Pistou - Testing

 https://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/pistou-soup/9048/

1 - Generally speaking this is a very good soup. I mean, the dollop of pesto is a no-brainer for an explosion of flavour. We both felt that 1 cup of cooked beans was far too little, so I upped it to 3 cups for the next try. I also realized that I have a bias against the word 'garnish'. I think it's always seemed like more of a presentation thing, an aesthetic flourish that had nothing to do with the dish, but I now understand that it is usually (but not always) integral to the dish. I've removed the word and will endeavor to do so in my other recipes. Not because I want to ban the word, but because this is my recipe book, and I want to be able to follow the recipe, not analyze the semiotics of the words in it when I'm cooking.

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion (6oz/170gr), chopped

1 cup green beans (100g), cut into ½-inch/1 cm pieces

1 potato (8oz/215gr), peeled and diced

1 cup carrots (2oz/57g), diced

Salt and pepper

1 bay leaf

1 sprig thyme

3 cups cooked white kidney or cannellini beans

1 cup (4.5oz/125g) zucchini, diced small

2 tomatoes (12oz/340g), seeded, and diced

Pesto, approx. 1 Tbsp per bowl

Parmesan cheese, approx. 1 Tbsp per bowl

1. Heat the oil in a sauté pan and gently cook the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. 
2. Add the green beans, potato and carrot dice. 
3. Pour over 4 cups/1-litre vegetable water or stock. 
4. Season with salt and pepper, add the bay leaf and the thyme. 
5. Bring to a boil, and simmer 10 minutes.
6. Add the beans and the zucchini and continue cooking until all the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes longer. 
7. Stir through the tomato. 
8. Ladle the soup into bowls. (Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs). 
9. Add a spoonful of pesto to each bowl, and grate over Parmesan cheese.