Provence Basil Soup
(from Katherine Hughes)
Here is a favorite recipe from a 1905 Provence cookbook. Apparently in Provence it’s only eaten for the 6 weeks that basil is in season. It’s eaten as the main meal with big hunks of French bread and butter – and wine, of course! The ingredients can be varied according to taste and what’s in season.
- 1 large onion
- Several sticks of celery
- 1 bunch basil
- 4 to 6 cloves of garlic (quantity to taste)
- 1 lb tomatoes
- 1 lb potatoes
- 1 zucchini and/or yellow squash
- 1 large carrot – Lima beans or garbanzos
- Other favorite vegetables in season to taste (such as cabbage, green beans, etc)
- 5 pts stock : either bouillon cube or made from vegetable bits (tops, ends, leaves) boiled & drained
Fry onions and celery in olive oil until soft. Skin tomatoes (they peel easily after brief immersion in boiling water) and chop. Add to onions and celery. Fry the tomatoes down and then add 4-6 cloves of garlic (quantity to taste).
Shortly afterwards add stock, 5 pints (more?), and fresh veggies chopped (veggies such as carrots & summer squash are nice cut in rounds for this soup). Add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste (more if you like, to your taste). Plus a dash of balsamic vinegar or wine.
Cook for about 40 minutes and then add tinned lima beans or garbanzo beans (you could cook them fresh if you have them, apparently this is also the season for garbanzo beans in Provence).
Wash and dry your bunch of basil (I used a huge bunch). The drier the better for grinding, such as in a mortar and pestle or blender. Add some olive oil to the mix and blend some more.
Add basil and oil to soup. Cook 5 more minutes and serve with French bread and butter and cheese. I also use Romano (or Parmesan) to garnish the soup.
After the soup is cooked (about 40 minutes) put garlic in blender and blend. Then add the basil bit by bit (the dryer the better). Then add olive oil (4-6 tablespoons, more?), then add a cup of the soup mix and blend. Then add the contents of the blender to the soup.
Voila! Hope you enjoy it even half as much as I do!
This entry was posted on Saturday, November 1st, 2008 at 10:33 pm and is filed under Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
