Pine Nut Pistou Food

PISTOU

Steps:

• Finely chop garlic in processor. Add basil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Process until basil is finely chopped, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. With machine running, gradually blend in oil. Add cheese; process to blend well. Season with pepper. Transfer to bowl. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Place plastic wrap directly onto surface of Pistou; refrigerate.)

BASIL PESTO

Steps:

• Combine the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add 1/2 cup of the oil and process until fully incorporated and smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
• If using immediately, add all the remaining oil and pulse until smooth. Transfer the pesto to a large serving bowl and mix in the cheese.
• If freezing, transfer to an air-tight container and drizzle remaining oil over the top. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw and stir in cheese.

PISTOU SOUP

Steps:

• Make pistou: In the bowl of a food processor, combine basil, pine nuts, garlic clove, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Pulse a few times to combine; with machine running, add 1/2 cup olive oil until mixture is pureed, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; set aside.
• Make croutons: Preheat broiler. Place baguette slices on a baking sheet, and sprinkle each slice with 1/2 teaspoon Parmesan cheese. Place under broiler, and broil until cheese begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Remove from oven; set aside.
• Make soup: Tie together thyme, parsley, and bay leaf with kitchen twine to make a bouquet garni. In a 6-quart stockpot, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add 1/2 onion, bouquet garni, and 2 garlic cloves; saute until onion begins to soften, about 4 minutes. Add shelled fava beans; cook 2 minutes more. Add 2 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat to low; cover, and simmer gently 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer beans and cooking liquid to a bowl; reserve, and remove garlic and bouquet garni.
• While beans are cooking, bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil; add pasta and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook according to package instructions until al dente. Drain in a colander, and set aside.
• In the same saucepan used to cook the beans, heat remaining 1/4 cup olive oil over medium-high heat. Add remaining 1/2 onion with the carrot, celery, leeks, and fennel, and saute 2 minutes. Add remaining 4 cups water, teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; cook 5 minutes more. Add peas, zucchini, reserved beans and cooking liquid, and pasta. Bring to a boil, and immediately remove from heat to preserve bright color of vegetables.
• To serve, ladle soup into four shallow bowls, and top each with a few croutons. Drizzle 2 tablespoons pistou into each bowl; garnish with Parmesan cheese.

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.

ARUGULA PESTO

Steps:

• Prepare an ice water bath in a large bowl, and bring a large pot of water to a boil. Put the arugula in a large sieve and plunge it into the boiling water. Immediately immerse all the arugula and stir so that it blanches evenly. Blanch for about 15 seconds. Remove, shake off the excess water, then plunge the arugula into the ice water bath and stir again so it cools as fast as possible. Drain well.
• Squeeze the water out of the arugula with your hands until very dry. Roughly chop the arugula and put in a blender. Add the garlic, salt and pepper to taste, olive oil, 2 tablespoons of the pine nuts, and the vitamin C, if using. Blend for at least 30 seconds. In this way the green of the arugula will thoroughly color the oil. Add the cheese and pulse to combine. The pesto will keep several days in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.
• Pull out before dinner to get to room temperature. Before serving, add the remaining 1 tablespoon toasted pinenuts.

PINE-NUT PISTOU

Steps:

• Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add a large pinch of salt, and the basil. Blanch for 2 minutes. Drain, and run under cold water to stop the cooking. Drain again, squeezing out excess liquid.
• Transfer to a food processor, and add garlic, pine nuts, cheese, and oil. Process until smooth, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pistou.

CAULIFLOWER AND BRUSSELS SPROUT GRATIN WITH PINE NUT-BREADCRUMB TOPPING

Steps:

• Fill large bowl with ice and cold water. Cook brussels sprouts in large pot of generously salted boiling water 2 minutes. Add cauliflower to same pot; cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes longer. Drain. Transfer vegetables to bowl of ice water to cool. Drain well.
• Combine cream, shallots, and sage in large saucepan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer until mixture is reduced to 21/2 cups, about 10 minutes. Season with salt. Remove from heat. Cool slightly.
• Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs; stir until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl; cool. Stir in pine nuts and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.
• Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish; arrange half of vegetables in dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then 1 1/2 cups Parmesan. Arrange remaining vegetables evenly over, then sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 cups Parmesan. Pour cream mixture evenly over. DO AHEAD: Breadcrumb topping and gratin can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately and chill. Bring to room temperature before continuing.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Cover gratin with foil. Bake covered 40 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle breadcrumb topping over and bake uncovered 15 minutes longer.