French Vegetable Soup (Soup au pistou)

This is a soup to pull you out of winter. It’s warming but has a light, fresh feel, unlike hearty winter soups.

My mom spent Easter in Paris, an 80th birthday gift from all of us kids and proof that you needn’t outgrow your sense of adventure.

For much of her life mom has considered France a spiritual home of sorts. Perhaps it’s a thread of ancestry – my grandfather’s roots are in the Poitou, a region in Western France. Whatever the pull, more than one French recipe has made its way onto our family favourites list.

In the countdown to her trip mom revived this French vegetable soup recipe, which she discovered years ago in the cookbook Barefoot in Paris, by Ina Garten.

This is a soup to pull you out of winter. It’s warming but has a light, fresh feel, unlike hearty winter soups. It’s traditionally made with the skinny French green beans called haricots verts which we have only ever found here at farmer’s markets during the growing season. Regular green beans are just fine.

An Ina Garten recipe

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped leeks, white and light green parts (or additional onion)
1 ½ cups diced unpeeled red potatoes
1 ½ cups diced carrots
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
½ tsp. saffron threads
¼ lb green beans, trimmed and cut in half
2 ounces spaghetti, broken in pieces
2 Tbsp. pistou (recipe follows)*
Sea salt & pepper to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan, for serving

Instructions:

Heat oil in a large stockpot, add the onions, and saute over low heat until the onions are translucent.
Add the leeks, potatoes, carrots and saute over medium heat for another 5 minutes.
Add the stock and saffron, bring to the boil, then simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender.
Add the green beans and spaghetti, bring to a simmer, and cook for 15 more minutes.
When ready to serve, whisk in pesto and tomato paste. Season with salt & pepper.
Serve with grated Parmesan cheese and a dollop of pistou.

Pistou (Tomato Pesto):

Ingredients:

2 large garlic cloves
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
12 large basil leaves
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
¼ cup good olive oil

Instructions:

Place the garlic, tomato paste, basil, and Parmesan in the bowl of a food processor and puree.
With the motor running, slowly pour the olive oil down the feed tube to make a paste.

*Can substitute 2 Tbsp. store bought pesto and ½ Tbsp. tomato paste).