In Venice you’ll find this soup in nearly every restaurant, and every version is a little bit different. I use two kinds of beans because I like the different textures each contributes: the cannellini are creamy while the garbanzos (chickpeas) have a slightly firmer bite. The final herb sauce brightens and freshens the long-cooked flavors. You can substitute any mild white fish for the snapper, but try to keep the fillets whole as the soup cooks. I always feel if I’ve spent the money for a beautiful piece of fish, I want people to see it, not just find tiny flakes throughout the soup.

　　

Ingredients

4 to 6 servings

　　2 tablespoons olive oil

　　2 leeks (white parts only), thinly sliced (about 1 cup)

　　2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced (about 1 cup)

　　2 zucchini, trimmed and thinly sliced (about 2 cups)

　　1 cup bite-size pieces of green beans

　　1 cup canned garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

　　1 cup canned cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

　　6 cups low-sodium chicken broth

　　4 to 6 (6-ounce) snapper fillets

　　1 teaspoon salt

　　1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

　　

Herb Sauce

2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

　　1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves

　　1 garlic clove

　　1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

　　1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

　　1/2 teaspoon salt

　　1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

　　

For the Fish Minestrone

Step 1

Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the leeks, carrots, zucchini, and green beans. Stir to combine and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the beans and the chicken broth. Cook until the broth is simmering and the beans are warmed through, about 5 minutes. Season the fish fillets with the salt and pepper and add them to the simmering soup. Simmer until the fish is cooked, about 7 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish. Season the soup with salt and pepper.

　　

For the Herb Sauce

Step 2

While the fish cooks, combine the parsley, oregano, garlic, and red wine vinegar in a food processor. Pulse the machine until the herbs are almost a paste. Add the olive oil in a steady stream while the machine is running. Add the salt and pepper.

　　

To serve

Step 3

Ladle the soup into bowls and top each serving with a spoonful of the herb sauce. Serve immediately.

　　Reprinted with permission from Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites by Giada De Laurentiis. Copyright © 2008 by Giada De Laurentiis. Published by Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Giada De Laurentiis is the star of Food Network's Everyday Italian and Behind the Bash. She attended the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and then worked in a variety of Los Angeles restaurants, including Wolfgang Puck's Spago, before starting her own catering and private-chef company, GDL Foods. The granddaughter of movie producer Dino De Laurentiis, Giada was born in Rome and grew up in Los Angeles, where she now lives.