Soupe au Pistou
I’ve adapted this soup—basically a vegetable-basil soup—from the French classic. But the basil in this recipe isn’t pounded (pistou) into a pesto sauce as in the original version; instead, it’s chopped and added as garnish to give the soup great flavour.
4 cups (1 L) vegetable stock, low sodium
1/2 cup (125 mL) finely sliced carrots
1/2 cup (125 mL) finely sliced celery
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 cup (60 mL) finely sliced onion
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup (125 mL) finely sliced zucchini
12 green beans, finely sliced
1/2 cup (125 mL) tomato, seeds removed, diced
1/2 cup (125 mL) canned kidney beans, rinsed
1/2 cup (125 mL) sliced button mushrooms
1/2 cup (125 mL) orzo, uncooked
Salt and pepper to taste
8 leaves fresh basil, finely chopped
- To a medium-sized pot, add vegetable stock, carrots, celery, garlic, onion and bay leaf.
- Simmer and cook for three minutes.
- Add zucchini, green beans, tomato, kidney beans, mushrooms and orzo, and cook another five minutes until orzo is tender.
- Remove bay leaf, and season.
- Divide among four bowls and top with basil.
Serves four.
Per serving: 123 calories, 7 g protein, 1 g fat (0 g saturated fat), 36 g carbohydrates, 6 g fibre, 0 mg cholesterol, 149 mg sodium
Best Health Magazine, November/December 2010; Photo by Jodi Pudge
This might be healthy, but has no flavour. Followed the recipe with no substitutions - it's not good. 2 Thumbs down! Boo!