Pistou Of Seasonal Vegetables Recipes

SUMMER PISTOU

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the leeks and courgette for 5 mins to soften. Pour in the stock, add three-quarters of the haricot beans with the green beans, half the tomatoes, and simmer for 5-8 mins until the vegetables are tender.
• Meanwhile, blitz the remaining beans and tomatoes, the garlic and basil in a food processor (or in a bowl with a stick blender) until smooth, then stir in the Parmesan. Stir the sauce into the soup, cook for 1 min, then ladle half into bowls or pour into a flask for a packed lunch. Chill the remainder. Will keep for a couple of days.

PISTOU OF SUMMER VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Have ready large bowl ice water. In medium saucepan over high heat, bring salted water to boil. Add asparagus and boil, uncovered, until crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain, then immediately plunge spears into ice water to stop cooking. Drain again and pat dry.
• Have ready large bowl ice water. In medium saucepan over high heat, bring salted water to boil. Add fava beans and boil, uncovered, 1 minute. Drain in colander, then immediately plunge colander into ice water to stop cooking. Drain again. Slip outer skin off each bean and discard.
• Have ready large bowl ice water. In medium saucepan over high heat, bring salted water to boil. Add peas and boil, uncovered, until tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain in colander, then immediately plunge colander into ice water to stop cooking. Drain again and spread on paper towels to dry.
• Have ready large bowl ice water. In medium saucepan over high heat, bring salted water to boil. Add basil and boil, uncovered, 45 seconds. Drain in colander, then immediately plunge colander into ice water to stop cooking. Drain again and spread on paper towels to dry.
• (Asparagus, fava beans, sugar snap peas, and basil can be blanched up to 4 hours ahead, then dried well, and chilled, covered until needed.)
• In large bowl, toss together asparagus, fava beans, and peas. Transfer half vegetable mixture to blender and add basil. Blend until chopped, then add 5 tablespoons olive oil in slow, steady stream, and blend until smooth.
• In heavy, large saucepan, over moderately high heat, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil until hot but not smoking. Add shallot and sauté until translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in vegetable stock, vegetable purée, remaining blanched vegetables, salt, and pepper and bring to simmer. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally until vegetables are heated through, 3 to 5 minutes. Ladle into bowls, sprinkle each with herb mixture, and serve immediately.

PISTOU VEGETABLE SOUP WITH MUSSELS

Steps:

• For the pistou, make a paste with the basil, garlic and olive oil by pounding with a mortar and pestle or pureeing in a blender. Press plastic wrap directly onto the pistou and refrigerate. (The pistou can be made 1 day ahead). For the beans, place all the ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat slightly and simmer until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and discard the aromatics. Refrigerate the beans. For the mussels, place the olive oil, garlic, shallot and parsley in a large wide pot over medium heat. Cook until the garlic and shallot are softened, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and mussels, cover the pot and raise the heat to high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mussels are opened, about 5 minutes. Strain and reserve the mussel broth. Shell the mussels, discarding any that did not open, Refrigerate. For the vegetables, measure the mussel broth and add fish fumet, if necessary, to make 2 cups. Place in a medium saucepan with with 2 1/2 cups additional fish fumet. Add the carrots, fennel and zucchini and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, skimming off the foam as it rises, until the vegetables are tender, about 12 minutes. (This recipe can be done to this point several hours ahead: refrigerate vegetables and broth.) To serve, stir the tomato and the beans into the vegetables and broth. Bring to a boil. Stir in the pistou and remove from heat. Divide the mussels among 4 soup bowls. Ladle the soup over the mussels, making sure the beans and vegetables are evenly distributed. Squeeze lemon juice over the top and serve immediately.
• Remove the gills and eyes from the fish or have your fish store do it. Cut the heads and bones across into 4-inch pieces. Put them in a shallow pan and cover with cold water. Let stand for 1 hour, changing the water twice. Drain. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, fennel, leek, peppercorns, salt, parsley and bay leaf. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook until the vegetables are softened but not browned, about 4 minutes. Add the fish bones and cook, stirring from time to time, until the bones and any flesh around the bones turn from translucent to white, about 12 minutes. Add the wine and water and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes, skimming off the foam as it rises to the top. Remove from the heat and let rest for 10 minutes. Strain the fumet through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing firmly on the solids to extract as much of the flavorful liquid as possible. If you have more than 3 cups of fumet, place the liquid in a clean saucepan and boil until reduced to 3 cups. Store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

FRENCH VEGETABLE SOUP WITH PISTOU

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in 4-quart stockpot until it simmers. Add potatoes, leek, carrots and garlic, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, green beans, kidney beans and pasta.
• Bring to a boil; simmer 8 to 10 minutes or until the pasta is cooked.
• Process garlic, basil and cheese in a food processor until a paste begins to form. Slowly add olive oil; process until combined.
• Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper. Serve the soup in bowls garnished with a spoonful of pistou.

PISTOU (SUMMER VEGETABLE SOUP)

Steps:

• Over medium-low heat, gently saute the leek and onion until they are translucent and just beginning to brown. Add the diced carrots, diced potatoes, chopped tomato and cranberry beans. Add the sage and 8 cups water. Bring to a boil, cover, lower the heat, and simmer for 40 minutes or longer, until the vegetables are soft.
• Twenty minutes before serving, add the string beans, zucchini and linguine. Add more water if necessary, stir to mix the ingredients, and continue cooking.
• While the soup finishes, make the pistou sauce. Place the garlic, basil and Parmesan in the container of a food processor or blender. Process or blend until the mixture is grainy. Continue processing, and add the oil, slowly but steadily, until the mixture is smooth. Mince the tomato pulp very finely, and drain in a fine- mesh sieve. Mix together with the rest of the sauce.
• When ready to serve, add a ladleful of hot soup to the sauce, mix well and combine the sauce and the rest of the soup. Serve immediately.