The Times Magazine - UK (2022-01-15)

The Times Magazine 35

ROOT VEGETABLE

MINESTRONE WITH PESTO

Serves 4

We serve a rendition of this at
our wine bar the Old Pharmacy,
where we use whatever veg we
have. A fresh pesto, made with a
mix of herbs, adds brightness to
this otherwise rather earthy soup.

• Olive oil


• 2 onions, diced


• 2 carrots, diced


• 2 sticks celery, diced


• Half a celeriac, diced


• Half a swede, diced


• Salt


• 1 litre vegetable stock


• 200g ditalini pasta (or similar)

For the pesto

• 2 garlic cloves


• Pinch of sea salt


• 25g whole blanched almonds,
  lightly toasted


• 1 small bunch basil, stems
  removed and roughly chopped


• 1 small bunch parsley, stems
  removed and roughly chopped


• 25g parmesan, finely grated


• Juice of half a lemon


• 125ml olive oil

1. Add a healthy amount of olive
   oil to a large pan, along with the
   onions, carrots and celery. Sweat
   them gently for five minutes
   without allowing them to colour.


2. Add the celeriac and swede
   and season the vegetables with
   a small amount of salt, cooking
   everything together for a few
   minutes, before adding your
   stock and the pasta. Bring to a
   boil and simmer the vegetables
   for around 20 minutes, in which
   time the vegetables will soften
   and the starch from the pasta
   will add body to the stock.


3. As the soup cooks, prepare the
   pesto. In a pestle and mortar (or
   food processor on pulse), pound
   the garlic with the sea salt until
   a smooth paste forms. Add the
   almonds and crush, then the
   herbs, pounding these until the
   mixture is almost homogeneous.
   Stir in the parmesan.


4. Transfer to a bowl and add the
   lemon juice and olive oil. Season.


5. Serve the minestrone, with
   the pesto in a separate bowl.

Eat!

SOUP