Andy's almost vegetarian minestrone

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 2 onions
• 3 garlic cloves
• 4 m.-sized carrot(s)
• 1 small fennel
• 1 m.-large zucchini
• 1 stalk(s) Celery
• 3 tomatoes
• 1 ½ liters vegetable broth, hot
• Tomato paste
• 2 anchovy fillets (vegetarians can substitute vegetarian seasoning)
• 2 tsp pesto
• ½ bunch basil, fresh
• ½ lemon(s), juice
• white wine, dry
• Olive oil, good
• Salt and pepper from the mill

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 25 minutes; Total time approx. 40 minutes

close to the original recipe of an Italian friend

Peel the garlic cloves and onions, roughly chop the garlic, halve the onions and fennel, and slice them thickly. Slice 3 of the 4 carrots and cut the fourth into sticks. Prepare the vegetable stock and set aside. Heat the oil in a sufficiently large pot and sauté the onions, garlic, carrot slices, and fennel one after the other until they have taken on a light brown color. If you like, you can slice the celery and sauté it with the onions. Add 3 strips of tomato paste (approx. 5 cm long) and sauté them too. Then deglaze with the white wine and add the hot stock. Reduce the heat to medium. Meanwhile, heat a little olive oil in a pan and fry the sliced ​​zucchini until well browned. Add the sautéed zucchini to the other vegetables and the stock in the large pot. Finely chop the anchovy fillets and add them to the pot along with the pesto, lemon juice, and large chunks of tomatoes. Remove the stems from the tomatoes, of course; if you like, you can also scrape out the insides with a spoon. Season generously with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat again (to the lowest setting) and simmer for about 15 minutes. Season the minestrone again with salt and tomato paste, if desired, and add the finely chopped basil and a generous splash of olive oil. Let it stand for about 5 minutes to allow the basil’s essential oils to permeate the minestrone. You can add other fresh herbs and potatoes, if desired. Everyone should experiment according to their taste. A full-bodied red wine, such as Salice Salentino, definitely goes well with this dish.