Barley Minestrone With Pesto
Top this soup with a dollop of our homemade pesto, which you can make in a mini food processor or blender. In a hurry? Store-bought pesto makes an excellent stand-in—although it’s not as light as our version.
Ingredients
6 Main-Dish Servings
minestrone
- 1 cup pearl barley
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups thinly sliced green cabbage about ¼ small head
- 2 large carrots peeled, each cut lengthwise in half, then crosswise into ½-inch-thick slices
- 2 large stalks celery cut into ½-inch dice
- 1 onion cut into ½-inch dice
- 1 garlic clove finely chopped
- 3 cups water
- 2 cans 14½ ounces each vegetable broth
- 1 can 14½ ounces diced tomatoes
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 medium zucchini 8 ounces, cut into ½-inch dice
- 4 ounces green beans trimmed and cut into ½-inch pieces (1 cup)
light pesto
- 1 cup firmly packed fresh basil leaves
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons water
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup freshly grated pecorino-romano cheese
- 1 garlic clove finely chopped
Instructions
- Heat 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat until hot.
- Add barley and cook until toasted and fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Transfer barley to small bowl; set aside.
- Add oil to same Dutch oven.
- When hot, add cabbage, carrots, celery, and onion; cook until tender and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds.
- Stir in barley, water, broth, tomatoes with their juice, and salt.
- Cover and heat to boiling over high heat.
- Turn heat to low and simmer 25 minutes.
- Stir zucchini and beans into pot; increase heat to medium, cover, and cook until vegetables are barely tender, 10 to 15 minutes longer.
- Meanwhile, prepare pesto: In blender container with narrow base or in mini food processor, combine basil, oil, water, and salt; cover and blend until mixture is pureed.
- Transfer pesto to small bowl; stir in Romano and garlic.
- Makes about ½ cup pesto.
- Ladle minestrone into large soup bowls.
- Top each serving with a dollop of Light Pesto.