Soupe au Pistou
During Marion Cunningham’s last visit with Richard Olney, he made a version of this recipe, which comes from Simple French Food. As he made it, he told her that he thought the trick to cooking is tasting — in the case of the soup that day, adding the right amount of salt and pepper, then cheese, then a little olive oil, and finally some macaroni. After making the soup in our own kitchens, following the recipe from the book (it's highly adaptable to seasonal produce or the contents of your larder), we can understand why this recipe is so loved among Olney’s fans.
If you don't have a large mortar and pestle, finely chop basil and garlic and mash in a bowl with back of a spoon.
Recipe information
Total Time
1 1/4 hr
Yield
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
For soup
For pistou
Special Equipment
Preparation
Make soup:
Step 1
Bring water to a boil in a 5-quart pot and simmer leeks, onion, carrots, potatoes, squash, white beans (if using fresh), and bouquet garni 30 minutes, or until beans and squash are tender but remain intact. Add green beans, zucchini, and macaroni (and cooked white beans if using) and simmer 15 minutes, or until macaroni is tender but not falling apart.
Make pistou while soup is cooking:
Step 2
Pound garlic, basil, salt, and pepper to taste with a large mortar and pestle, alternating between pounding and turning with a grinding motion, until mixture forms a paste. Work in enough Parmesan to make a very stiff paste, then add about one third of tomato, pounding and grinding into the paste. Gradually work in remaining cheese and tomato with a little olive oil until mixture is a barely fluid paste. Gradually work in 1 cup oil, or enough for pistou to become a sauce. (Pistou will not be an emulsion, so it should be thoroughly mixed each time it is dished out.)
Step 3
Serve soup with mortar of pistou on the side, to be added to taste by each person.
