The Only Minestrone

A One-Pot French-Italian Spectacular

Hi Friends,

The weather is crazy, our kids have been sick for 186 days straight, and we need something that’s healthy and restorative, but also delicious and satiating.

The recipe we’re bringing you today is for a version of the southern French minestrone called “soupe au pistou.” “Pistou,” a French bastardization of the Italian word “pesto,” is a formulation that borrows heavily from the cuisine of France’s neighbors to the south. In essence, this soup is a hearty, Italian minestrone of vegetables and pasta into which a dollop of bright, basil-y pesto is stirred right before you dig in. No two versions of this soup are alike—ours takes a few liberties to expedite the process, but the result is wonderfully evocative of the soups Fanny grew up eating when she visited her surrogate grandmother Lulu outside of Marseille.

This soup is traditionally made at the end of summer when you can get your hands on fresh shelling beans, green beans, zucchini, tomatoes and, most importantly, basil for the pistou. But it’s December and we’re craving this damn soup like mad, so we’re bending the rules to make it happen: canned beans and canned tomato work beautifully, and you can reliably get zucchini and green beans at most markets year round (or skip them, if you prefer—the soup will still be great). As for the pistou, a quick trip through the Green Spoon archive will reveal the depth of our affection for the Gotham Greens pesto (and this jarred version from Seggiano is great too). This is our favorite soup for a reason: it tastes bright like summer, but feels cozy like winter. Perfect for this utterly haywire time of year.

Fanny + Greta

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