Soupe au Pistou

A soup composed of diced vegetables: haricot beans, kidney beans, courgettes, carrots, onions, potatoes, tomatoes,and pasta. the special feature of this soup is its accompanying sauce : a pesto sauce made from Basil, garlic, tomatoes and olive oil.

 

A Recipe : ( from the website of Aix en Provence)

Ingredients

750 g of flat green beans, 750 g of white beans, 750 g of red beans, 2 potatoes, 2 courgettes, 2 leeks, 2 tomatos, 1 stick of celery, 1 bunch of basil, 5 garlic cloves, 50 g of grated gruyere, 50 g of grated parmesan, 2 glasses of olive oil, 250 g of pasta "coquillettes"(shells).

Preparation

Shell the white and red beans. Dice the flat green beans, the courgettes, the potatoes, the leeks and the celery.
Boil everything in 3 litres of salted water for about 1 h 30. (Don't forget to use a pot big enough)
While cooking, boil the 2 tomatoes for about 2 mn and peel them. Crush the 5 garlic cloves and a nice basil branch. Add the tomatoes and pour some thin trickles of olive oil until you have a paste.

Twenty minutes before the end of the cooking, add this paste to the pot. Check the seasoning which must be highly seasoned.

Turn up to boil. When it is boiling, put the pasta; then when they are cooked, add the different grated cheeses.

This soup, which is extremely thick, must be served quite hot..

Sources: www.marseille-tourisme.com; www.aixenprovencetourism.com