Spring green vegetables, Grana Padano and basil soup

Soup.
Slice the baby leeks and place them into a deep saucepan with the olive oil. Scrape the surface of the cheese rinds and add it to the pan. Fry for a minute the start adding the diced potatoes and fry until starting to stick to the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and add ice cubes just enough to cover the vegetables. Bring to the boil and add the green beans and asparagus, add more ice cubes and bring again to the boil. At this point add the courgettes, peas and broad beans. Cook for few minutes and adjust with salt if needed.

Pesto.
In the meantime, blanch the basil leaves for 20 seconds in boiling water then cool them down in iced water. Drain well and transfer into a blender, add in the rest of the ingredients and blitz until all combined but not too creamy and refined. Adjust with salt if necessary.

Garnish.
Cook the quail eggs in boiling water for 2 minutes and 15 seconds and immediately cool them down in iced water. Then peel and halve them.

Reheat the soup and when boiling remove from the heat, add the baby spinach and the pesto.

Transfer into serving dishes, add a quail egg in each and complete with freshly grated Grana Padano.