Green vegetable soup, basil pesto

Method

1. Put the extra-virgin olive oil and garlic in a saucepan and simply bring up from cold to medium heat to infuse the garlic nicely without frying it. Add the leek and sweat for a few minutes until tender. Add the zucchini, broccolini and cavolo nero. Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Add the beans, spinach and peas and simmer for 5–10 minutes until tender. Season with salt and pepper then turn off the heat and let the soup rest for 30 minutes to develop the flavours.
2. To make the pesto, bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil and have a bowl of iced water at hand. Plunge the parsley and half the basil into the water and blanch for 30 seconds. Remove the leaves with a slotted spoon and refresh in the iced water. Drain the leaves and squeeze out the extra water. Chop roughly and place in a food processor with the other half of the basil, the garlic and a splash of the extra-virgin olive oil. Purée until smooth then add the pine nuts and parmesan. Pulse briefly so the pesto stays a little chunky. Add the rest of the oil. Add more oil if you think the pesto is too thick. Season with salt and pepper.
3. To serve
   
   Reheat the soup and ladle generously into deep bowls. Spoon in a dollop of pesto, top with a zucchini flower (add at the last minute, if using) and serve with crusty bread.