Pistou soup (Soupe au pistou)
Traditionally a summer dish, this beautiful French vegetable soup is packed with an array of vegetables, pasta and beans. Topped with a fresh basil pistou, it is an easy recipe to enjoy summers bounty. Serve with fresh baguette on the side, or on its own!
Equipment
- large saucepan with lid
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste / tomato puree
- 1 carrot diced
- 1 courgette / zucchini diced
- 1 litre (4¼ c) water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 50g (1½ - 2 oz) small dried pasta eg macaroni
- 100g (3½ oz) green beans cut unto 2-3 cm lengths
- 100g (3½ oz) peas fresh or frozen
- 400g (14 oz) tin / can white beans, drained and rinsed eg canneloni
- freshly cracked black pepper
Pistou
- 1 bunch fresh basil
- 1-2 cloves garlic depending on how strong a garlic flavour you like
- pinch salt
- 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Cook the onion in the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat for 3-5 minutes then add the garlic and cook for a minute.
- Add the bay leaf, fresh thyme, tomato puree / paste, diced carrots, diced courgette / zucchini and cook. covered, over a low heat for 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are tender but still have a little bite to them.
- Pour in the water and 1 teaspoon salt, then bring to a boil and add the pasta. Cook for 7 minutes, then add the green beans, peas and drained white beans and cook for 5-7 minutes, until the pasta and vegetables are tender.
- Check for seasoning, adding black pepper to taste.
To make the pistou
- While the soup is cooking, make the pistou.
- Add the basil leaves, garlic clove(s), salt and olive oil to a pestle and mortar or small food processor, and pound or blitz to a smooth paste, adding a little more olive oil if you prefer a slightly runnier pistou.
- Serve the soup immediately with a spoonful of pistou on top.
Notes
Ingredient Notes
- Beans – white beans such as cannelloni beans or haricot beans are most commonly used in pistou soup. You can cook raw beans separately and then add to the soup, but for ease I have made this is a ‘cheats version’ and uses a tin of cooked white beans, drained and rinsed.
- Pasta – any small pasta shape like macaroni, or use broken vermicilli.
- Water – this light soup is made with water rather than stock, which we prefer as it lets the flavour of the vegetables shine. However if you have any homemade vegetable stock or chicken stock, you can of course use that in place of the water. If using stock you will however more than likely need to use less salt than when using water.
- Vegetables – here I have used courgette (zucchini), carrot, green beans, peas; however feel free to swap in any seasonal vegetables like Swiss chard, cabbage, potatoes, pumpkin, fennel, broad beans – it really is an adaptable soup!
- Basil – fresh basil is the star of the show. If buying basil, look for bunches with green leaves that aren’t wilting or discoloured.
- Olive oil – I recommend using EVOO for its flavour, especially in the pistou. However, feel free to use your favourite regular olive oil if you prefer.
- Garlic – fresh garlic is a must here! To keep it kid-friendly I use 1 clove to make the pistou, but if you want a punchy garlic flavour then use 2 or even 3 garlic cloves.
- Cook the vegetables for a long time – apart from the leafy vegetables – to create a body of flavour.
- Different vegetables – feel free to mix the vegetables depending with what is in season. Make a winter soup with celeriac and kale, swap the onion for a leek, add broad beans or peas…this really is a soup you can make your own! If using spinach or chard / silverbeet, add in the last 5 minutes of cooking to prevent it from overcooking.
- Garlic – use 2-3 cloves or garlic if you are a fan of strong garlic.
- Spoon the pistou on to the soup at the last minute – or serve the soup and then let everyone spoon the pistou on themselves, then stir it through the soup.
- Gluten free soup – this can be made with either gluten free pasta, or use rice instead of the pasta.
Nutrition
Calories: 376kcalCarbohydrates: 43gProtein: 12gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 13gSodium: 638mgPotassium: 870mgFiber: 9gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 3190IUVitamin C: 27mgCalcium: 121mgIron: 4mg
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