After a beautiful weekend, celebrating a family wedding in balmy South Carolina, it is difficult to be back in Missouri - where the the temperature today is peaking at 10 degrees. This weather calls for soup. And, since we're coming off of a weekend full of rich food in the southern tradition, a vegetable soup is just what we need.
I stumbled across this recipe for
Soup au Pistou in
House Beautiful several years ago, and it has become one of our favorites. We've all had versions of this soup as kids, but I never enjoyed it nearly as much, until I learned about the "Pistou". Pistou is essentially pesto, pure and simple, without nuts or cheese. The spicy bite of raw garlic, and brightness of fresh basil are a perfect compliment to the gentle taste of vegetables that have been cooking for hours in a rich stock.
There are different variations of this soup, and you can play with the ingredients a bit.
David Liebovitz, famous
author and food blogger, knows a thing ( or 200) about french cooking, and includes a beautiful version of this soup his
own blog.
Another contribution, from the ever stellar
101 Cookbooks, by
Heidi Swanson demonstrates the versatility of this soup, without losing its true essence. Heidi's recipes are some of my favorites due to the purity of her approach, and her dedication to quality and authenticity.
I want you to have this recipe RIGHT NOW, so I'm bringing it to you directly from the
House Beautiful website, or feel free to play around a little bit, and tell me what makes your Soup au Pistou special.
