Patricias Pistou Food

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.

PISTOU

Steps:

• 1. Simply combine a large bunch of basil leaves, several cloves of crushed garlic, olive oil, and either salt or cheese (parmesan or pecorino) to taste. (If you use the cheese, you might still need some salt, depending on how much you add). You can make it in a food processor, with a mortar and pestle, or simply chop it all very fine.

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.

PESTO AND PISTOU

Steps:

• If using a hand blender, place the garlic, basil, pine nuts, salt and olive oil in a pint jar. Stick the hand blender right down into the mixture and turn on. Blend until smooth. You may have to start and stop a few times at the beginning, and scrape down the sides of the jar. Once the mixture is smooth, add the cheese and stir or blend together. If using a food processor fitted with the steel blade, turn on and drop in the garlic. When it is chopped and adhering to the sides of the bowl, stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the basil, pine nuts, salt, pepper and olive oil to the food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Add the Parmesan and pulse until well combined. If using a mortar and pestle, add the basil leaves a handful at a time and mash with the pestle. Add the pine nuts, garlic, salt and pepper, and mash to a paste with the basil. Work in the olive oil and the Parmesan.