Soupe au pistou – Provençal vegetable soup with basil sauce Recipe
Soupe au pistou is a summer soup from Provence, full of vegetables, beans and pasta, served with a generous spoonful of aromatic sauce made from basil, garlic and cheese. It’s a bit like Italian minestrone, but instead of pesto you add French pistou, usually without nuts. In France it often appears at family dinners when you need to use up garden vegetables and feed a bigger crowd.
Soupe au pistou to prowansalska odpowiedź na minestrone, zwykle gotowana latem z tego, co dojrzewa na rynku. Kluczowy jest sos pistou, podobny do pesto, ale bez orzechów, ucierany na świeżo i dodawany już na talerzu.
This classic Provençal soup combines simple garden vegetables, beans and pasta with an intensely aromatic basil-garlic-cheese sauce. The pistou stirred in at the table transforms a humble vegetable soup into something deeply flavorful and comforting, perfect for using up seasonal produce and feeding a crowd.
Chef's tips
Use a mix of seasonal vegetables you have on hand – soupe au pistou is very forgiving. Small pasta shapes like ditalini or tiny shells work best. For the most fragrant pistou, pound the ingredients in a mortar instead of blending; the texture will be slightly rustic but the flavor more intense.
How to serve
Serve with crusty bread, ideally baguette, and a simple green salad dressed with a light vinaigrette. Put extra pistou on the table so everyone can add more to taste. A chilled rosé from Provence pairs beautifully with this dish.
Na co uważać
- Nie rozgotuj ziemniaków i makaronu – gdy zaczną się rozpadać, zupa zmieni się w mętną, ciężką papkę.
- Nie gotuj pistou w garnku – wysoka temperatura zszarza kolor i zabija świeży, ziołowy aromat.
- Przy miksowaniu pistou rób krótkie pulsacje, bo długie blendowanie podgrzewa sos i matowi zieleń.
Zamienniki
- Białą fasolę z puszki zastąp ugotowaną fasolą jaś, skracając czas podgrzewania w zupie.
- Zamiast drobnego makaronu użyj małych muszelek, orzo lub drobnych świderków, by zupa pozostała płynna.
- Gdy nie masz świeżej bazylii, użyj niewielkiej ilości dobrego gotowego pesto zamiast pistou.
Ingredients
- potatoes - 300 g
- carrot - 2 pieces
- zucchini - 1 piece
- green beans - 150 g
- tomatoes - 3 pieces
- onion - 1 piece
- garlic - 5 cloves
- white beans - 400 g
- pasta - 120 g
- vegetable stock - 1.5 l
- basil - 1 bunch
- cheese - 50 g
- olive oil - 5 tablespoons
- salt
- pepper
Preparation
- Peel the onion and dice it finely. Finely chop 2 cloves of garlic, set the remaining ones aside for the pistou sauce.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 4–5 minutes, stirring, until they soften and become slightly translucent but not browned.
- Peel the carrot and potatoes and cut them into small cubes. Slice the zucchini into half-moons. Cut the green beans into pieces about 2–3 cm long.
- Add the carrot, potatoes and green beans to the pot. Stir and cook for 3–4 minutes to warm the vegetables through slightly.
- Pour in the stock, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and cook for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables start to soften.
- Scald the tomatoes with boiling water, peel off the skins and dice them (if using canned tomatoes, just add them). Add the tomatoes to the pot along with the pasta and cook for another 8–10 minutes, until the pasta is al dente and the vegetables are tender but not mushy.
- Add the drained and rinsed white beans, season the soup with salt and pepper. Cook for another 3–4 minutes over low heat.
- Meanwhile, prepare the pistou: in a mortar or bowl crush the remaining 3 cloves of garlic with a big pinch of salt into a paste. Add the basil leaves (without the tough stems) and pound until the herbs break down and release their juices.
- Add the grated cheese and 3 tablespoons of olive oil, mixing until you get a thick green sauce. If you don’t have a mortar, you can blend everything with a hand blender until smooth.
- Ladle the hot soup into bowls and top each portion with 1–2 tablespoons of pistou sauce. Don’t stir it in right away – let everyone swirl the sauce into their own bowl.
Storage
Zupę przechowuj osobno od pistou, w lodówce do 3 dni – makaron wchłonie część płynu i całość zgęstnieje. Przy podgrzewaniu dolej trochę wody lub bulionu, a świeże pistou dodawaj zawsze dopiero na talerzu, by zachować kolor i aromat.
I love making this soup at the height of summer, when tomatoes, zucchini and green beans are at their best. The recipe is flexible, so don’t worry about exact proportions – focus on good vegetables and a generous spoonful of fresh pistou in every bowl.
