Name: Provençal Soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: Serves: 4
Ingredients: 1 fennel bulb, sliced; 4 thick slices of day-old country-style bread; 1 bouquet garni, made up of a large bay leaf and a few thyme and parsley sprigs; 1 l /35 fl oz/4 cups Vegetable Stock, or ready-made; 75 g /2½ oz spaghettini or dried pasta shape of choice; 55 g /2 oz/½ cup fresh or frozen peas; 235 g /8½ oz/scant 2 cups drained tinned butter/lima beans or cooked dried butter/lima beans; 2 courgettes/zucchini, quartered lengthways and sliced; sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 heaped tbsp butter; 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 6 heaped tbsp finely grated vegetarian Parmesan cheese or dairy-free alternative, plus extra to serve; 2 leeks, sliced; 4 large handfuls of basil leaves, plus extra to serve; 2 garlic cloves; 2 carrots, diced; 1 celery stick, sliced

Preparation info

Serves:
4

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
35 min

Appears in

The Thrifty Veggie

By Nicola Graimes

Published 2021

About

This Provençal soup, known as pistou, is great for using up bags of pasta lurking in the cupboard that don’t quite hold enough for a whole meal but you don’t want to go to waste, either. Feel free to swap the veg, depending on what you have to hand, and likewise the basil sauce can be made with a mixture of herbs, including oregano, thyme, marjoram and rocket/arugula.