Summer Pistou
A weeknight-friendly French vegetarian built around leek, courgettes and cannellini beans — roughly 55 minutes start to finish, and rated medium to make. Scroll down for the ingredient checklist, a serving scaler and unit converter, and the method broken into 6 steps.
You'll mainly reach for frying pan / skillet and pan. At medium difficulty across 6 steps, it's manageable with a little attention. As written, it's meat-free.
What you'll need
Shopping list (7)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
🔁 Unit converter
How to make it
- Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the leeks and courgette for 5 mins to soften.
- Pour in the stock, add three-quarters of the haricot beans with the green beans, half the tomatoes, and simmer for 5-8 mins until the vegetables are tender.
- Meanwhile, blitz the remaining beans and tomatoes, the garlic and basil in a food processor (or in a bowl with a stick blender) until smooth, then stir in the Parmesan.
- Stir the sauce into the soup, cook for 1 min, then ladle half into bowls or pour into a flask for a packed lunch.
- Chill the remainder.
- Will keep for a couple of days.
You'll use: Frying pan / skillet · Pan · Saucepan · Blender · Food processor
Watch how it's made
Hosted on YouTube — pressing play loads content from YouTube.
Ingredient substitutions
- Parmesan
- pecorino · grana padano · aged asiago
What to serve with Summer Pistou
- Chocolate Gateau Dessert
- French Lentils With Garlic and Thyme Miscellaneous
- Coq au vin Chicken
- Pork Cassoulet Pork
Tips & common questions
How long does Summer Pistou take to make?
About 55 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 6 steps and 10 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of parmesan?
Try pecorino. See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
Is Summer Pistou vegetarian?
Its ingredients contain no meat or fish, so it's suitable for vegetarians. Check any cheeses for animal rennet if that matters to you.
Related recipes
Recipe data for Summer Pistou via TheMealDB (open database). ▶ Video. Original source. Consomee adds the scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure — how we source recipes.