Soupe au pistou with garlic bread

Today’s culinary journey takes us to France, and I’m featuring a delicious bean and vegetable soup, Soupe au pistou à la niçoise.

And, because soup and bread are such a great duo, I served this soup with garlic bread.

The soup is made with haricot beans (small white beans), plus an assortment of vegetables. It’s seasoned with garlic and basil. I googled around for a recipe, and decided to follow this one, because I liked the idea of pureeing the tomatoes, garlic and basil together before adding them to the rest of the soup.

I followed the recipe closely, though I made the following small changes: I substituted passata (tomato sauce) for the tomatoes, because they get pureed anyway; subbed peas for green beans; and increased the basil. Next time I make it, I’ll be tweaking it again, so I’m not going to post my version just yet.

For the garlic bread, I used this recipe, substituting vegan margarine for butter, and omitting the cheese.

Bon appétit!