| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 7 hr 25 min |
| Active: | 25 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 leeks (white and light green parts), halved lengthwise, sliced and rinsed
- 2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 bulb fennel, trimmed, cored and chopped, plus chopped fronds for topping
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 15-ounce can petite diced tomatoes
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus 1 small parmesan rind
- 3 tablespoons pesto, plus more for topping
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup ditalini pasta
- 4 slices rosemary focaccia bread
Instructions
- Toss the carrots, leeks, potatoes and fennel with the olive oil in a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker. Add 5 cups water, the tomatoes, parmesan rind, 2 tablespoons pesto, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cover and cook on high until the vegetables are tender, 7 to 8 hours.
- Uncover and stir in the beans and ditalini. Cover and continue cooking on high until the pasta is al dente, about 15 minutes. Remove the parmesan rind. Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon pesto and season with salt and pepper. Top each serving with more pesto, the parmesan and fennel fronds. Serve with the focaccia.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 610 |
| Total Fat | 17 grams |
| Saturated Fat | 3 grams |
| Cholesterol | 4 milligrams |
| Sodium | 1186 milligrams |
| Carbohydrates | 97 grams |
| Dietary Fiber | 13 grams |
| Protein | 20 grams |
| Sugar | 11 grams |
Reviews
This is a truly delicious recipe, one of those where you say “did I make this”? My seventeen year-old declared it not just good, but Very Good, and promptly had a second serving. Two notes: this recipe yields much more than four servings, and, the ditalini and kidney beans can be cooked separately and added in per personal preference at serving time.
This is a terrific soup that my family loves. Often we have leftover vegetables from this soup so I save them to make a quick version with the leftovers by just adding vegetable stock.
Good – the pesto is really the only ingredient that adds flavor… it also makes the soup pretty oily. Had to substitute celery for fennel because my store didn’t have any fennel. I also made this in my Instant Pot set to high pressure for 30 minutes instead of slow cooking. Great results.