Green Minestrone with Spring Onion & Parsley Pesto – Recipe!

Spring soups are such a nice thing to enjoy on cooler evenings because they’re loaded with green vegetables that make you feel good all over.  Traditionally minestrone is a reddish hue, but during the brighter months of the year, it’s fun to take that same vegetable based recipe, and turn it green.  Sweet peas, edamame, spring onions and fresh spinach are abundant during this season, and it’s time to take advantage of their clean flavors and create something wonderfully warm to eat.

Minestrone begins with onions and celery, and with the addition of a few green friends, it creates an entirely different soup.  White beans round out the unicolor vegetables, and instead of pasta, I kept it pretty clean and added spinach instead.  Pesto can be made with any type of herbs, and I found spring onions and parsley to be the perfect pairing for this Green Minestrone.  The pesto is used in three ways in this recipe.  It can be stirred into the soup to add depth of flavor and to give it a slightly thicker consistency, plus it’s also fun to dollop on the top of each bowl for an amazing finish.

This recipe is easily made within 30 minutes, and the leftovers are great for lunch.  It reheats beautifully in the microwave and can be packed up and toted along to any daytime function in a thermos to enjoy.  Oh happy springtime.

Ingredients

1 white onion, diced

2 stalks celery, sliced

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen peas

1 cup shelled edamame, fresh or frozen

1 quart vegetable or chicken stock

14 ounce canned white beans, drained and rinsed

3 cups baby spinach leaves

Parmesan cheese for topping

2 scallions, sliced for topping

olive oil

salt & pepper

Pesto

6 scallions, ends trimmed

1 cup fresh parsley including stems

1/4 cup hulled pumpkin seeds (pepitas), or slivered almonds

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

pinch of salt & pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

(Serves 4)

To Prepare:

1. In a large saucepan, add 2 teaspoons olive oil and place over medium heat.  Add onion and celery and stir.  Sauté for 4 minutes until vegetables are translucent.  Add peas and edamame, cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Pour in broth and stir.  Cook until almost boiling and add beans and spinach leaves, stir.  Turn heat to simmer and place lid a jar over top.
3. While soup is simmering make pesto.  Place spring onions and parsley in food processor, pulse until coarsely chopped.  Add pumpkin seeds, parmesan, salt & pepper and pulse again for 30 seconds.  While processor is running, drizzle in olive oil until mixture just begins to come together.  Remove and place in a bowl for serving.
4. Spoon 1/4 cup of pesto into soup and stir.  Ladle soup into bowls and top with additional Parmesan cheese and scallions.  Serve pesto with soup to dollop on top.  Enjoy!