By Mrs. Podsnap

The word minestrone, from the Italian menestrare, to serve forth, means big soup. Roman Legions supposedly lived on it as it marched to conquer much of the known world. Most probably, its development as a catchall for leftovers and easily available vegetables predates Ancient Rome. Today, it exists in forms Roman soldiers would not recognise, given more the recent addition of New World ingredients such as tomatoes, potatoes, and green peppers.
In Italy, various regions claim to be the home of original big soup. Ligurians insist that they invented it, but it is Tuscan cooks who preserve one of its earliest versions, in which farro is used is used as a thickener. Grano farro, Triticum spelta, spelt, is an ancient type of hard wheat. Mediterranean farmers cultivated it as early as
5, 000 BCE. Present day Americans prefer to thicken minestrone with non-traditional starches, such as tortillas and ramen noodles. My own choice is bun fai, translucent bean noodles from Japan, which retain their shape and which have great visual appeal. For seasoning, I use pesto, rather than the fresh basil favoured by Tuscan cooks. The result is closer to the Provencal, Soupe au Pistou. Nevertheless, it remains faithful to its cucina povera, cuisine of the poor, roots. It is an appropriate choice for chilly evenings when it satisfies the human need for warmth and fortime tested comfort food.

Minestrone au Pistou