Wonderful vegetable soup recipe with fresh tomatoes, leeks, potato, onion, celery, zucchini, green beans, carrots, and basil. From Wolfang Puck's mother.
Note from Wolfgang Puck: His mother only uses water, because her vegetables are peak-of-the-season, just-picked, and therefore full of flavor, but you can use stock if you like. Pistou, the puree of tomatoes, basil, garlic, and olive oil in this recipe, is a traditional French condiment that adds a burst of flavor just before serving.
Ingredients
- 2 small leeks, white part only
- 1 large potato, peeled
- 1 small onion
- 2 stalks celery
- 1 medium zucchini
- 12 green beans
- 2 medium carrots, peeled
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 quarts chicken stock (or 2 qts water, 4 bouillion cubes, a pinch of thyme, and 1/2 bay leaf OR you can use vegetable broth for a vegetarian option)*
- 4 to 6 ripe tomatoes, peeled and seeded
- 4 medium garlic cloves
- 30 fresh basil leaves, washed and dried
- Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- A few drops of Tabasco sauce
*Use gluten-free stock or bouillon for gluten-free version.
Method
1 Cut the leeks, potato, onion, celery, zucchini, green beans, and carrots into 1/4 inch diced cubes.
2 In a 6-quart stockpot, combine 3 tablespoons of the olive oil with the 3 tablespoons of water. Add the vegetables and cook over medium-low heat until all the water evaporates. Do not brown the vegetables.
3 Add the stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
4 Meanwhile, make the pistou. Put the tomatoes, basil, garlic, and remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil into a food processor. Pulse until puréed.
5 Stir the purée into the cooked soup. Do not let the soup return to a boil. Season, to taste, with salt, pepper, and a few dashes of Tabasco. Serve the soup hot or cold.
Yield: Serves 6.
This recipe was simply delicious. I have shared it with friends, and it is always a hit. I sometimes add chicken. Other times I have added red bell pepper. I always add quite a bit of Tabasco sauce.
Very good. Works well for a group whose tastes
vary from those who like a bit of zing (add a generous serving of pistou, put the red pepper sauce on the table) and those who eschew all spiciness. We used fresh grated parmesan, too.
I have made this recipe two or three times this summer and am making it again tonight with the last of the summer basil… it is so good and fresh. I find it needs a little extra salt and/or tomato paste if your tomatoes are less than stellar, but other than that, it’s excellent. I also add in a cup or so of fresh white corn.
Frankly, I picked this recipe because I had a lot of tomatoes from our little garden and also some basil from my girlfriend’s garden. This recipe called for up to six tomatoes and thirty basil leaves. So I decided to cook this soup. It was delicious. I was afraid of all the basil; I had never eaten fresh basil before, but everything was perfectly balanced. Great soup.
We loved this soup! It was delicious, fulfilling, and used up all that basil I have growing. I needed another wonderful vegetable soup and this is definitely it!
This vegetable soup is exactly the thing for satisfying a vegetable craving (you know the kind you get from eating too many rich foods like shrimp curry, kabobs, ribs, tamales, omelets). I actually really liked the soup before I put in the pistou. I had very small tomatoes, so I put in 9 instead of 4-6. I thought the pistou was a great idea (who doesn’t love fresh basil and tomatoes, olive oil and garlic!), but after adding it, it overpowered the delicate taste of the other vegetables, which I was craving.
This is quite a quick recipe for a soup and the chopping is not too bad. I would make this in the future and add the pistou depending on how I’m feeling. Certainly the pistou gave it a summery flair (and sets it apart from normal vegetable soups), but I was in the mood for autumn when I made it, so it wasn’t what I wanted.
I really enjoyed all the vegetables- the leeks especially. I didn’t add any Tabasco, but I added a generous bit of sea salt, since my stock was reduced sodium (and I usually don’t like adding any salt). I forgot the thyme and bay leaf. Perhaps next time I’ll try to remember. This recipe is worth making again!
Oh my goodness, I just made a pot of this and it is delicious! Thanks for sharing.
Okay, so I know this recipe is a billion years old, but I had a bunch of leftover basil so I decided to make it. Delicious! I used homemade veggie stock and added parsnips (they were in the fridge looking left out) but otherwise followed the recipe. Thanks, as usual, for having simple and delightful food ideas!