Vegetable Soup with Basil and Garlic

PreparationMake soup: Bring water to a boil in a 5-quart pot and simmer leeks, onion, carrots, potatoes, squash, white beans (if using fresh), and bouquet garni 30 minutes, or until beans and squash are tender but remain intact. Add green beans, zucchini, and macaroni (and cooked white beans if using) and simmer 15 minutes, or until macaroni is tender but not falling apart. Make pistou while soup is cooking: Pound garlic, basil, salt, and pepper to taste with a large mortar and pestle, alternating between pounding and turning with a grinding motion, until mixture forms a paste. Work in enough Parmesan to make a very stiff paste, then add about one third of tomato, pounding and grinding into the paste. Gradually work in remaining cheese and tomato with a little olive oil until mixture is a barely fluid paste. Gradually work in 1 cup oil, or enough for pistou to become a sauce. (Pistou will not be an emulsion, so it should be thoroughly mixed each time it is dished out.) Serve soup with mortar of pistou on the side, to be added to taste by each person. Cooks' note:If you don't have a large mortar and pestle, finely chop basil and garlic and mash in a bowl with back of a spoon.

PreparationMake soup: Bring water to a boil in a 5-quart pot and simmer leeks, onion, carrots, potatoes, squash, white beans (if using fresh), and bouquet garni 30 minutes, or until beans and squash are tender but remain intact. Add green beans, zucchini, and macaroni (and cooked white beans if using) and simmer 15 minutes, or until macaroni is tender but not falling apart. Make pistou while soup is cooking: Pound garlic, basil, salt, and pepper to taste with a large mortar and pestle, alternating between pounding and turning with a grinding motion, until mixture forms a paste. Work in enough Parmesan to make a very stiff paste, then add about one third of tomato, pounding and grinding into the paste. Gradually work in remaining cheese and tomato with a little olive oil until mixture is a barely fluid paste. Gradually work in 1 cup oil, or enough for pistou to become a sauce. (Pistou will not be an emulsion, so it should be thoroughly mixed each time it is dished out.) Serve soup with mortar of pistou on the side, to be added to taste by each person. Cooks' note:If you don't have a large mortar and pestle, finely chop basil and garlic and mash in a bowl with back of a spoon.