Classic Minestrone Soup vs Soupe au Pistou: Vibrant Provençal Vegetable Soup

Both soups share a garden of vegetables but reach the bowl very differently. The minestrone builds depth slowly: onion, carrot and celery soften into a soffritto, garlic is cooked gently, and tomatoes, cannellini beans and a generous measure of pasta simmer together before spinach and parsley are wilted in, with basil and Parmesan only an optional garnish. Soupe au pistou simmers potatoes, white beans and less pasta, then saves its punch for the end: a raw paste of basil, garlic, Parmesan and olive oil stirred in off the heat, giving a bright, pungent herbal finish against the minestrone's mellower warmth.