Vegetable Soup with Pistou Recipe

Vegetable Soup with Pistou Recipe

  • 10 cups (or more) water
  • 1 cup dried cannellini (white kidney beans)
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 pound small red-skinned potatoes, quartered
  • 2 leeks (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced
  • 2 large carrots, peeled, chopped
  • 1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
  • 1/2 pound green beans, trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 2 medium zucchini, chopped
  • 4 fresh thyme sprigs
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 cup farfalle (bow-tie pasta)
  • Pistou
  1. Combine 4 cups water, beans, onion and 2 garlic cloves in heavy large pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat. Cover; simmer until beans are just tender, stirring occasionally, about 55 minutes.
  2. Add 6 cups water, 4 garlic cloves, potatoes, leeks, carrots, tomatoes with juices, half of green beans, half of zucchini, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to boil. Cover; simmer until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes.
  3. Add pasta to soup. Simmer 12 minutes. Add remaining green beans and zucchini to soup. Simmer until pasta is just cooked through but still firm to bite, about 5 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Spoon 1 tablespoon Pistou atop each. Pass remaining Pistou separately.