Minestrone with basil pesto

A twist on a classic: spring minestrone with pesto from Liguria

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RECIPES  FAMIGLIA RUFFONI  MAIN COURSES  SOUPS & VELOUTÉS  VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY  WEEKDAY  STOCKPOT 
Minestrone is an Italian staple: used by mammas and nonnas nationwide to sneak lots of healthy vegetables into the diet of picky children, it is also beloved by grownups as a warming and nourishing comfort food.

During a summer trip to the most beautiful Ligurian destination, Cinque Terre (a string of five fishing villages perched on the Italian Riviera which hasrecently been featured as "Portorosso" in thePixar (Disney) delightful animated movie “Luca”), Rita Ruffoni discovered a delicious variation on this Italian classic.

In this regional recipe, the soup features sweet and crunchy vegetables like green beans and summer squash, is served slightly cooler and it’s enriched by a swirl of local basil pesto for an unexpected pop of flavor.

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Meet the author

Famiglia Ruffoni

In the Ruffoni family, cooking is the language of love.
Many of our most cherished memories are linked to cooking and eating together and, even when physically apart, we always discuss old family recipes, share newly discovered ingredients and techniques, and show off our culinary creations through texts and video calls.

In this blog we collect simple, delicious recipes of the Italian heritage, as they have been handed down through generations of Ruffoni, along with more recent additions by our youngest family members.