Vegetable Soup With Pistou Recipes

SOUPE AU PISTOU (VEGETABLE SOUP WITH PESTO)

Steps:

• Make the pistou: Purée the tomato, basil, parsley and garlic in a food processor. While the machine is running, drizzle in the oil. Add the cheese, and mix well, then transfer to a small bowl.
• Make the soup: In a large, heavy pot over medium heat, add celery, carrot, leek, thyme and olive oil. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the leek is starting to brown, about 10 minutes.
• Add the potatoes and 8 cups water, and bring to a boil, scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes, then stir in remaining vegetables and pasta. Cook uncovered until the pasta is al dente and the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.
• Remove the pot from the heat, and stir in about half the pistou. Taste, and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve with the rest of the pistou on the side, spooning it directly into the soup as needed.

PISTOU SOUP

Steps:

• Bring the vegetable broth and water to a boil in a large pot. Stir in the green beans, zucchini, carrots, and potatoes. Return to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare the pistou by processing the basil leaves, garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, and salt together in a food processor until finely chopped; set aside.
• Stir the kidney beans, white beans, canned diced tomatoes, and spaghetti into the soup and return to a simmer. Cook until the spaghetti is tender, about 10 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the pistou. Sprinkle with Gruyere cheese and Parmesan cheese to serve.

WINTER VEGETABLE SOUPE AU PISTOU

Steps:

• In a large soup pot, combine all of the ingredients except the canned beans, pasta and black pepper and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for an hour. Taste, adjust salt, add pepper to taste, and stir in the canned beans (make sure they've been drained and rinsed).
• While the soup is simmering, make the pistou if you don't already have some in your freezer.
• Add the pasta to the simmering soup about 10 minutes before serving, and cook until al dente. Taste and adjust seasonings. Ladle the soup into bowls and place a dollop of pistou in each bowl, or pass the pistou in a bowl and let people stir in their own. Pass additional Parmesan or Gruyère for sprinkling.

PISTOU VEGETABLE SOUP WITH MUSSELS

Steps:

• For the pistou, make a paste with the basil, garlic and olive oil by pounding with a mortar and pestle or pureeing in a blender. Press plastic wrap directly onto the pistou and refrigerate. (The pistou can be made 1 day ahead). For the beans, place all the ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat slightly and simmer until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and discard the aromatics. Refrigerate the beans. For the mussels, place the olive oil, garlic, shallot and parsley in a large wide pot over medium heat. Cook until the garlic and shallot are softened, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and mussels, cover the pot and raise the heat to high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mussels are opened, about 5 minutes. Strain and reserve the mussel broth. Shell the mussels, discarding any that did not open, Refrigerate. For the vegetables, measure the mussel broth and add fish fumet, if necessary, to make 2 cups. Place in a medium saucepan with with 2 1/2 cups additional fish fumet. Add the carrots, fennel and zucchini and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, skimming off the foam as it rises, until the vegetables are tender, about 12 minutes. (This recipe can be done to this point several hours ahead: refrigerate vegetables and broth.) To serve, stir the tomato and the beans into the vegetables and broth. Bring to a boil. Stir in the pistou and remove from heat. Divide the mussels among 4 soup bowls. Ladle the soup over the mussels, making sure the beans and vegetables are evenly distributed. Squeeze lemon juice over the top and serve immediately.
• Remove the gills and eyes from the fish or have your fish store do it. Cut the heads and bones across into 4-inch pieces. Put them in a shallow pan and cover with cold water. Let stand for 1 hour, changing the water twice. Drain. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, fennel, leek, peppercorns, salt, parsley and bay leaf. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook until the vegetables are softened but not browned, about 4 minutes. Add the fish bones and cook, stirring from time to time, until the bones and any flesh around the bones turn from translucent to white, about 12 minutes. Add the wine and water and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes, skimming off the foam as it rises to the top. Remove from the heat and let rest for 10 minutes. Strain the fumet through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing firmly on the solids to extract as much of the flavorful liquid as possible. If you have more than 3 cups of fumet, place the liquid in a clean saucepan and boil until reduced to 3 cups. Store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

PISTOU SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pan and sweat the onion, carrots, celery, fennel, turnip, celeriac and parsnip for 5-10 mins. Pour over 1.6 litres of boiling water, season and simmer for 10-15 mins, until the vegetables are tender. At the last moment add the peas and the beans and cook for a further 1 min. Taste and season with salt and pepper as necessary.
• Meanwhile, make the pesto sauce. Blanch the basil leaves in boiling water for 5 secs, then remove and cool under cold running water. Pat dry and purée all the ingredients in a liquidiser. Taste and season, then reserve. Keep in the fridge until required. When ready to serve, pour the soup into a large, warmed tureen, top with some of the pesto sauce and serve to your guests. Place Parmesan and croûtons on the table so guests may help themselves.

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.

PROVENCAL VEGETABLE SOUP WITH PISTOU

Steps:

• In a big soup pot, heat oil over medium heat.
• Add in onion; saute until softened, about 6 minutes.
• Add in carrots, leeks, garlic, celery, thyme, salt and pepper; saute until vegetables start to soften, about 5 minutes.
• Add in wine and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
• Add in stock and potatoes; bring to a boil.
• Decrease heat and simmer until potatoes are almost tender, about 15 minutes.
• Add in beans, asparagus, squash, spinach, and peas; simmer until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in lemon juice.
• Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary.
• Ladle into heated bowls and garnish each with a dollop of pistou.

PISTOU (SUMMER VEGETABLE SOUP)

Steps:

• Over medium-low heat, gently saute the leek and onion until they are translucent and just beginning to brown. Add the diced carrots, diced potatoes, chopped tomato and cranberry beans. Add the sage and 8 cups water. Bring to a boil, cover, lower the heat, and simmer for 40 minutes or longer, until the vegetables are soft.
• Twenty minutes before serving, add the string beans, zucchini and linguine. Add more water if necessary, stir to mix the ingredients, and continue cooking.
• While the soup finishes, make the pistou sauce. Place the garlic, basil and Parmesan in the container of a food processor or blender. Process or blend until the mixture is grainy. Continue processing, and add the oil, slowly but steadily, until the mixture is smooth. Mince the tomato pulp very finely, and drain in a fine- mesh sieve. Mix together with the rest of the sauce.
• When ready to serve, add a ladleful of hot soup to the sauce, mix well and combine the sauce and the rest of the soup. Serve immediately.