Provencale vegetable and pasta soup. 'Pistou' in Provence is similar to pesto in Italy, except in Provence the pine nuts are omitted. As the crushed basil is add at the last second, its aroma pervades the dish and assaults the diner. Don't make the pistou more than 30-60 minutes in advance or it will discolor.
For this recipe I use haricot beans because they are easy enough to find. However, many kinds of white or pale colored beans are good so don't be afraid to experiment.
For 6 persons
1
1/2 cup dried haricot beans, soaked overnight1
ham hock1
medium onion2
bay leaves3
medium zucchini1
large tomato, peeled and deseeded300
gm carrots3
medium potatoes1
leek, white part only1
lb green beans1
bouquet garni100
gm spaghetti, cut into 1 inch lengths- grated parmesan cheese for garnish
2
cups basil4
cloves garlic- sea salt
- about 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated (optional)
Soak the beans overnight in a large bowl of water with the ham hock. If you don't have time for this, simply bring the beans to a boil in a pot of unsalted water, drain off the water and continue to the next step.
In a large pot, place the beans and cover with three times the height of water. Add the ham hock, and the onion and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 1-2 hours until tender. Cooking time will vary according to the bean used. While cooking, continue to add water when the amount of liquid drops below about a quart. In the last 10 minutes of cooking, add 1 tbsp salt.
The remaining vegetables will now be boiled together in water. You can either use fresh water or the same water you used for the beans. To decide, taste the bean water. Does it taste good and have an attractive color? If it does, skim and sieve it to remove any impurities, then use it.
As all the vegetables will cook together, we want to chop each vegetable into pieces that will not only be a good size to eat, but will also finish cooking at the same time. Wash and trim the green beans. Wash, peel and dice the carrots, potatoes and courgettes (Carrots take longer to cook than potatoes, so chop them slightly smaller). Wash and slice the leek. Rough chop the tomato. Prepare any of the optional vegetables that you may be using.
Bring 2 liters of salted water to the boil in a large pot (or water reserved from the beans). Add the vegetables to the pot as well as the bouquet garni and simmer for 30-40 minutes until tender.
Once the ingredients of the soup are nearly cooked add the dried spaghetti and the haricot beans, salt to taste and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Crush the 3 garlic cloves and mix with the olive oil.
Chop the basil very finely and add to the oil and garlic mixture. Season with salt. Add a little finely grated parmesan cheese to bind it a little and set aside.
Remove the bouquet garni from the soup. Spoon a portion of soup into each bowl, giving each diner a good selection of the vegetables. Top with a spoonful of 'Pistou' and a little of the grated parmesan.