SOUPE AU PISTOU
Soupe au Pistou is as close to the south of France as one can be without actually sticking a big toe in the Mediterranean. Grab a big dose of imagination, polish up your bonjours and mercis and follow me through a recipe we Americans call Provençal Vegetable Soup. This week French Fridays with Dorie celebrates summer, that glorious few months when Farmers Markets strut their stuff and tout their wares.
Although this soup is jam-packed with vegetables, it’s broth is fragrantly light and airy. By itself, it’s a light lunch. With a green leafy salad and a warm baguette, it’s supper on the patio. If you’ve grown fond of Rosés, pull out your nicest bottle.
The veggies – carrots, potatoes, green beans, zucchini, tomatoes and corn, onions and garlic – grab the spotlight. Hovering nearby are an abundance of fresh herbs – parsley, thyme, rosemary, basil and bay. Salt. Pepper. Depending on your audience, use vegetable, chicken broth or, water as your moisture base. Dorie’s version also includes 1/3 cup of tiny pasta and a can of cannellini beans.
To my mind, what makes this soup très spécial is its lah-de-dah finale. After ladling the liquid into individual bowls, add a healthy dab of basil pesto, drizzle a stream of olive oil over that (not much) and top everything with shredded basil leaves and grated Parmesan. Can’t you just visualize those bowls marching out of your kitchen in lockstep with the proud chef?
A Cast-iron Soup Kettle Packed with Fresh Vegetables and Herbs – Perfect for Summertime
The most challenging but important preparation in this recipe is adding the vegetables in proper order. Now is the time for Mise en Place – have all your ingredients prepped, lined up and ready to go. Tip One: when making this again, I will eliminate the 1/3 cup of pasta. The pasta becomes soft and mushy after a day or two. Tip Two: it’s perfectly acceptable, if you’re pressed for time, to buy your pesto in a jar.
Meet Rusty the Rufous Hummingbird. The word in the neighborhood is “Don’t Mess with Rusty.”
This summer I’ve been eating lunch and dinner on my tiny balcony. It’s fun, my mountain view is glorious and, it seemed to me, my Soupe au Pistou just tasted better en plein air. A little white-breasted nuthatch is often working his way down the nearby cottonwood tree and an amazing number of Anna’s and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds visit my two feeders everyday. These beautiful little creatures are fascinating to watch, making me laugh. Unfortunately this blissful scenario of joy ended abruptly recently. I’ve been kicked off my own balcony by a belligerent bully who is 3.75” long, weighs 3.4 grams, has a wingspan of 4.5” and doesn’t even speak English.
Last Sunday a male Rufous Hummingbird (now named Rusty) spotted my two nectar-filled feeders and decided to claim the territory. He quickly chased off the others and torpedoed any newcomers who ventured by for a sip. Rusty, who is often caught flashing his iridescent gorget (throat) while vigorously moving his head from side to side, is obviously looking for chicks. The more, the better. He is not a monogamous guy.
“WHOOPS, I’ve reached the end of the Line.” The white-breasted nuthatch has worked its way down this huge 100-year old cottonwood. Lots of tasty morsels to be had along the way.
Rusty sits in a nearby bush, guarding, what he now claims as his feeders, chasing off those who venture near. That includes Moi. Sometimes there are 5 or 6 hummers circling the feeders with a frenetic Rusty, darting to and fro. The chattering racket and loud wing-beating sounds have become annoying. The paying guests who are renting the condos surrounding mine are very good sports but we’re all pulling for Rusty to get lucky, eventually lose interest and move on. The sooner, the better, so peace can be restored at The Gant.
Rusty, caught cat-napping. When you’re on duty 24/7, it’s necessary to grab some shuteye when you can.
Whether you enjoy your Soupe au Pistou inside or outside, you will find the recipe here. To see what my colleagues cooked up this week, go to our French Fridays link. French Fridays with Dorie is an international cooking group working its way through Dorie Greenspan’s Around my French Table.
I definitely need to catch up on this one this week. Everyone’s vegetables look so good! I had a friendly hummingbird that would visit my kitchen window in Corpus Christi. I named him Stanley. He was aiming for a vine with pink flowers that grew up the side of the house, but I liked to think he was coming to say hi. What can I say? I was reeeeally bored in Texas. 🙂 I hope Rusty gets lucky soon! ha!
Hi Mary,
My third floor balcony is the same height as the tree tops in the courtyard and while there are no hummies, we have do some beautiful birds living in the trees all year round. I enjoyed your post very (do keep us posted on Rusty!) and your soup is scrumptious! I totally forgot about the cheese but I did not miss it, it was still great! Have a lovely time with your DD!
ps: re Dorie’s duck recipes – I have my eye on one or two of them but getting raw duck meat in my area is scarce… and its always a whole duck not parts. And there is only two of us at home and DH is very choosy with his food. I am hoping Jay’s will get me a couple of duck breasts or whole thighs soon.
You’re teasing me with your nature in the mountains photos! Wish we had an extra day or so to head up and say hello! Have fun with Melissa and I’ll definitely give Maddy your regards! I loved this soup, too! And didn’t even mind the mushy noodles in my leftovers 🙂
How lovely to have a beautiful balcony to enjoy your meals on! This was a great recipe, huh?
I seem to be having bird issues lately as well. With the hot summer temps we have been sleeping with the windows open (no a/c here). Which is all well and good until around 5 in the morning when the birds wake up and start causing a ruckus. We have one in particular which sounds like a mourning dove with a smokers cough, and boy is he noisy. Here’s hoping Rusty settles down soon.
Soup sounds delicious. I have a magpie here who cleaned out my gutters. He’s pretty noisy though. Enjoy Melissa. See you Sunday. Dotty
I love Rusty! And I love this soup! I would love to enjoy a bowl with you on your balcony!
What wonderful dinner guest you have… they only have sweet songs to sing… no complaining. Glad you enjoyed the soup, good to kick up your heels a bit, you have had an interesting busy summer.
We have a lot of hummingbirds here in Venice Beach, CA but none like Rusty. He sounds like a spit fire of a bird. We enjoyed this soup too even the leftovers.
Oh my, your first photo made me want to pull up a chair on your patio and join you! What a lovely spot!! I loved, loved this soup too, and will definitely make again. As I have a LOT of basil growing, I made my own pesto, but with Thai and Cinnamon basils (since that’s what I had left on the counter!).
In Sedona, we have tons of birds, and can get mesmerized just watching all of them come and go. So much fun. Your story made me wonder about your hummingbirds – at a summer place I used to go to in Flagstaff (AZ), if you stood outside on the patio near the feeders VERY still, with your arms out, they would come and sit on you! Crazy, but in a good way! I do hope Rusty moves on and allows you a little peace. But what a fun story!!!
Candy, I will try that and let you know.
I ADORE the nuthatch that comes around our place!! Birds are so fascinating to watch, aren’t they? We have five feeders around the house, so that out of most of the windows of the house, we are able to see birds – we even have a hummingbird that knocks on our deck window when his feeder is empty…. !!
Your soup looks great, especially in that blue dish! LOVE IT!!
Have a great weekend, Mary!
LOL – I missed the la-de-lah finale, but the plain Jane soup was magnificent. Great photos Mary.
I have to agree with Candy, that patio looks peaceful, perfect for a summer meal and a glass of wine. Mary, you could always use an old fashion sling shot to remove the noisy sucker and restore peace to the neighborhood. Just saying!
Your patio looks like the perfect place for a summer meal. Sorry to hear that Rusty has temporarily displaced you. I’m amazed that he was still long enough for you to take his picture. I do hope he gets lucky so you can eat outside again. Maybe he can submit your photo the eBirdHarmony.com?
I really liked this soup. It tasted so much more like summer than I expected. Glad you liked it too.
We missed you in NYC last weekend (but we did talk about you, all good!). Come east and we’ll do it again in your honor.
Mary, I have a gang of battling Hummingbirds here, too. They are amazing creatures! I love Rusty…gorgeous bird! Ours are the Ruby Throated variety. They have been known to bombard us in their haste to protect the feeder. And yet I hang those feeders up every year. I love watching them do battle!
Your soup looks lovely, as do your dinner partners! I would love to see a Rufus, even though he sounds like a bully!
We missed you last weekend, however it sounds like you are having a very full summer. So nice that Melissa is visiting. Enjoy your visit!!
This sounds like a delightful soup Mary. Love all the veggies, the pesto, fresh basil, parmesan, all my favorites Your birds are so pretty too. We have some gorgeous hummingbirds that frequent the feeders right outside our dining area window. They are very busy these days stocking up for the long trip back to South America.
Hi Mary, love this soup, I have made something similar before and it is wonderful, though it does take some thought. Love all your birds, they are such wonderful creatures. We have many hummingbirds here as they love our fuchsias.
Charmingly written Mary. Delightful to read. I totally get the pasta thing. The trick is to cook the pasta separately and then add a dollop to each bowl before serving. At least that is what I do with Pasta Fagioli.
Meanwhile, KICKASS pictures of birds. Bernie just got his camera and you will be challenging him.
I wonder if Rusty will come back to you next year now that you have named him.
Hugs from Talks to Rocks
Your soup looks delicious! I agree that the grand finale is what makes this soup special – I would not leave any of the toppings off.
I skipped the fancy finale, but still enjoyed this one 🙂
We have hummingbird wars in my neighborhood. Usually, I have a couple of fuchsia plants that they love – this year I had the feeder. Whoever gets the most hummingbirds hanging around wins. This year, my across the street neigbors are winning. I should probably go steal their feeder… (Kidding, kind of…)
Your soup looks as glorious as the sunshine does. And your bird photos are marvelous!
I finally posted about this soup. It’s making me think this would translate well into a winter soup, with all the pesto in my freezer.