Country Vegetable Soup With Basil Pistou
This hearty vegetable soup is a comforting dish filled with a medley of colorful veggies and tender beans, simmered in a flavorful broth. Topped with a vibrant basil and Parmesan pistou, this soup is perfect for a cozy meal on a chilly day. Serve with crusty bread for a satisfying and delicious experience.
— Constant Cookbook
Ingredients
- 2 stalks celery
- 2 carrots
- 4 tbsp/2½fl oz good-quality olive oil
- 1 large onion
- 2 small potatoes (such as Maris Piper)
- 4 garlic
- 1 ready-made bouquet garni
- 2 litres/3 pints 10fl oz water
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 200g/7oz canned haricot beans
- large bunch fresh basil
- 100g/3½oz parmesan
- 100ml/3½fl oz good-quality olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Chop the celery and carrots into small dice.
- While you're chopping the vegetables, heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan. Add the chopped celery and carrots to the pan.
- Peel the onion and chop into pieces the same size as the chopped celery and carrots. Add to the pan.
- Chop the potatoes into pieces the same size as the other vegetables and add to the pan.
- Lightly crush the garlic cloves with the heel of your hand and add the unpeeled cloves to the pan. Gently sweat the vegetables in the olive oil for a few minutes, just to colour them slightly. Add the bouquet garni.
- Pour in the water and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover and bring the soup to the simmer and cook for about 10-15 minutes, until the vegetables are just tender.
- Make the pistou. Place the basil leaves in a clean bowl. Roughly chop the parmesan and add to the bowl. Pour in the olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Blend to a smooth sauce with a hand-held blender (alternatively you could make the sauce in a mini-food processor). The sauce should be bright green and have a fairly smooth consistency (you may need to add more oil).
- Add the beans to the soup. Remove the bouquet garni.
- Cook until the vegetables are tender and the beans are heated through.
- To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and swirl a spoonful or two of the pistou into each. Drizzle over some olive oil and serve with some good bread.
Cook Time
1H
Prep Time
PT30M
Yield
Serves 6
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