Soupe au Pistou

This is the PERFECT soup to kick off spring.  My first experience with soupe au pistou was actually last May when we were visiting some of Baptiste's cousins in Provence.  When Baptiste's cousin Isabelle served it to us, I think I ate about 2 gallons of the stuff it was SO GOOD.  Provençal cuisine is amazing (Provence is the region of southeastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy).  It is my very favorite of all French food.  I actually kind of have a hard time with a lot of traditional French food because it tends to be heavy, creamy, and meaty.  Provençal food takes the best of it all and presents it with a lighter, fresh Mediterranean style.

This soup is super-duper flexible.  The zucchini and tomatoes are Provençal classics, but you can add whatever vegetables you want as long as you finish the soup with the basil...that's what makes it soupe "au pistou." If you don't have turnips or potatoes or leeks on hand, just skip them.  Pistou is basically the same idea as Italian pesto, except that there are no pine nuts and occasionally it includes tomatoes.  The essential pistou ingredients are garlic, basil, and olive oil.  This recipe offered a slightly fancier version, which included tomato and parmesan or gruyère cheese.  This recipe is guaranteed to be a new favorite--Delicious!!

Soupe au Pistou
France (Provence), serves 8-10
This big spring vegetable soup from Provence is like an Italian minestrone (but in my opinion tastes SO much better!!), but the enriching comes at the end rather than at the beginning.  Instead of cooking aromatics in oil before adding water and vegetables, here everything is just thrown into the pot and cooked until the vegetables are tender and the broth fragrant.  Then, just before the soup is served, a rich Provençal pesto (pistou) is stirred in.

For the soup:

2 c dried white beans, picked over, rinsed, soaked in water for 6 hours or overnight, and drained. (I started cooking the soup at 5pm, so soaking dried beans wasn't really an option.  I used 2 cans of great northern white beans.  Lima beans would also work just fine.  Dried beans have less sodium and more fiber than canned beans, but if you use canned beans you'll be able to cook the soup faster and end up adding less additional salt overall.)
8 c water
1 large onion, chopped
6-8 garlic cloves
A bouquet garni made with a few sprigs each: fresh thyme, and parsley, a Parmesan rind, and a bay leaf (I didn't have fresh thyme or a Parmesan rind (which will give the soup a more robust flavor), so I just tossed in a handful of Italian (flat leaf) parsley, a few bay leaves, and 3-4 t dried bouquet garni.  I love bouquet garni and use it all the time.  It's a traditional French mixture of herbs like herbes de provence that includes savory, rosemary, thyme, Turkish oregano, basil, dill weed, marjoram, sage and tarragon.  When used fresh, the herbs are usually just tied together with a little string and tossed in the pot.  I usually buy dried bouquet garni from Penzey's Spices, but it may even be available in the grocery store.  Or, you could easily mix up the herbs yourself! If you can't get dried bouquet garni and don't have fresh thyme, just add the parsley, some dried thyme, and a couple of bay leaves.  Don't forget that dried herbs and spices are stronger than fresh.)
1/2 lb. green beans, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces (optional, but I used them)
2 medium zucchini, diced (I added 3 because the zucchini were a little on the small side)
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, cleaned and sliced (I did not use)
2 medium turnips, peeled and sliced (I did not use)
1 lb. red-skinned potatoes, diced (The recipe didn't indicate whether or not to peel them, so I left the skins on)
1 lb. tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped; or 1 can (14 oz.) tomatoes with juice (I added 2 cans)
Salt
1/2 c soup pasta, like ditalini or capellini
Freshly ground pepper
1/2 c freshly grated Parmesan or Gruyère


For the pistou:

2-4 large garlic cloves (to taste), peeled (I think I added more like 6-7)
2 cups lightly packed fresh basil leaves, washed
Rounded teaspoon of salt (more to taste) (I think I only added about 1/2 t total)
1/3 c extra virgin olive oil
1 small tomato, peeled, seeded, and chopped (optional, I used one)
1 c freshly grated Parmesan, or a mixture of Parmesan and Gruyère (optional, I used it)
Freshly ground pepper

Ok, rather than write how the cookbook said to do it (because that version seemed to have all kinds of unnecessary extra steps), I'm just going to tell you what I did...

1.  Put the beans, onion, carrots, celery, and potatoes in a large pot with the water, parsley sprigs and other bouquet garni spices and bay leaves.  Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30-60 minutes (less if using canned beans), adding a little more water if necessary.  Then add the zucchini, green beans, and tomatoes, and simmer for another 20 minutes or so.

2.  Meanwhile, combine the garlic, basil, and olive oil in a food processor until pasty.  Add in the chopped tomato and cheese, if using.  Season with salt and pepper.

3.  About 10 minutes before serving the soup add the pasta to the simmering pot and cook until al dente, about 5-10 minutes.  Add pepper and adjust the salt to taste.  Discard the parsley sprigs and bay leaves.

4. To serve, you can stir the pistou into the pot before serving, place a scoop of pistou in each bowl of soup and stir in, or pass the pistou and cheese around at the table.  You can also serve it with slices of baguette or rustic Italian bread for dipping.  Bon appétit!!

Note:  This recipe makes a LOT of soup...which was perfect for me because I've been freezing a lot of food lately.  But, for a more pared-down and probably easier, yet equally delicious version of the same recipe (but in a smaller quantity that serves about 4 people), check out this version from Mark Bittman on his NY Times blog.