**The winner of Leslie's Karst's memoir is Flora Church! Flora, please contact Leslie at ljkarst at gmail dot com to send her your address. Congratulations!
LUCY BURDETTE: If you're tired of Paris after this week, you will still enjoy this soup which is perfect for spring! This recipe is based on one from the fabulous David Lebovitz's newsletter. If you like reading about Paris and French food, I recommend you subscribe. He was a chef at Alice Water's restaurant Chez Panisse in Berkeley, but many years ago moved to Paris and is excellent at translating French ways for Americans.
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| Lucy with Notre Dame Gargoyles |
I remember eating a soup like this when I was a student in the 1970s in France and terribly homesick. A French family used to invite my roommate and me to Sunday dinner every week because they knew we were lonely for home--wasn't that sweet? The mom would sometimes serve this soup so making it brought back some fun memories. John says I'd choose France for every vacation if I could--he's not far off! Anyway, back to soup...
I veered quite a bit from David's recipe and you can move back to his or further away from both of ours – the recipe is very flexible. I used the vegetables that I either had in the garden or saw at the weekly farmers market. But you could also add potatoes, tomatoes, celery...Ingredients for the soup
Two medium zucchini
2 to 3 leeks, well washed
Carrots, either three large or five or six smaller
Green beans
3 to 4 cloves garlic
1 cup dried white beans (I used Navy)
1 32 ounce box low sodium chicken broth
Handful of small pasta, if you like
Chopped tomatoes if you like
Chopped tomatoes if you like
2 sprigs thyme (which I forgot, darn it!)
The day before you plan to make the soup, soak the white beans overnight in water. Rinse them, and then cover them with water in a large pot and simmer until soft with two bay leaves. (This could take an hour or so.) When the beans are soft, add the chicken broth to the pot and keep simmering.
The day before you plan to make the soup, soak the white beans overnight in water. Rinse them, and then cover them with water in a large pot and simmer until soft with two bay leaves. (This could take an hour or so.) When the beans are soft, add the chicken broth to the pot and keep simmering.
Chop the leeks. Chop the green beans into bite-size pieces. Chop the zucchini likewise. Chop the garlic cloves. I used my food processor to chop the carrots, and didn't even rinse it before starting the pistou. And that explains the little flecks of orange you will see later.
In a large frying pan, heat some good olive oil and sauté the leeks, the garlic, carrots, onion, zucchini and saute until soft. Add the green beans and sautéed them a bit too. Scrape this mixture into the bean pot and simmer everything until soft, about 20-30 minutes. You may if you wish add a handful of pasta at the end, but you may have to add more liquid too.
For the pistou
One clove garlic
One small bunch basil, cleaned and leaves removed (my favorite veggie guy at the market had Thai basil so that's what I tried)
1/4 cup good olive oil
About an ounce Parmesan cheese
Chop the garlic in the food processor, then add the olive oil. Add the Parmesan cheese in smaller pieces and chop that in. Finally add the basil and pulse until everything is combined.
Serve the bowls of soup with a heaping tablespoon of the basil mixture dropped in the center. Then each diner can stir his or her pistou/pesto into the soup.
Or pass the pistou in a separate bowl if you have concerned eaters...
This sounds so delicious. I want to try it. We are soup lovers, and this sounds like a great soup for either summer or winter.
ReplyDeleteHow many does this recipe serve? (Elizabeth)
DeleteI'm going to guess 4 bowls of soup
DeleteThis sounds yummy. I often add a tablespoon of pesto (I make a lot in the summer and freeze it in small jars) to a chicken or fish soup.
ReplyDeleteMy mom used dried soup packets, so there's no memorable soup from my childhood. But she did make creamed tuna (with frozen peas) on toast from scratch. She and I were the only two who liked it, and I still have fond memories of eating that with her.
By the way, the tribute all the Reds wrote honoring Hank for the Malice program booklet was lovely.
DeleteThanks for the feedback, Edith - we were all so thrilled that she was GoH.
Deleteyes thanks Edith, we had fun with that. Hey we should put that up as a post!
DeleteLucy, this looks delicious! Is there onion in it, too? It isn't listed in the ingredients but you do mention adding it. Leeks really impart a unique flavor to foods. I just started cooking with them recently.
ReplyDeleteThe problem for me is that, although I can eat small amounts of garlic in food, if it is a main ingredient, it is a digestive problem that can last for days. I rarely make anything that depends solely on garlic for its flavor. I am fortunate that nothing else is as persistent a problem. I can eat any onion as long as it is cooked.
I love leeks Judy! I can't remember adding onion, but no reason why you couldn't. I've gotten less enthused about garlic too as I get older. Since there's only one clove, leave it out!
DeleteLucy, this had me scurrying for Julia Childs's Mastering the Art of French Cooking - Her 'Soup au pistou" is one of the first knockout dishes in a series of dinners we had with friends, ages ago, each of us cooking a course that took as much time as a normal whole meal. But the results were so astoundingly delicious that I've continued making it. (For that meal someone made a Gateau San Honore (also Julia's) which was also fantastic but which I'd never attempt to duplicate. A caramel cage? So not up my accident-prone alley,)
ReplyDeleteI'll have to look at my copy and see how she makes it. The caramel cage sounds yummy though, and reminds me of a dinner long ago where two friends made a big stack of cream puffs in the shape of a Christmas tree with caramel drizzled all the way down. It was amazing!
DeleteI asked for the Julia Child Cookbook for Christmas and was gifted it by my sister. I just put a Post-It sticky note flag on p. 45 Soup au Pistou! I do want to delve into some recipes from this cookbook. Thanks Hallie for mentioning "Mastering the Art of French Cooking".
DeleteLucy, this looks delicious! Unfortunately, the soups I ate as a child were canned. My mom (and my Texas transplant grandma) used to make butter beans with ham, but as a child I thought they were horrible.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, we all had canned soup back in the day! The butter beans sound wonderful though!
DeleteThis sounds so good, and I always have pesto cubes in the freezer. I also make beans in the slow cooker and freeze them in about the same quantity as canned beans.
ReplyDeleteLike others who grew up in the 1950s and '60s, my mother mostly served canned soup. Except for chili, which I still make the same way she did. In the bottom of a big pot, brown a pound of ground meat (traditionally beef, but we purposely grind venison for this and spaghetti, and cannot tell the difference; turkey would also work). Add chopped onion and as much chili as you think you want. For us, I always used a big stirring spoon of the chili powder from a can, but these days I've also substituted ancho or chipotle chili powders. Add a can of tomato sauce, a small can of tomato paste, two small cans or one large of kidney beans (I prefer the kind with chili in it, but that's gotten harder to find) or black beans, and one or two cans of chopped tomatoes. Add enough water to make it the right consistency. Simmer for at least an hour, two hours is better.
If the soup is too watery, add a handful of small pasta. Serve with crackers, shredded cheese, chopped onions, sour cream, chopped avocado, or corn strips.
Oh yum Karen! I just got accepted into the Rancho Gordo bean club:), so I've got to up my game with beans this summer! (Don't tell John...)
DeleteI need to do that, Lucy! I used to be able to buy Rancho Gordo beans at a shop on the square here, but they don't seem to have them anymore. Rancho Gordo beans are amazing!
DeleteThe recipe is super easy, and like your Soupe au Pistou, versatile. You can change the kind of beans, add butternut squash, or even add rice, although I never have. Once I added leftover chipotle chilies in adobo, and that was good, too. Vegetarians might want to substitute sauteed tofu for the ground meat.
DeleteEchoing everyone else, that looks yummy. It would also be all mine, seein' as how the other human who lives here despises pesto. (I know, I know. #sigh :) )
ReplyDeleteHe can have his plain, though it won't be as good as yours!
DeleteThis ounds fabulous, except for the zucchini, not a huge fan of summer squash. I'd probably substitute pieces of butternut squash. My mom did a lot of canned soups when I was a kid but usually for lunch. She did cook white beans with ham hock and a fabulous potato and leek soup.
ReplyDeleteDeana
I mentioned below, I am wondering what to substitute the zucchini for - and butternut squash is perfect! Thanks.
DeleteButternut squash would be fine. And I'm now craving the leek and potato soup:)
DeleteLucy, I feel as if we've been to Paris with you.I can't wait to try the pistou, and the soup. I am trying to decide what to substitute the zucchini for as my hubby isn't a fan. Maybe potatoes?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you mentioned David Lebovitz. I loved his book, L'appart: The Delight & Disasters of Making My Paris Home. I highly recommend it and several others of his.
He had quite an adventure renovating that apartment! I just finished rereading his earlier book THE SWEET LIFE IN PARIS. Highly recommended for folks who love Paris and or are interested in the process of adapting to a new country. Not easy! and plenty of divine recipes too...
DeleteLove Lebovitz and I subscribe. I've read L'appart but I don't think I've read The Sweet Life in Paris. Going on the list now. And I've now followed Cake Boy, so thank you for that!
DeleteOoh, Cake Boy looks interesting, but I can't figure out how to subscribe. Any tips? ~ Lynda
DeleteCool weather is hanging on for another week, so soup will be welcome. Thanks for a splendid idea and a bit of travel. Mom made her own noodles for chicken soup, and also made terrific potato soup. Feeding seven people every single night was an admirable task, and while she claimed it was "take it or leave it," she did make some accommodations and all were satisfied. ;-)
ReplyDeleteMy m-in-law had 7 kids so she cooked all meals for 9--yikes!
DeleteThis soup sounds delicious, Lucy . . . thanks for the recipe.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I make split pea soup, it always reminds me of my childhood when my mom would make split pea soup for us. Lots of happy memory smiles in every spoonful . . . .
Love split pea soup too Joan, and glad you have those memories!
Deletethanks for the reminder, Joan and Lucy! Love split pea soup too!
DeleteDiana
This sounds delish, Lucy, and I will make it just as soon as zucchini comes on the market, which won't be long here in Texas. This week for me I think it's going to be my white bean and spinach with whole wheat orzo. I have spinach that needs to be used.
ReplyDeletethat sounds good too Debs!
DeleteThis soup sounds delicious, Lucy and I never get tired of reading about Paris!
ReplyDeleteLove Chez Panisse! Neighborhood favorite and before the pandemic, we would go there annually.
Loved the potato leek soup in Reutte, Austria. Always love to eat French Onion Soup, though now I cannot include dairy (cheese). More favorites include Coconut Lentil soup, Thai coconut chicken soup, Tomato basil soup and Carrot ginger soup.
Diana
What a mouth-watering post, Lucy, thank you. I follow David Lebovitz and love his recipes as well as his take on life in Paris. I was fortunate to visit Paris with my husband in 1987, and have never recovered from the gloriousness of that trip. Because my ticket was paid for by my husband's employer as a thank you for all his work (he went to Germany for a computer conference and we took the train from Hamburg to Paris), when we decided to fly home on the Concorde it only cost us the upgrade. *What* an incredible experience!
ReplyDeleteAs for memorable soups, my mom's lentil soup has marvelous memories attached to it. She was a fantastic cook, and famous in our neighborhood for her lemon meringue pie, enchilada casserole, and homemade popcorn balls for Halloween. ~ Lynda
Home on the Concorde--what fun! Your mom's food sounds amazing!
DeleteIt was the experience of a lifetime! Since it was Air France, the gorgeously attired flight attendants offered us a choice of magazines in French and English, the food was amazing, the toiletries in the loo included French scent, and the bar cart was better stocked than some bars I used to drink in. The crew was warm and welcoming when they found out it was our first time on the plane. They all autographed an enormous bottle of champagne, which I believe was called a Methuselah. Since my husband and I don't drink, I sent the champagne, along with a thank you note, to the boss that arranged for me to join Ron. We're such lucky ducks. ~ Lynda
DeleteFantastic, Roberta! This soup looks amazing.
ReplyDelete