Pesto Minestrone Soup

This summer delight is a version of minestrone with the flavors of pesto: lots of basil and some nuts, even cheese stirred in at the end. We didn’t sauté the onions and other vegetables first because we wanted a cleaner, brighter flavor. The soup’s actually a bit sour, best on a warm evening (with a G&T—trust us). Calm it down with lots of crunchy bread to sop up every drop.

Cuisine

Modern

Course

Soup

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

15-30 min

Diet

Low Carb

Cooking Technique

Max Pressure Cook, Pressure Cook, Slow Cook

Keywords

15-30 min, 6 servings, contributed, cook 8 min, easy, finely grated parmigiano-reggiano, large round red tomatoes, loosely packed fresh basil leaves, low carb, max pressure cook, medium carrots, medium celery ribs, medium garlic cloves, medium yellow onion, medium zucchini, modern, or gluten-free elbow macaroni, prep 10 min, pressure cook, red pepper flakes, roughly chopped walnuts, slow cook, soup, table salt, vegetable broth, white beans, whole-wheat

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

8 min

Servings

6 servings

Ingredients

6 cups vegetable broth
15 ounces white beans
4 large round red tomatoes
1 medium yellow onion
2 medium carrots
2 medium celery ribs
1 medium zucchini
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts
3 medium garlic cloves
1 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 ounces whole-wheat, or gluten-free elbow macaroni
2 ounces finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Instructions

Mix the broth, beans, tomatoes, onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, basil, walnuts, garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes in the cooker. Stir in the pasta and lock the lid onto the pot.
Optional 1 Max Pressure Cooker
Press Pressure cook on Max pressure for 6 minutes with the Keep Warm setting off.
Optional 2 All Pressure Cookers
Press Soup/Broth or Pressure cook (Manual) on High pressure for 8 minutes with the Keep Warm setting off.
Option 3 Slow Cook
Press Slow Cook option on High for 3 hours with Keep Warm setting off (or on for no more than 2 hours)
If you’ve used a pressure-cooking setting, use the quick-release method to bring the pot’s pressure back to normal.
Unlatch the lid and open the pot. Stir in the cheese, set the lid askew over the pot, and set aside for about 5 minutes to blend the flavors.

Notes

Beyond
• You must half the recipe for a 3-quart cooker.
• Make the soup less sour by adding up to 1 tablespoon granulated white sugar with the vegetables.
• Substitute 1/4 cup pine nuts for the walnuts.
• Substitute 6 ounces spiraled zucchini for the zucchini slices.
• Finish the bowls with a drizzle of fine, aromatic olive oil.

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