Name: Vegetable Soup with Basil and Garlic (Soupe au Pistou)
Yield: Servings: Approximately 4 to 6
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 1 pound (before shelling) fresh white beans (or the equivalent of precooked dried beans); Bouquet garni: celery branch, parsley, bay leaf, thyme; 2½ quarts water; About 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan; Salt; Salt, freshly ground pepper; 1 cup short or “elbow” macaroni; 1 packed handful fresh basil leaves and flowers; 2 or 3 small, firm zucchini (about 8 ounces), cut into ¼-inch slices; 6 ounces fresh green beans, tips snapped, cut crosswise (a handful at a time) into approximately ½-inch lengths; 10 ounces pumpkin-type squash, seeded, peeled, coarsely diced; 6 ounces carrots, peeled, split, woody core removed, finely sliced; 1 medium-sized, firm, ripe tomato, peeled, seeded, and cut into pieces; 2 medium leeks, white and tender green parts finely sliced crosswise; 6 ounces sweet onion, finely sliced; 4 large cloves garlic, peeled; About 1¼ cups olive oil; 12 ounces potatoes, peeled, quartered lengthwise, sliced

Preparation info

Servings: Approximately
4 to 6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Simple French Food

By Richard Olney

Published 1974

About

The French have imposed their own pronunciation on the Italian minestrone to describe a hearty soup of boiled vegetables and pasta. The Provençal pistou is a garlic, fresh basil, grated cheese, and olive oil pomade, descendant of the Genovese pesto, which contains pounded pinenuts and most often sauces pasta. A soupe au pistou is a minestrone into which, at the moment of serving, a pistou is incorporated. Beyond that point of definition, no two are