Soupe au Pistou is the great vegetable soup of summer in Provence — a hearty mix of green beans, courgettes, potatoes and white beans, brightened at the very last moment with a spoonful of pistou, the region’s fragrant basil, garlic and olive oil paste (a close cousin of Italian pesto, but made without pine nuts).
Ingredients
- 200 g green beans, trimmed and cut
- 2 courgettes, diced
- 2 potatoes, diced
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 2 carrots, diced
- 200 g cooked white beans
- 50 g small pasta (vermicelli)
- For the pistou: 2 cloves garlic, a large bunch of basil, 50 g parmesan, olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Place all the vegetables and white beans in a large pot, cover with water, season with salt, and bring to the boil.
- Simmer for 30 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
- Add the pasta and cook for a further 8-10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the pistou: crush the garlic and basil together, mix in the parmesan, and gradually work in enough olive oil to form a thick paste.
- Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the pistou just before serving.
Always add the pistou off the heat — cooking it would dull the fresh, vibrant flavour of the basil.
