue of Rosetta Sydney. Photography by Brent Winstone and styling by Vivien Walsh.