Summer Soup With Parsley Mint Pistou Food

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.

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.

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.

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.

SUMMER-SQUASH SOUP WITH PARSLEY MINT PISTOU

Steps:

• Make soup:
• Melt butter in a 6- to 8-quart wide heavy pot over moderate heat, then cook onion with salt, stirring, until softened, about 8 minutes. Add squash, carrots, potato, and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, then simmer, partially covered, until vegetables are very tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool soup, uncovered, 10 minutes.
• Working in batches, purée; soup in a blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids) and transfer to a bowl. Return puré to cleaned pot and thin with water if desired; simmer 3 minutes. Season with salt.
• Make pistou while vegetables simmer:
• Pulse mint, parsley, and scallion in a food processor until finely chopped. With motor running, add oil in a stream, then add water and salt, blending until incorporated.
• Swirl 1 tablespoon pistou into each bowl of soup.

MINT AND PARSLEY PESTO

Steps:

• Pulse mint, parsley, garlic, pine nuts, and Parmesan ina food processor until coarsely chopped. With machinerunning, add oil in a steady stream. Season with 1/4 teaspoonsalt and pepper to taste.

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.

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.