Soups
Green Minestrone Soup au pistou
Prep Time:
15 minutes
Cook Time:
20 Minutes
Serves:
4 / 6
Pistou is the French version of pesto normally made with basil. It doesn’t contain parmesan in the ingredients unlike the Italian version.
If you can’t find fresh peas or broad beans, then use frozen. The cannellini beans can be substituted with new potatoes, precooked. I made this in the winter, so I have used broccoli and kale instead of spring greens and green beans.
Ingredients
For the Soup
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 bay leaf torn
- 1 leek cleaned and diced
- 1 onion diced
- 1 stick celery peeled and diced
- 1 large courgette cut in 4 lengthwise, pith removed and diced
- 100g fresh peas podded
- 150g broad beans, double-podded if bought in their outer shell
- 100g green beans (or broccoli)
- 100g spring green cabbage (or kale)
- 1 x 400g tin cannellini beans drained and rinsed (Optional)
- 1.5 ltrs of vegetable stock, boiling
- ½ lemon zested and juiced
Pistou
- 100g wild garlic
- 50g pine nuts or walnuts
- 100ml extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt & black pepper
Method
1 Top and tail the green beans, cut into 1 cm pieces or cut the broccoli the same size
2 On a low heat add the olive oil add the onions, bay leaf, season with salt and pepper, cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes
3 Then add the celery and leeks, cook for a further 5 minutes until soft
4 Add the stock, courgette, peas, broad beans, spring cabbage, cannellini beans and simmer for 5 minutes
5 Add the lemon zest and juice, allow to stand off the heat for a further 5 minutes
6 Meanwhile make the pistou below
Pistou
1 Toast the nuts until golden brown
2 Blanch the wild garlic in boiling salted water and refresh in iced cold water and squeeze dry
3 Put all the ingredients into a pestle and mortar, season with salt and pepper, then grind into a paste
