Consistent sizes, when cutting your vegetables will ensure even cooking and help eliminate the possibility of overcooking. It is important to make sure that the denser vegetables are cooked first with the more delicate vegetables needing limited cooking time added close to the end.
Tip 2:
Visually, this recipe is best served the day it is made. If made the day before, cooled and reheated, the look may suffer a little. However, the flavors will have married with each other (and thus enhanced!), and the texture will be a little richer and thicker.
Tip 3:
If any of the vegetable is unavailable or not liked, choose another similar vegetable. Just make sure to take into account the density of the vegetable, and that it is added to the soup at the right stage in the cooking process.
Tip 4:
If you wish to eliminate the pine nuts or the cheese in the Pesto, simply increase the amount of basil leaves and either pine nuts or cheese. It will not be a true Pesto, but will still enhance the soup nonetheless.
Tip 5:
Many Italian cooks would add either beans, peas, noodles, rice or potatoes to even further increase the heartiness. Add them raw at the early stage of the recipe or cooked towards the end.
Tip 6:
This is a wonderful vegetarian recipe, but if you wish to add some meat to have more depth to its flavor, by all means! You might add bacon. lamb, chicken or beef at the onion stage, and replace the water with a stock of the same type.
