French soup "Pistu"

Soup au pistou (fr: soupe au pistou) is a fragrant French soup filled with summer vegetables. It consists of zucchini, zucchini, carrots, celery, green beans, leeks, tomatoes cut into the same small cubes. But the highlight of this Provencal soup is the pisto sauce with garlic and basil. Since basil loses most of its bright aroma and taste during cooking, it is customary to put a spoonful of sauce in a ready-made dish. And to fully experience the spirit of France at lunch, serve baguette croutons with goat cheese with your vegetable soup.

Ingredients

• Soup: 4 tbsp. l. olive oil 3 medium leeks, cut the dark green part and discard, wash the light green and white parts thoroughly and cut into 1 cm cubes 6 garlic cloves, chopped 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced 1 cm each. 2 stems celery, cut into 1 cm cubes. 8 tbsp. chicken broth 1 tsp. white and black peppercorns 4 small sprigs of fresh thyme 4 small sprigs of fresh parsley 12 green beans, trimmed and diced into 1 cm pieces 2 medium zucchini, cut into 1 cm cubes 2 medium yellow courgettes, cut into 1 cm cubes. 1 ripe tomato, peeled and seeds, and cut into 1 cm cubes.
• Pistu: 6 medium cloves of garlic, peeled 6 ripe tomatoes, peeled and seeded and chopped into 4 to 6 tbsp. l. olive oil 30 fresh basil leaves, washed and dried.
• Croutons with goat cheese: 6 - 8 slices of French bread 0.5 cm thick. Olive oil 170 - 220 gr. fresh cream goat cheese

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the leeks and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute more. Add the carrots and celery and continue to simmer until the vegetables are darker but still browning, another 3-4 minutes. Pour broth into a saucepan, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to maintain a low simmer. Sprinkle in a generous pinch of salt.
2. Wrap the peppercorns, thyme, and parsley in a piece of cheesecloth and tie with kitchen string. Add this pouch (garni bouquet) to the pot. Add the beans, all the courgettes and tomatoes there. Continue simmering until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. In the meantime, cook the pisto: put the garlic and tomatoes in a blender or food processor, adding about 3 tbsp. l. olive oil. Begin to beat. Without stopping the blender, add the basil leaves and then pour in enough olive oil to make a smooth, thick, but runny paste. Pour about 2/3 of the pasta into a serving bowl for serving with the soup.
3. Preheat oven to 190 ° C. For goat cheese croutons, brush the bread slices with olive oil and place them on a baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, 12-15 minutes. Remove the croutons from the oven and turn on the grill setting. Spread goat cheese on 1 side of each crouton and place back on the baking sheet. Fry in the oven until the cheese warms up and starts bubbling slightly, about 3 minutes.
4. When the soup is done, stir the remaining pisto into the saucepan, pouring some of the hot broth into the bowl of a blender or food processor to rinse any remaining sauce off the sides. Remove and discard the garni bouquet. Taste the soup and add salt if necessary. Pour the soup into warm bowls. Garnish each serving with goat cheese crouton. Sprinkle each serving with extra pisto sauce and serve immediately, placing the sauce on the table for everyone to add to taste.