← Nouns Cooking · French

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 Onion, diced
• 1 Leek, sliced
• 2 Carrot, diced
• 1 Potato, peeled and diced
• 2 Tomato, chopped
• 1.5 l vegetable stock or water
• 2 Courgette (zucchini), diced
• 200 g Green beans, cut into short lengths
• 2 cans tins of white or borlotti beans (400 g each), drained
• 100 g small pasta or broken spaghetti
• salt and black pepper
• 40 g basil leaves (a big bunch)
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 50 g parmesan or aged Gouda, finely grated (optional)

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat and cook the onion, leek and carrots for 8 min until softened.
2. Add the potato, tomatoes and stock with a good pinch of salt. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 min.
3. Stir in the courgettes, green beans, beans and pasta and simmer for 10–12 min, until the pasta and vegetables are tender. Season well.
4. Meanwhile, make the pistou: pound the garlic with a pinch of salt in a mortar, add the basil and grind to a paste, then work in the oil a little at a time (or blitz everything in a mini chopper). Stir in the cheese if using.
5. Ladle the soup into bowls and swirl a spoonful of pistou into each one. Never boil the pistou; its raw freshness is the point.

Tips

• Leave out the cheese to keep the soup vegan; it is already delicious without it.
• Use gluten-free pasta, or swap it for rice, to make it gluten-free.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Williams Sonoma ProvenceWeb America's Test Kitchen