Pistou Soup

I have a new love – pesto. I’ve always liked pesto but I’m re-discovering it and have never had it in a soup before. For Week 26 of the Cookbook Challenge, theme of Green, I did a Pistou Soup from cookbook “5 Nights a Week”

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 leek (white part only) finely chopped

1 carrot, cut into 1cm cubes

1 large potato, peeled, cut into 1cm cubes

2 cups (500ml) good quality chicken or vegetable stock

1 tomato, peeled, seeds removed, cut into 1cm cubes

420g can four-bean mix, drained, rinsed

50g thin French or thin green beans, ends trimmed, cut into 2cm lengths

1 large zucchini, chopped

4 tablespoons good quality basil pesto

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the leek and sweat over a low heat for 1-2 minutes. Add the carrot and potato and cook, stirring, for a further minute. Add the stock and 1 cup water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, simmer for 5 minutes, then add the tomato, four-bean mix, French or green beans and zucchini. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for a further 2 minutes, stir in half the pesto, then ladle into serving bowls. Add a dollop of the remaining pesto and serve with slices of chargrilled bread.

This soup was a nice twist on the average veggie soup with the leek and the pesto giving it a good kick. I made my own pesto (basil, oil, garlic, pine nuts and parmesan in a blender) so everything tasted really fresh. Easy and quick recipe to make, particularly if you decide to use pre-made pesto, I think I’ll be adding this to my regular repetoire!