Miso Pesto Minestrone Soup (Vegan "Soupe au Pistou")

close up of bowl of miso herb minestrone, a vegan version of "soupe au pistou".

Miso Pesto Minestrone Soup (Vegan "Soupe au Pistou")

Classic minestrone soup is infused with umami from miso herb pesto. This modern addition is reminiscent of "soupe au pistou" where traditional pesto is stirred into a vegetable soup in the Provence region of France. The short cut pasta is kept separate until serving, to maintain the brothiness of the soup.

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Cook Pasta15

Course: dinner, Soup

Cuisine: European-inspired

Keyword: minestrone, miso herb minestrone, miso minestrone, modern miso herb minestrone, vegan soupe au pistou

Servings:

Calories: 440kcal

Author: Kathy Marshall

Ingredients

Miso Herb Pesto Ingredients

2 cups mixed fresh herbs, chopped parsley, basil, thyme, sage (see notes)
1/4 cup raw walnuts, roughly chopped can sub pine nuts
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 small garlic cloves
2 tbsp white miso this is the milder type of miso
1/4 cup olive oil

Vegetables for Soup

1 leek large or 2 if small, sub any medium onion or bunch scallions
2 carrots medium
6 shiitake mushrooms, medium more if smaller, or only 4 if they are quite big.
2 cups kale I used a couple leaves each of lacinato and a curly edged kale
1 zucchini, medium
1 summer squash, medium
1 sweet pepper, medium any color, I used purple!
1 handful fresh parsley
1 handful fresh thyme sprigs on or off stems
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, optional for garnish, including squirt of juice as garnish

Pantry Ingredients

8 oz short cut pasta uncooked, I used rigatti
14.5 oz diced tomatoes I used Marzano flavored with basil & garlic
15 oz great northern beans, canned sub cannelini or other small white bean
2 cups vegetable broth I use half strength for a sodium level around 330mg per cup. see notes

Instructions

Make Miso Herb Pesto - 5 min

Place the 2 cups mixed fresh herbs, chopped, 1/4 cup raw walnuts, roughly chopped and 2 small garlic cloves in a food processor and blend until everything is finely ground.
Add in the 2 tbsp white miso and 1/2 lemon, juiced and continue to blend into a paste consistency.
Gradually add in the 1/4 cup olive oil with the processor running, and run the processor for a minute or so, to get a smooth, green consistency. See notes.
Use right away, or refrigerate covered for a week or more, to use as you like. The flavor only gets better. See separate recipe post for additional tips and suggestions for using, other than this recipe.

Cook Pasta - 15 min

Cook pasta according to directions, then drain and rinse under cool water to remove excess starch. Keep aside until serving soup. See notes.

Make soup - 15 min prep/chop, 20 min cook

Saute chopped 1 leek large, 2 carrots medium and 6 shiitake mushrooms, medium in 1/4 cup olive oil for 5 minutes to soften.
Add chopped 1 handful fresh parsley and 1 handful fresh thyme sprigs and saute another 5 minutes to allow herbs to start infusing veggies with flavor.
Add rest of veggies, chopped: 1 zucchini, medium, 1 summer squash, medium, 2 cups kale, 1 sweet pepper, medium. Saute a few minutes to get the flavors going.
Add the 14.5 oz diced tomatoes , 2 cups vegetable broth, and 15 oz great northern beans, canned (drained and rinsed), 1/3 cup of the miso pesto and cook about 10 minutes. see notes.

Serve

Serve up with desired amount of pasta per serving, a dollop of pesto, a quick grate of lemon rind and squirt of lemon juice.

Notes

Fresh herbs- You can tailor this to your liking. For example, if you do not like sage, which is stronger, you can simply leave it out and increase the others.

Blending- because this "pesto" contains miso, which is a fermented bean paste, you will not achieve a runny consistency like you may have if making homemade pesto. The fiber and substance of the miso is thick and will not allow for a runny consistency. Take note.

Pasta- I keep the pasta separate until serving so that the soup remains brothy. If the pasta is added to the entire pot of soup it will absorb all of the liquid as well as become mushy.

Vegetable broth- because the miso has a higher sodium content, I take care to keep the veggie broth low in sodium.

Adding miso pesto to soup- start with 1/3 cup and see how you like it. You can add more, or start with 1/4 cup if you don't want the flavor as strong.

Nutrition- calculated nutrition is a bit higher than it would be since you will not use all of the miso herb pesto (maybe only half) for this recipe. Limitations of the nutrition calculater in this recipe. You can make half of the amount shown for pesto, but it may be hard to blend thoroughly.

Nutrition