France-Vegetable Soup with Pistou

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France-Vegetable Soup with Pistou

 

Soup:

4 pounds very ripe tomatoes,about 12 medium-sized

1/4 cup olive oil

2 yellow onions, chopped

6 cloves garlic chopped

8 medium-sized boiling or new potatoes, such as Yukon Cold or White or Red Rose,

about 3 pounds, peeled, if desired, cut into 1-inch dice

1/2 pound slender green snap beans, trimmed cut into 1-inch lengths

2 cups fresh shell beans, such as fava, cranberry, flageolet,

or lima, about 1 pound

3 quarts vegetable broth

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon minced fresh marjoram

1 piece Parmesan or other hard cheese rind, 2 to 4 inches square, chopped,

optional

1 cup finely broken spaghetti or other thin pasta

 

Pistou:

10 garlic cloves

4 cups fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, if needed

 

Soup, chop the tomatoes, reserving the seeds and juices. Set aside. In a soup

pot large enough to hold all the ingredients eventually, heat the olive oil over

medium heat. Add the onions and the garlic and sauté until translucent, 3 to 4

minutes. Add the potatoes, snap beans, and shell beans, and cook over medium

heat, stirring almost constantly with a wooden spoon, until well-coated and

slightly softened, 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and their juices

and seeds. Add the broth, salt, pepper, thyme, marjoram, and the cheese rind if

using. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the

potatoes and beans are soft, about 40 minutes. Add the pasta and cook until it

is tender 10 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the pistou. Place the garlic cloves in a large bowl and mash

them with the back of a wooden spoon or with a pestle. Add the basil leaves, 1

cup at a time, mashing them into the garlic paste. When all the basil has been

incorporated, add the olive oil, a drizzle at a time, incorporating it into the

paste along with the salt. If you have not added the cheese rind to the soup,

mix the grated Parmesan into the pistou.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and stir about 1 tablespoon pistou into each

bowl. Serve the remaining pistou in a bowl alongside. Serves 15.

 

 

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