Name: Soupe au Pistou
Yield: Serves 6.
Cuisine: France
Ingredients: 2 potatoes, diced; 3–4 tablespoons olive oil; 115 g(4 oz) white haricot beans, fresh or, if dried then already soaked and cooked; 1 onion, finely chopped; 225 g(8 oz) green haricot beans, cut in short lengths; 1 tablespoon olive oil; finely grated Parmesan or Gruyère cheese; 2–3 cloves of garlic; 1 stick of celery, chopped; 2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped; a handful of basil leaves; 55 g(2 oz) fine vermicelli; green part of a leek, finely sliced; salt, milled pepper

Preparation info

Serves
6
.

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

French Country Kitchen

By Geraldene Holt

Published 1987

About

Most summers I find that growing basil in Britain is not as difficult as is often supposed. Under glass or in a sunny corner or windowsill just a pot or two (treat it like a busy-Lizzie) makes your summer cooking truly evocative of the south. In France two kinds of basil are grown: small-leaved, usually designated for sauces, and large-leaved, which is preferable for salads.

Those who make it know that home-made pesto really brings pasta alive and totally transforms this othe