flipCaprera Garden Minestrone with Pesto
Caprera Garden Minestrone with Pesto
Why this dish? Retired on his island of Caprera, off Sardinia, Garibaldi cultivated his own vegetable garden and lived soberly, like a peasant-soldier. This garden vegetable soup bound with a spoonful of pesto is the heart of the Ligurian cuisine of his Niçois childhood, brought back to his island retirement.
A hearty soup of seasonal vegetables, long-simmered, into which a spoonful of basil and olive oil pesto is melted at the last moment. Nourishing, economical, made from whatever the garden yields.
Come, sit, friend, and make no ceremony. On my island, I dig my earth in the morning and in the evening I eat what she gives me: broad beans, zucchini, a bit of cabbage, all in a pot with my bread. When the basil is fine, I pound it in the mortar with the oil, and that green spoon turns a poor man's soup into a king's dish. Believe me, one defends liberty better with a simple, contented belly than at the table of princes.
- •Garden vegetables (zucchini, cabbage, broad beans, fresh beans, potatoes) — a full basket (soup base)
- •Onion and garlic — a few heads (aromatic base)
- •Ligurian olive oil — a good drizzle (fat and binder)
- •Fresh basil — a bunch (pesto)
- •Pine nuts and grated Sardinian cheese (pecorino) — a handful (pesto)
- •Stale bread — a few slices (accompaniment)
Caprera Garden Minestrone with Pesto
A hearty soup of seasonal vegetables, long-simmered, into which a spoonful of basil and olive oil pesto is melted at the last moment. Nourishing, economical, made from whatever the garden yields.
Why this dish? Retired on his island of Caprera, off Sardinia, Garibaldi cultivated his own vegetable garden and lived soberly, like a peasant-soldier. This garden vegetable soup bound with a spoonful of pesto is the heart of the Ligurian cuisine of his Niçois childhood, brought back to his island retirement.
Come, sit, friend, and make no ceremony. On my island, I dig my earth in the morning and in the evening I eat what she gives me: broad beans, zucchini, a bit of cabbage, all in a pot with my bread. When the basil is fine, I pound it in the mortar with the oil, and that green spoon turns a poor man's soup into a king's dish. Believe me, one defends liberty better with a simple, contented belly than at the table of princes.
Ingredients (period version)
- Garden vegetables (zucchini, cabbage, broad beans, fresh beans, potatoes) — a full basket (soup base)
- Onion and garlic — a few heads (aromatic base)
- Ligurian olive oil — a good drizzle (fat and binder)
- Fresh basil — a bunch (pesto)
- Pine nuts and grated Sardinian cheese (pecorino) — a handful (pesto)
- Stale bread — a few slices (accompaniment)
Ingredients
- Zucchini — 2 (vegetable)
- Potatoes — 2 (vegetable / thickener)
- Cooked white beans — 200 g (legume)
- Green cabbage — 1/4 (vegetable)
- Onion + 2 cloves garlic — 1 onion (aromatic)
- Vegetable broth — 1.5 L (liquid)
- Fresh basil — 30 g (pesto)
- Pine nuts — 30 g (pesto)
- Grated pecorino — 40 g (pesto)
- Olive oil — 6 tbsp (pesto + cooking)
Method
- Finely chop onion and garlic, sweat them in olive oil in the bottom of a large pot.
- Add diced vegetables (zucchini, potato, cabbage), cover with broth, and simmer 40 min over low heat.
- Add white beans at the end of cooking so they remain whole.
- Meanwhile, pound (or blend) basil, pine nuts, garlic, pecorino, and olive oil in a mortar to obtain a pesto.
- Off the heat, stir a generous spoonful of pesto into each bowl at serving. Serve with grilled stale bread.
How it was made : In Liguria and the County of Nice, minestrone was the daily dish of modest families: whatever the garden yielded was thrown in, and pesto — basil, garlic, oil, cheese, and pine nuts pounded in a marble mortar — brought fragrance and richness at little cost. On Caprera, Garibaldi lived as a self-sufficient farmer, growing his own vegetables.
The contemporary twist : Serve lukewarm in summer, with a drizzle of new olive oil and a few pecorino shavings: an 'island minestrone' that smells of garden and sea.
Giuseppe Garibaldi · Charactorium
