Pistou
The first time I had pistou I was at my friend Joanne’s house for dinner and she made this incredible soup and had this pistou to the side so you could add it in if you so desired to enhance the flavor of her soup. Pistou is considered the french cousin of pesto. The ingredients are very similar to pesto except there is an addition of tomato paste to the recipe. This simple Provencal cold sauce transforms any soup or stew and is made pretty much with these same ingredients across the board varying in amounts of each ingredient to the chefs liking. This particular recipe originates from Barefoot Contessa.
And wow is all I have to say! No wonder it’s an amazing flavor booster to soups and stews it’s made up of basil, garlic, Parmesan, tomato paste and olive oil…what’s not to love?! So I was thinking what would go great with this sensational creation and that was simple …the nutty crunchiness of a crostini and the creaminess of fresh mozzarella topped with a dollop of this pistou and voilà you have yourself a yummy little appetizer. Don’t forget to add this to your next batch of beef stew or chicken soup!
Ingredients:
- 24 large basil leaves
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 4 large garlic cloves put thru a garlic press
- 1/2 cup Reggiano Parmesan
- 1/2 cup good olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 -1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
- a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce (I use Tabasco)
- 1 recipe for crostini
- 1 fresh mozzarella log
Directions:
- Place the basil, tomato paste, garlic thru press, and Parmesan into food processor
- Begin to purée and while it’s running drizzle in the olive oil
- Purée just til smooth about 1 minute
- Place a slice of fresh mozzarella onto the crostini and add a dollop of fresh pistou and mangia!
- If you don’t use it right away, just like the pesto, drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the top so as to stop the oxidation, cover with saran wrap and pop it into the frig or freezer