Patricias Pistou Soup Food

PATRICIA'S PISTOU SOUP

Steps:

• Prepare a bouquet garni: Place bay and thyme leaves in a square of cheesecloth, and tie securely with cotton twine. In a large, heavy-bottomed 10-quart stockpot, combine the olive oil, 3 halved garlic cloves, bouquet garni, and salt. Stir to coat with the oil and cook over moderate heat until the garlic is fragrant and soft, about 2 minutes. Add the navy and cranberry beans, and stir to coat. Cook for 1 minute more.
• Add leeks, carrots, onions, potatoes, and quartered garlic cloves, and cook until softened over moderate heat, stirring regularly, for about 10 minutes. This will give a lovely color and rich flavor to the soup.
• Add zucchini, tomatoes, tomato paste, green beans, 3 quarts cold water, and salt to taste. Simmer gently, uncovered, until the navy and cranberry beans are tender, about 30 minutes (cooking time will vary according to the freshness of the beans). Add additional water if the soup becomes too thick.
• Add pasta, and stir frequently to keep the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot, simmering until the pasta is cooked, about 5 minutes more. Taste for seasoning. Remove and discard the bouquet garni. Serve the soup very hot, passing the pistou and cheese to swirl into the soup.

PISTOU SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and onion and cook, stirring constantly, until the onion is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste and 1 tablespoon salt and cook 1 more minute. Add 7 cups water, cover and bring to a boil. Uncover, reduce the heat and simmer 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, trim the green beans and zucchini and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Stir into the prepared broth along with the beans and spaghetti. Simmer until the pasta is al dente, about 10 minutes.
• When ready to serve, whisk 1/3 cup pesto into the soup. Ladle into bowls and top with the remaining pesto. Sprinkle with parmesan and serve with bread, if desired.

PROVENCAL VEGETABLE SOUP: SOUPE AU PISTOU

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the leeks and saute just until they start to turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and saute about 1 minute more. Add the carrots and celery and continue sauteing until the vegetables deepen in color but have not yet begun to brown, 3 to 4 minutes more. Pour the stock into the pan, bring it to a boil, and reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Sprinkle in a generous pinch of salt.
• Tie the peppercorns, thyme, and parsley in a square of cheesecloth, securing it with kitchen string. Add this bouquet garni to the pan. Stir in the beans, zucchini, summer squash, and tomato. Continue simmering until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the Pistou: Put the garlic and tomatoes in a blender or food processor with about 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Begin processing. With the machine running, add the basil leaves, and then pour in enough extra-virgin olive oil to make a smooth, thick, but fluid paste. Transfer about 2/3 of the paste into a serving bowl to pass alongside the soup.
• Make the Goat Cheese Croutons: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Brush the bread slices with olive oil and arrange them on a baking sheet. Bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove them from the oven and turn on the broiler. Spread 1 side of each crouton with goat cheese and put it back on the baking sheet. Broil until the cheese is warm and slightly bubbly, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
• When the soup is ready, stir the remaining pistou into the saucepan, ladling some of the hot broth into the blender or processor bowl to swirl and rinse any pesto clinging inside into the pan. Remove and discard the bouquet garni. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning with a little more salt.
• Ladle the soup into individual heated serving bowls. Float a crouton in the center of each bowl. With a spoon, drizzle a little more pistou over the crouton and soup in each bowl. Serve immediately, passing more pistou alongside for each person to add, to taste.

SOUPE AU PISTOU (FRENCH SUMMER VEGETABLE SOUP)

Steps:

• Soaking the Navy Beans (skip if using canned beans): Rinse and sort the beans. Soak the beans overnight covered in cold water. The next morning, drain the beans, rinse, and use as directed below.
• Quick-Soak Method: Rinse and sort the beans. Transfer to a saucepan and cover with 2 inches (5 cm) water. Bring to a boil, and keep boiling for 1 minute. Turn the heat off, cover the saucepan, and let rest for 1 hour. Drain the beans, rinse, and use as directed below.
• Cooking the Navy Beans: Transfer the soaked beans in a large saucepan. Add the bay leaves and add enough water to cover the beans with about 2 inches (5 cm) of water.
• Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside while you prepare the soup.
• Make the Soupe au Pistou: In a Dutch oven or large stockpot, heat the olive oil. Add the onions or leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent.
• Add the thyme, diced carrots, zucchini, green beans, garlic, and salt. Season with pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the vegetables start to soften. Add the vegetable stock and stir to combine. If using dried beans, add the cooked beans and their liquid. If using canned beans, add the drained and rinsed beans now. Next, add the peas and pasta or your choice. Bring the soup to a boil, then simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked.
• Make the Pistou: In a food processor, pulse the garlic with a generous pinch of salt until it is finely chopped. Add the basil, tomato, and parmesan cheese, and pulse again until the mixture is relatively smooth. Add the olive oil to blend everything together and emulsify the pistou. Taste, and season with more salt if desired.
• SERVING: Ladle hot soup into bowls and add a generous spoonful of pistou to each serving. Keep extra pistou within reach because you'll likely want to add more to the soup as you go.
• MAKE IT DAIRY-FREE & VEGAN: Make sure to use vegetable stock and replace the parmesan cheese with nutritional yeast, or omit it completely.
• MAKE IT GLUTEN-FREE: Make sure to use a gluten-free variety of short pasta.

PATRICIA'S PISTOU

Steps:

• By hand: Place garlic and salt in a mortar, and mash with a pestle to form a paste. Add basil, little by little, pounding and turning the pestle with a grinding motion to form a paste. Slowly add oil, drop by drop, until all the oil has been used and the paste is homogenous. Add salt to taste. Stir again before serving. In a food processor: Place garlic, salt, and basil in the bowl of a food processor, and process to a paste. Add oil, and process again. Add salt to taste. Stir again before serving.
• Transfer to a small bowl. Serve immediately. The sauce can be stored, covered and refrigerated, for 1 day, or frozen for up to 6 months. Bring to room temperature, and stir again before serving.

SUMMER PISTOU

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the leeks and courgette for 5 mins to soften. Pour in the stock, add three-quarters of the haricot beans with the green beans, half the tomatoes, and simmer for 5-8 mins until the vegetables are tender.
• Meanwhile, blitz the remaining beans and tomatoes, the garlic and basil in a food processor (or in a bowl with a stick blender) until smooth, then stir in the Parmesan. Stir the sauce into the soup, cook for 1 min, then ladle half into bowls or pour into a flask for a packed lunch. Chill the remainder. Will keep for a couple of days.

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:

• Put the beans, potatoes and tomatoes into the boiling water.
• Season with salt and pepper and boil over a hot fire.
• When the vegetables are almost cooked, add the vermicelli and finish cooking gently.
• Make the aillade: In a blender, blend the garlic, basil and grilled tomato until thoroughly smooth.
• Add 3 tablespoonfuls of the liquid from the pistou (soup).
• Pour the pistou into a tureen, stir in the aillade and top with some grated Gruyere (Swiss) cheese.

SOUPE AU PISTOU

Steps:

• 1. Place the green beans, carrot and potatoes in a large saucepan. Add 8 cups water and 2 teaspoons sea salt, bring to a boil and cook, covered, until the carrots are nearly tender through, a bout 12 minutes. Add the zucchini, the fresh beans (if using), and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Add the cooked dry beans (if using), and let cook until heated through, 3 to 4 minutes, then add the angel hair pasta and cook until it is al dente, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat.
• 2. While the soup is cooking prepared the pistou. Crush the garlic cloves with the salt in a mortar and pestle until they are a rough paste. Add the basil leaves and crush them with the mortar and pestle until they mix with the garlic into a rough paste. Slowly add the oil to the basil and garlic until you have a thick, deep green sauce.
• 3. To serve, divide the soup among six warmed shallow soup bowls. Serve the soup with the pistou and the cheese alongside.