Summer Vegetable Soup with Pesto

As promised, here’s the vegetable soup to go with last week’s Basil Walnut Pesto. It’s healthy yet totally satisfying – perfect for a rainy day or cool summer night. I’ve served it two ways: as a meal unto itself with a warm baguette or as a side to gooey grilled cheese sandwiches.

It’s wonderfully quick and easy to make. Once your vegetables are chopped, the soup is done in 25 minutes. And if you don’t feel like making your own pesto, you can use a good quality store-bought brand (I like the fresh pesto at Whole Foods called  ”Mama’s Pesto”).

Begin by cooking the onions, carrots and celery in olive oil over medium heat until partially cooked, about 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook a few minutes more.

Add the chicken stock, bay leaves and orzo and cook until the orzo is al dente.

At the last minute, add the frozen peas and zucchini – they only take a minute or two to cook.

Finally, ladle the soup into bowls and top with heaping tablespoons of pesto and grated Parmesan. Be generous – without these last two essential ingredients, the soup is bland. Pass more cheese and pesto at the table. Enjoy!

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Summer Vegetable Soup with Pesto
Printable Recipe

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 small onions, chopped
2 carrots, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
2 stalks celery, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
2 tablespoons tomato paste
8 cups low sodium chicken stock, such as Swanson Organic
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
2/3 cup orzo
1 small zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup homemade or good quality store bought pesto (get recipe here)
Hunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano, for grating over soup

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in large soup pot over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and celery and cook, stirring often, until onions are soft and translucent and vegetables are partially cooked, about 10 minutes. Turn heat down to medium-low if onions start to brown. Stir in tomato paste and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes more.

2. Add chicken stock, salt, pepper and bay leaves. Cover and bring to a gentle boil. Add orzo, then turn heat down to medium-low and simmer for 8 minutes. Add zucchini and frozen peas. Adjust heat to bring back to simmer and cook until orzo is cooked and all vegetables are tender-crisp, about 2 minutes more. Remove the bay leaves and taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. (Remember, it will taste bland without the pesto and Parmigiano-Reggiano.)

3. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish each with a heaping tablespoon of pesto and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Pass more pesto and cheese at the table.