L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 28 L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2020 LA BUONA TAVOLA RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES Continued form page 26 Discard the soaking water and replace with fresh water to cover them well. Simmer in a large pot until nearly tender, about an hour. While the beans are simme- ring, trim and cut up all the other vegetables into small dices. When the beans have cooked sufficiently, add the vegetables to the pot and enough water to cover them by a good 3cm/1 inch, along with a drizzle of olive oil, a good pinch of salt, and the Parmesan rind if using. Simmer gently for a good 45 minutes. Take a ladleful or two of the soup and purée it in a blender. Add back to the pot, along with the pasta and, if things look too thick or dry, more water. Simmer for another 8-10 minutes, mixing from time to time to avoid scor- ching or sticking, until the pasta is done. Let the soup rest for a few minutes, then mix in the pesto before serving. Notes on Minestrone alla Genovese In a minestrone alla Genovese, there is a strong emphasis on the green vegetables you typically find locally in Liguria. Green beans, for exam- ple, which you'll often find pai- red with potatoes in trenette col pesto. Then there's the zucchini, Swiss chard and Savoy cabbage. But do feel free to vary your vegetables according to the sea- son and what you have on hand. I used pumpkin since they've just come into season, and you might want to replace the beans with peas in the spring, for example, or leave out the eggplant in the winter. And, as usual, precise measu- rements are not all that important. Don't hesitate to throw in those extra few green beans you've found at the back of your produce bin. In fact, you could think of minestrone alla Genovese—any sort of minestrone, really—as the kind of dish Italians call svuota- frigo, or "clear out the fridge." But along with your creativity and frugality, do use your com- mon sense. Try to balance the fla- vors, and avoid strongly flavored veg like peppers that would overwhelm the others. The Parmesan rind is optio- nal but it adds a lovely extra layer of flavor. Omit it if you are eating vegan, of course. Some recipes call for broth, but the soup has plenty of savor without it. The beans They say that for a truly authentic minestrone alla Genovese you should use grixi and belin beans, heritage varietals native to Liguria. These days, most recipes call for borlotti, the beautiful coral colored beans. If you can't find borlotti, which can be a bit elusive in some markets, cannellini or another mildly flavored bean will do fine. And if you want to save time and trouble, you can actual- ly used canned beans as well, which you could add about halfway through the simmering time. Canned beans are a great con- venience and, truth be told, in soups and stews the difference between canned and dried beans is actually pretty subtle. In this recipe, though, you'll lose the good flavor from the beans' sim- mering liquid, which adds migh- tily to its depth of flavor. On the other hand, if you can land your- self some fresh borlotti beans, sometime available in the early summer, just shell them and add them to the pot along with all the other vegetables. The pasta Factory-made pasta shapes can be roughly divided into three categories. First, long pastas like spaghetti or linguine. Second come short pastas like penne or rigatoni. And finally soup pastas, usually very small, like the tubular ditalini or the tiny acini di pepe (aka "pepper- corns"). It's this third category of pasta you want for your minestro- ne alla Genovese. Indeed, you want to use it for soups in gene- ral, as the name implies. Its small shape makes it eatable with a soup spoon. Indeed, soup pastas are some- times called "spoon pastas." Rice can also be substituted for the pasta if you like it better. Or you can leave it out altogether if you'- re avoiding carbs or just prefer it that way. Making Ahead Notes Minestrone alla Genovese can also be enjoyed in the warm weather months freddo. Literally, it means cold, but in this case it really just means that the soup has been left to cool until its rea- ched room temperature. In fact, like a lot of soups, minestrone alla Genovese impro- ves after an overnight rest. But in that case it's best to stop before you add the pasta or the pesto. Bring the soup back to a simmer, then finish the soup by adding the pasta (and some more water if needed) and proceed with the recipe from there. If you wind up with leftovers of the finished soup, the next day you'll notice that the pasta will have doubled in size and absor- bed all of the liquid. This will leave you with a very thick stew- like soup. I actually rather like my minestrone that way, but if you don't, just add a bit of water as you gently reheat it. The pasta will be quite soft but the soup will be perfectly enjoyable. 19Q4_ITL_Insertion_L'Italo_Americano_INL_8Wx10H_r01.indd 1 12/24/19 11:04 AM

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