Sometimes you think that it may be too hot for soup, but it’s never too hot for this Summer, fresh Minestrone Verde.
I’ve included steps to prepare a herbed basil pesto too, which I use for garnishing this soup, but you can also use for other recipes, if you wish.
This soup has an array of green vegetables with flavors from sautéed leeks, zucchini, baby spinach and peas, all in a chicken broth soup with some tortellini pasta to complete the bowl. This recipe is by far my personal favorite soup!
To make Minestrone Verde, you will need the following ingredients:
Place the basil, cheese, pine nuts, and garlic in a food processor and blend until finely chopped. Add 1½ tablespoons olive oil and pulse again, scraping the excess bits off the side, until very fine and well combined. Set aside.
In a medium Dutch oven or saucepan, over medium heat, heat 1½ tablespoons olive oil. Add the leeks and cook for about 6 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking, until soft.
Add the zucchini and cook for another 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft but not over-browned.
Add the chicken stock and increase the heat to a medium-high, bringing the pot to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a medium-low and allow to simmer for about 8 minutes.
In a separate pot of plain boiling water (no oil or salt), cook the tortellini pasta for 3 minutes less than the package instructions. Once cooked, drain the water from the pasta.
Add the cooked tortellini, spinach and peas to the pot of soup and cook for about 1 minutes, until the spinach has wilted.
Stir in the lemon juice and salt for seasoning.
For serving, portion the soup evenly between 4 soup bowls and top each with the basil pesto and some ground black pepper. Enjoy!
This Minestrone Verde recipe creates more than just a soup. It’s a full meal in one bowl. Packed with goodness from the assortment of green vegetables and filling your appetite with tortellini pasta, this soup is a must try! Share your Italian soup bowl pictures with us and tag #cookmerecipes in your own posts on instagram and other social media sites!
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