It’s summer and the basil is going crazy, which means it’s the perfect time for Soupe au Pistou. A traditional dish of Provence, it’s the minestrone of pesto. A great summer soup: it’s easy, loaded with vegetables, some beans, a little pasta, a lot of basil, and, did I mention, yummy?
Adapted from Everyday Cooking w/Dr. Dean Ornish
Serves 4
½-cup diced onion
½-cup diced carrots
½-cup diced celery
½-cup diced turnips
½-cup diced peeled russet potato
½-cup diced leeks, white part only
½-cup diced peeled tomato, fresh or canned
Red chili flakes to taste (1/4-1/2 tsp)
4 cups vegetable broth
½-cup 1-inch length dried whole wheat spaghetti (angel hair works great, too)
1 (15-ounce) can Navy Beans (if you can find them); or use Great Northern or Cannellini beans with their liquid
1 cup tightly packed basil leaves
3 cloves garlic, minced
S&P to taste
In a large pot, combine onion, carrots, celery, turnips, potato, leeks, tomato, chili flakes and vegetable broth. Bring to a simmer over moderate heat. Cover and adjust heat to maintain a simmer; cook 30 minutes. Add spaghetti and 1 cup beans (drained, but reserving liquid). Cover and simmer until spaghetti is tender, 10-12 minutes.
To make pistou, combine remaining beans with the reserved liquid, basil, and garlic in food processor or blender and puree until smooth. (See note) Add the puree to the soup and stir until blended; season to taste with salt and pepper.
Note: If you need more liquid to get the puree going, add a little water or white wine – just enough to puree the entire contents of the blender or food processor to a nice, smooth, consistency.
Although this recipe has no added fat, feel free to sauté any or all the vegetables before adding the broth; or try finishing the soup by stirring in a little olive oil.
Nutritional information: calories 271; fat 0.88 g (with no added oil); cholesterol 0 mg; carbohydrate 53.7 g; protein 14.6 g; sodium 58.0 mg (with no additional salt added)
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