Spring Vegetable Minestrone with White Beans & Pesto

After a tease of summer-like weather last weekend, we've been making up for it all week here with rain, rain, and more rain.  Just in time for the long weekend!

For us Canadians, this May long weekend is sort of the unofficial kickoff to summer, but almost invariably ends up being cold and rainy.  So while soup isn't the type of recipe you would normally kick off a late May long weekend with, it's pretty appropriate for this wet and rainy spring weather we've been experiencing!

This is not a traditional minestrone soup, using asparagus and yellow peppers for some bright spring flavour along with the tomatoes, white beans for protein, no pasta, and with pesto and parmesan added in at the end for a boost of richness and flavour.

I realize now that my pictures don't really do this soup justice with the way I slightly overcooked my asparagus and then pretty much covered the whole bowl in pesto, but I do love pesto!  This was the perfect type of comfort spring food that's needed this time of year as we patiently wait for summer to kick in for good - hopefully not that long now!

Spring Vegetable Minestrone Soup with White Beans and Pesto

Adapted from Food & Drink Magazine

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 small yellow onions, peeled and diced

2 cups finely chopped yellow bell peppers, (about 1-1/2 peppers; red or orange would also work)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 cup halved grape tomatoes

1 (540mL) can cannellini or white kidney beans, rinsed and drained

6 cups vegetable broth (I use low-sodium broth)

1-1/2 cups chopped asparagus (half inch pieces; woody ends of asparagus removed)

Salt and pepper

For Topping:

~1 tablespoon prepared pesto per serving

Grated parmesan cheese

Chopped fresh basil, parsley, or green onion (optional)

Directions:

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.  Add onions and peppers and sauté for another 10 minutes, stirring often.

Add tomato paste and sauté for 30 seconds, stirring often.  Add grape tomatoes and sauté for another minute.  Add white beans and vegetable stock, bring to a boil, cover, and let simmer 10 minutes.  Add asparagus and simmer for another 5-10 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender (I did 10 minutes and my asparagus was a little overdone).  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Divide among bowls and serve warm, topped with pesto, parmesan cheese, and herbs, if desired.  Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.

California Omelette

There were two dishes I ate during my trip to Boston last March that I was determined to try for myself once I returned home.  One was fish tacos, which I seemed to get a version of at every restaurant I went to because they were all so good, and the other was a California omelette that I treated myself to for breakfast at Sauciety in our hotel on the last morning.

When I looked up California omelette recipes later, it seemed that there are about a million different versions of them, but the one ingredient that appears to be common to them all is avocado.  The version I'd tried also included pesto, tomatoes, and mozzarella, and since I loved the combination of those four ingredients so much, I decided to just stick with them and create my own version off memory.

And I wouldn’t have wanted this any other way – it is so good!  I loved it when I had it in the restaurant but I think I loved it even more at home, where I could control the proportions of ingredients to my own liking (and of course, if you make this yourself at home you should do the same, taking the amounts I listed as a guide).

I've never been able to get the whole omelette technique down pat, and as you can tell from the pictures, my omelette certainly isn’t the prettiest thing in the world, but the flavour more than made up for it! 

With Mother’s Day coming up this weekend, I think this would be a great savoury brunch offering to serve her!  We are still menu planning for our own mom’s special meals – we’re still figuring out dinner and dessert, but for brunch we’re going towards the sweet side and are leaning towards either banana blueberry pancakes or this strawberry rhubarb baked French toast.  If you're also searching for menu ideas for Mother’s Day, you can check out what we made for our mom last year in this post. 

I hope all the moms out there have a fantastic Mother’s Day!

California Omelette (with mozzarella, pesto, tomatoes, and avocado)

Serves 1

Ingredients:

2 large eggs (fresh, good quality eggs are better)

1-2 tablespoons water (optional)

Salt & pepper

1 teaspoon butter or olive oil

A few slices of mozzarella cheese (about 1 oz)

2 slices of tomato

Half a ripe avocado, sliced

1-2 tablespoons pesto

Chopped parsley or herbs for sprinkling on top, if desired

Directions:

In a small bowl, beat the eggs, water (if using; I think it makes them fluffier but some prefer to leave out any liquid), and a pinch each of salt and pepper until mixed.

Heat butter or olive oil in an 8- or 9-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Pour in the egg mixture.  Let sit for a few seconds until edges of omelette begin to set, then use a flexible heat-proof spatula to gently stir the eggs in a circular motion until thickened.  Gently push any cooked portions of egg toward the center of the skillet and tilt the skillet to allow uncooked egg to flow into empty spaces. 

When eggs are almost set on surface, layer the mozzarella, tomato, avocado, and pesto over half the omelette.  Gently fold the other half over the filling, and slide the omelette out onto a plate.  Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley or herbs and an additional drizzle of pesto, if desired.