Pistou
Preparation time: 10 minutes. Cooking time: 30 minutes.
Serves 3–4
Ingredients:
- 2 large onions, chopped
- 140g (5oz) sugarsnap or mangetout peas
- 3–4 courgettes, sliced
- 6 tomatoes (plum, if available), roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 x 400g cans white haricot or cannellini beans
- 2 teaspoons vegetable bouillon powder
- salt and black pepper
For the pistou purée:
- 6 garlic cloves
- 2 tomatoes
- handful of basil leaves
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
Method
Put all the vegetables into a large saucepan with the garlic and the beans, together with their liquid.
Pour in 600ml (1 pint) water, sprinkle in the bouillon powder, 1 teaspoonful of salt and a good grinding of black pepper and leave to simmer gently for about 30 minutes, until the vegetables are very tender.
Meanwhile, make the pistou purée. Put the cloves of garlic into a food processor and whiz to chop, then add the tomatoes and basil and whiz again. When they’re chopped, add the oil, and whiz again.
Stir the pistou purée into the pan of vegetables, cook for a couple of minutes, then serve.
Taken from Rose Elliot’s Low-Gi Vegetarian Cookbook, published by BBC Books.
