Pesto alla Genovese was not invented for pasta. In Liguria, it was the soup condiment: a tablespoon stirred into a bowl of minestrone at the table by each person. The pasta connection came later, and stuck. The soup version is older.
This is a Sunday-afternoon soup, not a weeknight one. Two hours of gentle simmering, almost no effort required during that time, and a pot that feeds eight comfortably. The vegetables are flexible in their specifics. What is not flexible is the pesto at the end, off the heat, never cooked.
The traditional test: the pot is ready when a wooden spoon stands upright in it.
Set servings and units first. You can change them anytime.
Dice all vegetables into uniform 1 cm cubes. Consistent size means everything finishes cooking at the same time.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrot. Sweat for 5-7 minutes until softened.
Add all remaining vegetables (potatoes, zucchini, squash, green beans, spinach, chard, leek) and the garlic clove. Stir and let cook together for 5 minutes.
Add cold water to just cover the vegetables by about 2 cm. If you have a Parmigiano rind, add it now. Do not add salt yet.
Bring to a simmer, then reduce to very low heat. Cover and cook for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally. The pot is ready when a wooden spoon stands upright in it without falling.
Add the drained cannellini beans. Cook uncovered for 30 more minutes.
Remove from heat. Discard the garlic clove and Parmigiano rind if used. Stir in 7 oz of pesto and a drizzle of raw olive oil. Add salt only now, to taste.
Serve with grated Parmigiano passed at the table. This soup is better the next day: reheat gently on low and stir a fresh tablespoon of pesto into each bowl before serving.
You made Minestrone alla Genovese. Time to eat.
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Salt goes in at the very end because the soup reduces considerably over two hours and will over-salt easily if seasoned early. The pesto is equally important off the heat: cooked basil turns bitter and the color muddies. Add the pesto, stir once, serve immediately.
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