Name: Minestrone Primavera (Spring Minestrone)
Yield: 8–10 people
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: salt and pepper; 300 g ditali Pesto; 500 g cooked cannellini beans (tinned will do); good olive oil; 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced; 2 medium carrots, peeled; 1 large onion, peeled; 6 courgettes, topped and tailed; 2 celery sticks, strings removed; 1 kg peas in pod, podded (100 g frozen); 1 kg broad beans in pod, podded (100 g frozen); 1 small head broccoli; 4 plum tomatoes, skinned and diced; 12 medium asparagus stalks, peeled

Preparation info

8–10
people

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Alastair Little's Italian Kitchen

By Alastair Little

Published 1996

About

This is an absolutely classic minestrone using seasonal vegetables, a pulse (in this case cannellini beans), a pasta (ditali) and finished with pesto. The method and sequence of cooking are fundamental: follow them step by step and the dish works. You can substitute different vegetables in different seasons. The pesto is not an authentic touch; it comes from the Nice region of France, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Savoy.