Rice Minestrone with Pesto Sauce, or Minestrone di Riso al Pesto: The word pesto derives from pestare -- to step on, grind, or crush -- and therefore can be applied to any sauce made from ground ingredients. However, when people use it without a modifier they generally mean pesto alla genovese, Liguria's signature sauce made with basil, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts, and cheese. It's great over pasta, or testaroli, but also works very well in other dishes. To serve 4:
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Ingredients:
- 1 cup (200 g) rice (use medium-grained if possible, and avoid parboiled)
- 6 ounces (150 g) freshly shelled borlotti (cranberry beans in English)
- 12 ounces (300 g) mixed greens (e.g. spinach, beet greens, cabbage)
- 2 potatoes
- 1 leek
- 2 medium carrots
- 1 rib celery
- 1/2 a medium onion
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 quarts (2 liters) boiling water
- 2 tablespoons pesto sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Freshly grated Parmigiano
Preparation:
Peel and dice the potatoes. Peel and slice the carrots, and coarsely chop the mixed greens and the green part of the leek. Mince the celery, onion, and white part of the leek and sauté them until the onion is translucent and wilted in the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of water. Add the remaining chopped and diced vegetables, and cook, stirring, for a minute or two. Add the beans, season the mixture with salt and pepper, carefully add the boiling water, and simmer the soup for an hour and a half.
At this point stir in the rice, which will cook in 15 minutes, and remove a ladle of the broth to a bowl. Stir the pesto sauce into the broth, and when the rice is done stir the pesto sauce mixture into the soup. Simmer for a minute more and it's done; serve it either hot or warm, with grated Parmigiano for those who want it.
Yield: 4 servings minestrone with rice and pesto sauce.
At this point stir in the rice, which will cook in 15 minutes, and remove a ladle of the broth to a bowl. Stir the pesto sauce into the broth, and when the rice is done stir the pesto sauce mixture into the soup. Simmer for a minute more and it's done; serve it either hot or warm, with grated Parmigiano for those who want it.
Yield: 4 servings minestrone with rice and pesto sauce.
