Soupe au Pistou
By: Sheri Wetherell
Published: Wednesday, September 21, 2011 - 12:28pm

Ingredients




2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into chunks
1 Parmesan cheese rind (optional)
6 cups water
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 cup Mediterranean-style olives, halved
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 to 2 sprigs fresh basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pistou:
2 cups tightly packed fresh basil leaves
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 large cloves garlic
¼ cup olive oil
Salt
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation

1 In a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and sauté the onion for about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. 2 Transfer the onion to a 7-quart slow cooker and add the eggplant, Parmesan rind, and water. Cover and cook on LOW for about 4 hours, or until the eggplant is quite tender. 3 Add the zucchini, bell pepper, tomatoes, olives, thyme, and basil and cook for 1 hour longer, or until the vegetables are soft. 4 Remove the Parmesan rind and the sprigs of thyme and basil from the soup, then add the salt and pepper to taste. 5 To make the pistou, place the basil, Parmesan cheese, and garlic in the work bowl of a food processor and let it run until the basil and garlic are finely chopped. Turn off the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl, then turn the machine back on, and drizzle the olive oil slowly through the feed tube, letting it run until smooth. Add the salt to taste. 6 Ladle the soup into bowls. To serve, drizzle some of the pistou over the top of each bowl and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

About

This soup contains all the delicious flavors commonly found in the summer dishes of southern France and Italy: basil, eggplant, garlic, tomatoes, and zucchini. The vegetables give it a hearty base, and the pistou—a classic finish for Provençal dishes (akin to Italian pesto)—gives a burst of flavor that gets swirled in just before serving. Best recommendation of all? Make this soup with vegetables straight from your summer garden.
Note: This recipe is from 50 Simple Soups for the Slow Cooker by Lynn Alley. Authorization to print courtesy of Andrews McMeel Publishing.

Comments:
LRegal

Ratatouille suop sans tomatoes!!! Gotta' love rat soup!
LRegal

ooops! didn't see "two tomatoes". As I said, it's rataouille soup!