full recipe – minestrone alla genovese (minestrone genovese)
Italy's best-selling cookbook has finally been translated into English.
After almost 100 years since its initial release, Ada Boni's beloved Italian cookbook has been translated into English. Considered a staple in Italian kitchens for generations, The Talisman of Happiness – known as Il Talismano della felicita in Italian – offers a bucketload of recipes on any dish you could dream up. We got our mitts on a minestrone recipe, which you spy (and get cooking up a storm) below.
INGREDIENTS
300g dried white beans
500g cabbage
2 potatoes
2 eggplants
2 zucchini
100g peeled fresh peas
200g green beans
Olive oil
250g short pasta or rice
Salt
Pepper
Pesto
2 cloves garlic
2 handfuls of basil leaves
6 tbsp grated pecorino or Parmesan
A few tablespoons oil
METHOD
Soak the dried beans in cold water for 12 hours with a pinch of bicarbonate of soda. Place in a large pot with two litres of cold salted water and cook, covered, over moderate heat with the pan covered for about two hours.
When the beans have about 30 minutes left, chop the vegetables or cut them into cubes according to their nature and add to the pot with a few tablespoons of oil, salt, and pepper. Cook for another 45 minutes, so that it is neither too abundant nor too thin: The minestrone should be fairly thick.
Adjust the timing for when to add the short pasta or the rice, as they have different cooking times.
Meanwhile, prepare the pesto that is the hallmark of this minestrone. Pound the garlic, basil, and a little salt in a stone mortar. Add the pecorino while grinding and when everything is well blended, loosen with oil and mix with a spoon until you get a cream. (If you want to use a blender, start by putting half a glass of oil in the blender jar and gradually adding the other ingredients.)
Thin the pesto with a little broth from the minestrone. About three minutes before the minestrone is done, gently stir in the pesto. Then remove from the heat and serve.
The Talisman of Happiness by Ada Boni, published by Thames & Hudson Australia, AUD$110.00, out 4 November 2025.