Puréed White Bean Soup With Pistou Recipes

SOUPE AU PISTOU

Steps:

• Drain the white beans and combine with 2 quarts water in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Skim off any foam, then add half the onion, half the garlic and the bouquet garni. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes. Add salt to taste.
• Heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet, and add the remaining chopped onion and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Add the leeks and remaining garlic. Stir together for a few minutes, and add the tomatoes. Cook, stirring, until the tomatoes have cooked down slightly and the mixture is fragrant, five to 10 minutes. Stir this mixture into the soup pot, add all of the remaining vegetables except the green beans, and bring back to a simmer. Cover and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes to an hour. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
• While the soup is simmering, blanch the green beans for five minutes in salted boiling water. Transfer to a bowl of ice-cold water. Drain and set aside.
• To make the pistou, mash the garlic with a generous pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle. Remove it and set aside. Grind the basil to a paste in the mortar, a handful at a time, then add the garlic back in and mix together well. Work in the olive oil a tablespoon at a time, then stir in the cheese.
• Add the pasta to the simmering soup about 10 minutes before serving, and cook until cooked al dente. Add pepper, taste and adjust salt. Stir the blanched green beans into the soup and heat through. Serve, adding a spoonful of pesto to each bowl for guests to stir in. Pass additional Parmesan for sprinkling.

FRENCH SOUPE AU PISTOU

Steps:

• In a heavy pot (about 8-quart size), combine green beans, onions, potatoes, tomatoes and stock.
• Bring to a boil, then simmer until beans and potatoes are crisp tender.
• Add the cooked white beans with their cooking water (or liquid from cans) and vermicelli, and simmer until the vermicelli is just tender.
• Combine the basil, cheese, oil and garlic in a blender or processor, and puree.
• Stir this paste into the soup, bit by bit.
• Adjust seasoning if necessary.
• After the sauce has been added, the soup may be warmed, but not boiled.
• Serve with hot or toasted slices of French bread.
• To freeze: Prepare soup up to the point of adding pesto. Cool. Place in a rigid freezer container. Seal. Place pesto in a freezer bag. Seal. Attach to the top of the freezer container with tape. Label and freeze.
• To serve: Thaw in fridge. Reheat soup on stovetop until boiling. Turn down heat and add pesto to taste. Enjoy.
• For Vegetarian use vegetable broth and a vegetarian parmesan cheese.

SOUPE AU PISTOU

Steps:

• Place beans in a small saucepan and cover with a generous amount of water. Bring to a boil and cook, covered, until beans are tender, about 1 hour. Drain and reserve. (To test a bean for doneness, choose a small one. Smaller beans take longer to cook because of their dense centers. The bean should taste creamy, rather than powdery, inside.)
• Make Pesto by pureeing garlic, olive oil, and a few basil leaves in a blender. Gradually add remaining leaves until all are pureed. Transfer to a small bowl, add grated cheese, and stir. Set aside.Cut each vegetable into even 1/2-inch dice and set aside. To avoid discoloration, reserve potatoes in a bowl of cold water.
• Bring chicken stock to a boil in a large stockpot. Add white beans, potatoes, carrot, and onion. Return to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, 15 minutes. Add remaining vegetables and bring back to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook an additional 10 minutes, uncovered. Season to taste. Serve soup with a dollop of pesto in each bowl.

THE MINIMALIST'S SOUPE AU PISTOU

Steps:

• Put beans, onion, carrots, celery and potatoes in a large saucepan with water to cover by at least 2 inches. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 to 60 minutes (dried beans will take longer to cook than fresh), adding a little more water if necessary. When beans are just about tender, add zucchini and tomatoes and simmer for another 20 minutes or so.
• Meanwhile, combine garlic, basil and olive oil in a food processor (or a mortar and pestle) until pasty; use a little more oil if necessary. Season with salt and pepper.
• About 10 minutes before serving, add pasta to soup and cook until tender but not mushy; season again. Serve soup, passing pistou and Parmesan at the table.

PURéED WHITE BEAN SOUP WITH PISTOU

Steps:

• Combine the onion, garlic, drained beans, bay leaf, sage and 2 1/2 quarts water in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven and bring to a boil. Add salt to taste, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 2 hours, until the beans are very tender and the broth is fragrant. Remove the bay leaf and sage sprig.
• Using an immersion blender, purée the soup (or you can use a regular blender, working in batches and placing a kitchen towel over the top to avoid splashing) until it is very smooth. Return to the pot, heat through, add freshly ground pepper and adjust salt. Thin out as desired with water or milk.
• Ladle the soup into bowls. Stir the pistou, and if it is very stiff, thin out with a little olive oil so that you can drizzle it into each bowl and it won't just fall in as a clump. Put about 2 teaspoons on each bowl, add a few garlic croutons if desired, and serve. Diners should stir the pistou into the soup for the best flavor.