THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2020
www.italoamericano.org
26
L'Italo-Americano
LA BUONA TAVOLA
RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES
FRANK FARIELLO
W
e've taken on
m i n e s t r o n e
before, with a
base recipe
that you can
use to make just about any varia-
tion you want. But minestrone
alla Genovese, Genoa-style mine-
strone, is different enough it real-
ly does merit its own post.
There's no soffritto to create a
flavor base, no preliminary roso-
latura of the vegetables. You just
simmer beans and then all the rest
of the vegetables in water, with a
pinch of salt and a drizzle of olive
oil. And perhaps a Parmesan rind
if you have one on hand. From
the recipe you might think this
soup would be utterly boring, but
in fact it's quite delicious. It gets
its flavor from the vegetables
themselves, enhanced by—what
else, this being Liguria—a final
enrichment of pesto alla
Genovese
Ingredients
200 g (1 cup) dried beans, pre-
ferably borlotti
1 medium leek
1 carrot
1 stalk of celery
150g (5 oz) green beans
1 medium zucchini
1/4 small head of green cabba-
ge, preferably of the Savoy
variety
100g (3-1/2 oz) Swiss chard
leaves (or spinach)
1-2 small potatoes
1/4 small pumpkin (about
250g/8 oz), skinned and seeded
1 small eggplant
1 piece of Parmesan rind
(optional)
200g (7 oz) ditalini or other
soup pasta (see Notes)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
For the final touch:
One pot of fresh pesto alla
Genovese
Directions
Let the beans soak overnight.
Minestrone alla Genovese has the peculiarity of being served with pesto (Copyright: Dreamstime)
Minestrone alla Genovese
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