A Soup for All Seasons

It's finally starting to feel like spring in northern New Jersey, cold in the mornings, but warm enough for me to have my windows open on my way home from work. It's a slightly fickle time for foodies. Here we are, ready to fully embrace the bounty of spring, but not quite comfortable giving up our coats. Lately, I've been craving an almost oxymoronic dish: hearty, healthy, and warming, yet with just a tease of spring. The answer is nothing short of sublime and simple: soup au pistou.
Soup au pistou hails from the south of France, the regions closest to Italy. It will come as no surprise that many of the ingredients, from the pasta to the pesto-like garnish, give the soup an Italian feel. What follows is a basic recipe, but don't hesitate to add your favorite vegetables or leave out others. I've used chicken stock as a base, but omitted any additional meat. If you prefer, use vegetable stock to keep the soup vegetarian. For a main course soup, add diced chicken with the onions in the first step. Serve with breadsticks and round the meal out with a seasonal fruit crisp for a hearty, yet healthy way to wait for spring.

Soup Au Pistou - Serves 4
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, cleaned but whole
2 ribs celery, peeled and sliced
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 Idaho potato, peeled and diced
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 small zucchini, seeded and diced
3 quarts chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup French green beans, cut into soup spoon pieces
15 strands dried linguine pasta, broken into matchstick size pieces

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until soft, but not brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic clove, celery, potato, and carrots. Cook another 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the zucchini. Mix the vegetables before adding the stock and the bay leaf. Season to taste. Add the beans and bring the soup to a boil. In order for the pasta to cook properly, the soup must be boiling. Stir the soup every so often until the pasta is fully cooked. Serve garnished with pistou.

Pistou
1 bunch basil, stems removed
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp toasted pine nuts
Salt and Pepper to taste
Optional: 1 tbsp each parmesan cheese and sun dried tomatoes

In a food processor, grind the garlic and nuts until minced. Add salt and pepper to help break down the garlic. Add the basil and grind until minced. Drizzle in the oil to form a paste. Finish with cheese and tomatoes if using. Extra pistou will keep one week if keep chilled.

Notes: for a heartier soup, add 1 cup of tomato juice with the stock. For a lighter soup, omit the potato and use vegetable stock.

Having a moment

Some of the best advice I have ever been given in the food service industry came from an unlikely source: the happy-go-lucky class clown of my cooking school group. Nothing against this person; he and I just never really saw eye to eye on many issues, but we did enjoy each other's company. His words before I was about to complete a major part of my formal culinary education remain with me over three years later.

Part of the CIA program is a series of practical cooking exams, one prior to externship, the other prior to AOS graduation. Students are required to complete all components of a set menu and answer 10 oral questions. Menus are provided a month before ever stepping into the practical kitchen, but are chosen out of a hat the day of the exam. Questions are selected from a list of almost 500 ranging from regional Asian cooking to product identification and food safety. I think it's pretty obvious why I was nervous before taking my first practical! Despite proving myself as a top notch student, I was still uncertain as to what to expect during this exam.

A few hours before I was to take this exam, my friend tried to calm me down with the following words, "Migton, why are you freaking out? Go in there and cook like you know how to cook."

It was so simple really. Trust your instincts. Take a deep breath and enjoy the process. Nerves only get in the way.

2 practical passes, an AOS graduation, and a BPS degree with honors later, I still remember those words when I feel myself getting anxious in the kitchen. Cook like you know how to cook. Once I remember those words, I put myself back in the moment of what I am doing. The nerves never really go away, but the instincts come back even stronger.

Cook like you are cooking for yourself. If the food you just put on the plate is something you would want to be served, congratulations, you are successful. A competent cook knows when he or she has done a good job and trust me on this one, the next plates will also be wonderful. Cook with love, cook with passion, and above all else, cook like you know how to cook.

While I choose not to discuss any aspect of my professional life on this blog, I welcome comments and questions at Chris_migton@yahoo.com.

See you at the stove,
Chris