A Soup For Summer, Green Minestrone

Summer produce is finally making an appearance here in Oregon. In addition to the weekly farmer's market, there are small stands with freshly picked cherries and other stone fruits along the coastal highway. Together with the fruits, there are bins full of zucchini, broccoli, cabbage, green beans and other assorted greens, jars of jam and loaves of zucchini bread ready for you to take home.

My own garden is starting to take hold and I currently have enough lettuce to feed a small army. The chard and the green onions are growing like mad but my kale and broccoli have been hijacked by a little shrew, (there really is such a thing, honest). And my herbs, the mainstay of any garden are gracing just about every meal I prepare.

The recipe today has been adapted from the June, Bon Appetit magazine. It is chock full of farm stand and garden veggies and topped with a spoonful of pesto, thin slices of red onion and shaved Parmesan cheese. Enjoy with a slice of fresh baked bread.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 green onions (thinly sliced)
1/2 bunch chard (thinly sliced)
1/2 yellow onion (chopped)
2 stalks celery (thinly sliced)
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 carrots (sliced lengthwise and then cut again)
1 medium zucchini (chopped small)
4-6 small green zebra tomatoes (sliced in half)
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
1/2 cup ditalini (pasta)
2 red small onions (thinly sliced)
Parmesan cheese (thinly shaved)

For pesto:

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small shallot (minced)
1 1/2 cups flat-leaf parsley (lightly packed)
1 small shallot (minced)

To prepare:

Heat olive oil in a heavy soup pot and add green onion, chard, onion and celery, stirring occasionally, until softened about 5 minutes or so. Add broth, bring to a boil and then simmer gently 10 to 15 minutes. Add carrots, zucchini and tomatoes, simmer another 5 minutes until vegetables are just tender.

In the meantime, start a medium pan with boiling water to cook pasta, cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain and add to soup pot. Add peas. Taste, then season with salt and pepper (I did not add much seasoning as the pesto and Parmesan cheese gave this soup a lot of flavor). Remove from heat, cover with lid, set aside.

Quickly put the pesto together, in a food processor; add parsley and olive oil, process until you have a coarse paste, add shallot, season with salt and pepper.

Serve soup topped with pesto, red onion slices and Parmesan.