Pistou

Pistou
Soupe au Pistou (Pistou Soup)
Alternative names	Pistou sauce
Type	Sauce
Place of origin	France
Region or state	Provence
Serving temperature	Cold
Main ingredients	Garlic, fresh basil, olive oil
Cookbook:Pistou Pistou

Pistou, or pistou sauce, is a Provençal cold sauce made from cloves of garlic, fresh basil, and olive oil. It is somewhat similar to pesto, although it lacks pine nuts. Some modern versions of the recipe include grated parmesan, pecorino or similar hard cheeses. A somewhat similar sauce is Argentine chimichurri made with parsley.

Etymology

Traditionally, the ingredients of pistou are crushed and mixed together in a mortar and pestle (pistou means "pounded" in the Provençal language).^[1] The word "pistou" was introduced from Genoese dialect "pesto" after being brought into Provence in the 19th century by Italian immigrants from Genoa and Ligury (30% of the Provençal population is of Italian origin). The key difference between pistou and pesto is the absence of pine nuts in pistou. But in Italian restaurants in Nice or Marseilles, even in 1950 in Provence, both pistou and pasta with pistou were ignored by local cooks.^[2]

Use

Pistou is a typical condiment from the Provence region of France and from Italian regions that can be served with pasta dishes or as a spread for bread. But it is most often associated with the Provençal dish Soupe au Pistou or Minestrone al Pesto (Liguria), which resembles summer soup that includes white beans, green beans, tomatoes, summer squash, potatoes, and spaghetti. These ingredients can be left out or replaced as long as the soup's golden rule about summer vegetables is followed. Thus pistou soup is not made with, for example, leeks. Some recipes incorporate pistou into the soup just before serving.^[3] Others recommend offering the sauce at the table to be added after the soup is served.^[4]

Some regions, especially those closer to the Alps, substitute Swiss cheese in the place of parmesan. In Liguria, where there are no cows, Parmesan Cheese is not used. Instead, Pecorino, a hard Sheep Cheese, from Sardinia or Corsica is used. Whatever cheese is used, it is preferred that it not be a "stringy" cheese, so that when it melts in a hot liquid (like in the pistou soup, for instance), it does not melt into long strands.