Borage and Fresh Vegetable Soup with Pesto

La storia di questo piatto

In Liguria the spring garden goes into the pot: borage, wild chard and baby vegetables, then crowned with a Genoese basil pesto. It is a green, homely soup that tastes of terraces, kitchen gardens and the sea breeze nearby.

Ingredienti

• 300 g Fresh borage
• 250 g Wild chard
• 250 g Young green beans
• 300 g New potatoes
• 1 piece White onion
• 1.5 l Vegetable broth
• 100 g Ditalini pasta
• 30 g Fresh Genovese basil
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 40 g Pine nuts
• 40 g Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 10 g Grated Pecorino Fiore Sardo (optional, for the pesto)
• 20 g Parmigiano-Reggiano for finishing
• 3 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil for the soffritto
• 4 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil for the pesto
• 1 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil to finish
• 1 pinch Coarse sea salt for the pesto
• 5 g Fine salt
• 1 pinch Black pepper (optional)

Preparazione

1. Wash the borage and chard in cold water and remove roots and damaged parts. Snap the green beans, discarding the tips.
2. Blanch the borage in salted boiling water for 2 minutes to remove the stinging hairs and soften the herbal flavor, then drain and squeeze it. Cut the borage and chard into strips about 2 cm wide.
3. Leave the new potatoes whole if very small, otherwise peel and cut them into 1.5 cm cubes. Finely chop the white onion.
4. In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons of oil over low heat, add the onion and sweat for 5–6 minutes without letting it brown, until translucent. Pour in the hot broth and bring to a boil.
5. Add the potatoes and simmer gently for 10 minutes, until they begin to yield to a fork.
6. Add the green beans and cook for 8–10 minutes.
7. Add the borage and chard and cook for 10–12 minutes, until tender. If needed, thin with hot water. Season with salt halfway through cooking (about 5 g in total).
8. Add the ditalini and cook for the time indicated on the package (about 8–10 minutes), stirring often and adding a ladle of hot water if the soup thickens too much. Meanwhile, prepare the pesto.
9. For the pesto, in a mortar pound the garlic with a pinch of coarse salt until creamy. Add the basil and pound with a circular motion, then the pine nuts, then 40 g of Parmigiano and, if desired, 10 g of Pecorino. Work in 4 tablespoons of oil in a thin stream until smooth and homogeneous.
10. Turn off the heat and let the soup rest for a minute. Loosen the pesto with a spoonful of cooking water and stir it in off the heat, without boiling. Serve in warm bowls with 1 tablespoon of raw oil drizzled on top and the remaining 20 g of Parmigiano in shavings. Add pepper to taste, if desired.