French Soupe Au Pistou

Total Time: 45 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs green beans, in 1 inch pieces
• 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
• 2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
• 3 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 2 1/2 quarts chicken stock or 2 1/2 quarts vegetable stock
• 2 cups cooked large beans (if using cans,with liquid. if using dry beans use 1 cup dry beans, reserve 2 cups cooking liquid) or 2 cups chickpeas (if using cans,with liquid. if using dry beans use 1 cup dry beans, reserve 2 cups cooking liquid)
• 1/2 cup vermicelli or 1/2 cup other thin noodles, broken into small pieces
• 1 cup fresh basil leaf, firmly packed
• 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh garlic

Recipe

• 1 in a heavy pot (about 8-quart size), combine green beans, onions, potatoes, tomatoes and stock.
• 2 bring to a boil, then simmer until beans and potatoes are crisp tender.
• 3 add the cooked beans with their cooking water (or liquid from cans) and vermicelli, and simmer until the vermicelli is just tender.
• 4 combine the basil, cheese, oil and garlic in a blender or processor, and puree.
• 5 stir this paste into the soup, bit by bit.
• 6 adjust seasoning if necessary.
• 7 after the sauce has been added, the soup may be warmed, but not boiled.
• 8 serve with hot or toasted slices of french bread.
• 9 to freeze: prepare soup up to the point of adding pesto. cool. place in a rigid freezer container. seal. place pesto in a freezer bag. seal. attach to the top of the freezer container with tape. label and freeze.
• 10 to serve: thaw in fridge. reheat soup on stovetop until boiling. turn down heat and add pesto to taste. enjoy.
• 11 for vegetarian use vegetable broth and a vegetarian parmesan cheese.