Sunday Soup Day: Soupe au Pistou

Soupe au Pistou is a french-style soup with white beans and herbs. It's topped with pesto sauce (pistou) before it's served. I read an article in the most recent Bon Appetit about cooking simple meals with white beans, so I thought I would dive into making a white bean soup.

Everything in this soup is made from scratch, including the stock and the soup. At times, I use canned or boxed stock (beef, chicken, vegetable, etc.). In my cast-iron pot, heated 2 tablespoons of olive oil and stirred in carrots, celery, fennel, garlic, onion and tomatoes. The vegetables cooked 20 minutes until they were soft, then I added 8 cups of water and brought everything to a boil. After lowering the heat, the stock simmered for another 30 minutes. Using a strainer and a large mixing bowl, I strained the vegetables (broth in the bowl). I pureed the vegetables in a blender, minus the bay leaves and thyme. Then I stirred the puree into the broth to complete the stock.

Meanwhile, in the same pot, I sauteed onion garlic, carrot, celery and herbs in olive oil then added the reserved broth, beans and tomatoes. I brought it to a boil and let simmer for 30 minutes. To serve, I topped it with pesto sauce.

I had an audience while I was finishing the soup as we hosted a baby shower at our house. I also had a few others over to watch the game, so seven people tried the soup. No one raved about the taste despite the time it took to prepare. It was alright, though, I wasn't crazy about it either. I didn't add any salt and a few of them noticed. It had an abundance of flavor from all of the herbs--almost too much--but it was still a great afternoon lunch.

I'll continue making a variety of white bean soups, but may not repeat this exact recipe. I enjoyed preparing the stock, though. The smell throughout the house was worth the time and effort.

Ingredients:
Stock
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, thickly sliced
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 head fennel, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 plum tomatoes, quartered
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf

Soup
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup diced onion
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1/2 cup diced carrot
1 cup diced celery
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 tbsp minced fresh thyme
1 1/2cups drained and chopped canned plum tomatoes
2 cans (15 ounces each) white cannelini beans, rinsed and drained
6 tsp prepared pesto or extra-virgin olive oil

Weather: 58-degrees, sunny