- Pistou
Pistou sauce, or just pistou, is a cold sauce made from cloves of
garlic , freshbasil , andolive oil . Some more modern versions of the recipe include gratedparmesan ,pecorino or similar hard cheeses. Traditionally, the ingredients are crushed and mixed together in a mortar with a pestle, (pistou means pounded in the Provençal language). [http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/frances-best-pistou FoodandWine.com. "France's Best Pistou. Paula Wolfert.] ] It is often confused withpesto with which it shares some of the same ingredients, the key difference being absence ofpinoli (pine nuts), from pistou. [ [http://frenchfood.about.com/cs/soupspotages/a/pistou.htm About French Food. "Pistou...or pesto?" Debra F. Weber ] ] It is a typical condiment from theProvence region ofFrance that can be served with pasta dishes or as a spread for bread. But it is most often associated with theProvencal dish Soupe au Pistou, aminestrone like summer soup that includes white beans, green beans, tomatoes, summer squash, potatoes, and vermicelli. These ingredients can be left out or replaced as long as the soup's golden rule about summer vegetables is followed. Thus Pistou soup is not made with, for example, leeks. Some recipes incorporate the pistou into the soup just before serving. [ [http://kitchen-notebook.blogspot.com/2006/04/lail-est-arriv-soupe-au-pistou.html Lucy's Kitchen Notebook. L'Ail est Arrivé! - Soupe au Pistou] ] Others recommend offering the sauce at the table to be added after the soup is served. [ [http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=recipe2916 Martha Stewart - Living. "Patricia's Pistou Soup"] ]Both pistou and pesto probably share the same origins. The Roman poet
Virgil describes a sauce of crushed herbs, garlic, salt, and olive oil. A version withpinoli emerged around Genoa to become pesto, while pistou evolved in the areas around Nice.Some regions, especially those closer to the Alps, substitute
Swiss cheese in the place of parmesan. Whatever cheese is used, it is preferred that it not be a "stringy" cheese, so that when it melts in a hot liquid (like in the pistou soup, for instance) it does not melt into long strands.See also
*
Pesto
*Persillade External links
* [http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_24543,00.html Soupe au Pistou, Wolfgang Puck]
* [http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/soupe-au-pistou-august-2006 Soupe au Pistou, Paula Wolfert]Notes
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