Minestrone Soup

I opened up my cook book today and had my mind set on minestrone soup. And to my surprise, they didn't have it. I mean they did but the recipe was just a normal veggie soup then with a dollop of pesto and parm. I was very skeptical about it, so I started looking online for the perfect recipe. Well after a long hour of goopy veggies and pasta and beans (ewe) I finally settled for the first one, yes the one I was so sketchy of. Here is my reason why.  They used potatoes instead of beans, or pasta. I just thought minestrone soup was called that due to the noodles.  Well I decided to give it a shot.
This soup is so good, it goes to show that technique really matters. And each veggie has its own cooking stage, therefore I couldn't just throw them in all together.

Minestrone Soup
Just 411 if you have a food processor chopping up veggies are so much easier.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion minced
2 ribs of celery chopped fine
2 carrots chopped fine
1 tablespoon minced garlic cloves
5 cups of chicken broth
4 small red potatoes, scrubbed and chopped small
1 (14.5 can) diced tomatoes with juice
1 small zucchini cubed
Salt and pepper
Dollop of pesto for each bowl and Parmesan

Heat a large dutch oven to med-high heat and add the oil. Add onion, celery, carrots, and garlic to the pot. Cover and cook at medium low temp for twenty minutes, yes I know that's a long time, but set a timer and stir occasionally, until the veggies are very, very tender.
Stir in the broth, potatoes and tomatoes, and bring to a  simmer (until there are little bubbles present). Then cook the potatoes for 15 minutes. Add in the zucchini for an additional 5 minutes.
Take off heat add salt and pepper according to taste, and serve into bowls with pesto and parm....enjoy