Red Winter Minestrone with Winter Greens Pesto

The thing I like most about this soup is the pesto made from the greens of the beets and turnips, along with the kale. Yep, I'm going tip-to-tail. The soup itself gets its lovely red color from beets. You'll have more pesto than you need for the soup, so serve the leftovers over pasta or freeze for future soups. Serve the minestrone with crusty bread and a salad.

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 45 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins
• Calories: 916 Calories

Ingredients

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 5 cups water
• 1 white onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and sliced
• ½ pound turnips, peeled and cubed
• ⅔ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 bunch kale
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 bunch beet greens
• ¼ cup chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
• 1 bunch turnip greens
• 1 ounce Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
• 2 Roma (plum) tomatoes, peeled and grated
• 1 pinch dried chili flakes
• ½ pound beets, peeled and cubed
• 2 cups cooked cannellini beans
• ½ cup green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
• ½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste (Optional)

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare a bowl of ice water. Strip beet greens, turnip greens, and kale from their coarse stems and wash leaves well. Working in batches, cook each bunch in boiling water until bright green and slightly limp, about 1 minute. Transfer immediately to ice water and repeat with remaining greens. Discard cooking water.

Step 2

Remove greens from ice water and squeeze out as much water as possible.

Step 3

Combine greens, 2/3 cup olive oil, 2 cloves garlic, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt in blender or food processor; blend until smooth. Transfer pesto to a bowl and cover surface with plastic wrap.

Step 4

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Stir in onion, grated tomato, 4 cloves minced garlic, rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, bay leaf, and chili flakes. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes; reduce heat to low. Continue cooking and stirring until vegetables are a deep golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes.

Step 5

Pour remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over onion mixture. Stir in leek, carrot, turnips, and beets. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

Step 6

Pour white wine over vegetable mixture and scrape browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Mix cannellini beans and green beans into vegetable mixture; pour in 5 cups water. Bring liquid to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until green beans are tender, about 5 minutes more. Stir in parsley and lemon juice.

Step 7

Divide soup among heated bowls and serve with a generous dollop of the winter greens pesto.