Soupe au Pistou

What is Soupe au Pistou?

Soupe au pistou is a delicious soup recipe that originates from the Provence region of France. The soup itself is a hearty vegetarian recipe with pasta, and rustic vegetables like carrots, zucchini, leeks, and onions, in addition to cannellini beans. It’s a perfect meal for a weeknight dinner in the Fall especially.

The Pistou is a sauce that goes on top of the soup. It is quite similar to making pesto but without the pine nuts. When it is combined with the soup you get your Soupe au Pistou. Some people will take off bits of it as they eat their soup and others will want to just mix it in. Up to you! Are you a combiner or separator when it comes to this soup?

Overall, soup au pistou is quite a simple recipe to make and apart from making the pistou itself and initially sauteeing the veggies, it turns into a one-pot recipe, just requiring some occasional stirring at that point.

Tips for Soupe au Pistou

1. We wait until the end of simmering until adding the cannellini beans and pasta. This ensures that the pasta isn’t overcooked and the beans don’t fall apart.
2. When chopping your veggies, no need to be super precise. Classic Provençal cooking uses roughly chopped ingredients, giving it a rustic vibe.
3. While you can use a food processor, the more authentic way to make Pistou is using a mortar and pestle, as seen in the photo below.
4. If you like croutons with your Soup au Pistou, just go ahead and toast some baguette. It goes great with it!

What are your thoughts?

What do you think of this recipe? Is it too authentic or not authentic enough? If you have any tips or tricks to making Soup au Pistou, feel free to comment below!

Another Vegetarian Soup Recipe

If you liked this vegetarian soup recipe and want to try another from another part of Europe, check out GradFood’s Summer Gazpacho recipe (which comes from Spain)

Soupe au Pistou

Zoe's favorite soup, this savory vegetarian soup with a pesto-like topping is just incredible.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Soup

Cuisine French, Mediterranean

Servings 6

Ingredients

  

Soup

• 2 red potatoes chopped
• 1.5 cups green beans roughly chopped
• 2 medium carrots chopped
• 1 leek white and light green part only, halved and chopped
• 1 medium zucchini quartered and chopped
• 1 shallot chopped
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 3 cups water
• 2 14 ounce cans cannellini beans rinsed
• 10 oz orecchiette pasta
• 1 tbsp rosemary chopped
• 2 tsp thyme chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp garlic salt

Pistou

• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 cups basil leaves
• ½ cup Parmesan grated
• 1/3 cup olive oil

Instructions

 

• Sauté the shallot and leeks in olive oil with garlic salt for a minute, then add zucchini and carrot, cooking for another few minutes (you just need a light sear, it doesn’t need to be cooked through).
• In a large pot or Dutch oven, add water and chicken stock. Add potatoes, green beans, bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, and all the veggies you just sauteed. Bring to a low simmer and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, for 45-60 min.
• In the last 10 minutes of simmering, add cannellini beans and orecchiette pasta. Can add salt and pepper, to taste. If the soup reduces and gets too thick, you can add more water/chicken stock if needed.
• Meanwhile, make the pistou. Add garlic and basil with a pinch of salt to a food processor. Blend for a minute, then add garlic, and continue blending, slowly incorporating olive oil, until it resembles a thick paste.
• Serve soup in a bowl, adding a heap of pistou and an extra sprinkling of shredded Parmesan on top.

Keyword Garlic, Soup, vegetarian

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