The first recipe I watched was for soup au pistou and I knew it was the perfect winter soup. Yes, it calls for green beans and basil so technically it might be more of a spring soup, but it’s everything I want right now. It’s cold, it’s windy, and sometimes dreary and I want soup. This soup is hearty without being heavy, full of vegetables, and the pistou (kind of like a pesto) gives the broth a robust flavor.

Now, this recipe is adapted from Julia Child’s for a few reasons. First, she used just water in her broth. I used a mix of water and chicken broth because I had an open container of broth in the fridge that had to be used. You could definitely use all water, more chicken broth, or even vegetable broth. Second, Julia calls for either leeks or onions and I used a mix of both. The reason being my leeks didn’t go as far as I thought they would.

The third adaptation is that Julia has a beautiful gilded soup tureen and I do not. Does anyone have a soup tureen anymore? Julia makes the pistou, then puts it in the soup tureen, and then slowly mixes in the soup from her pot. It looked beautiful, but… really? Since I don’t have a soup tureen do I really need to use two pots? I don’t think so, and I’ve come up with my own solution for those of us lacking in a soup tureen. If you have a soup tureen, I’d love to know it. Send me a picture or write in the comments below!

Ingredients:

3 quarts liquid (water, chicken broth, or vegetable broth)

2 cups diced waxy potatoes (I used Yukon gold)

2 cups diced carrots

2 cups diced leeks, or onions, or a combination of the two

1 tbsp salt

1 15oz can of white navy beans, drained

1/3 cup broken spaghetti (Julia used orzo, I just smashed up some pasta)

2 cups green beans, cut to 1″ length

ground black pepper

Pistou:

4 cloves crushed garlic (I just minced 4 cloves of garlic then smushed them a bit)

4 tbsp tomato paste

1/4 cup chopped basil

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup olive oil (or a little more or less to your liking. Julia Child said between 1/4-1/2 cup)

Directions:

Prep step: Chop all your vegetables!

1. Bring liquid, potatoes, carrots, leeks/onions, and salt to a boil in a large pot (6 quart pot would be best).

2. Once it’s come to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 35 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.

3. Add beans and spaghetti. Let them cook for about 10 minutes.

4. Right after you’ve added the beans and spaghetti, make the pistou. Place the garlic, tomato paste, basil, and Parmesan cheese in a large bowl. Use a wooden spoon or pestle and mash up the ingredients until you form a lumpy paste. Then, slowly, about a teaspoon at a time, mix in the olive oil. Add olive oil until you have something the consistency of pesto. I used about a 1/3 of a cup in total oil. Set aside until soup is finished.

5.  Add the green beans. Cook for 5-10 minutes. You want them to be a bit crunchy, but cooked through. Basically, stay away from mushy green beans.

6. When soup is done, add 1-2 cups of soup to your pistou. Whisk the soup and pistou until smooth. Then, gently pour the pistou soup into the rest of the soup post. Mix that together until the broth is a beautiful red-orange color throughout.

7. Serve and enjoy!

Messy level: Honestly, for the number of ingredients, I’m surprised to give this recipe 1 spoon. There is so little mess! All I had to do was chop, heat, and mix. You’ll end up with very few dishes and almost no splatter. This recipe is a winner!

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And I’m serious when I said Papa’s the only cornmeal-maker in my family. Once when I was a kid, Mom made it for me and it came out lumpy. In college, I found a recipe online, and what I made came out as a dry and thick cornmeal lump. Papa is the one who makes the creamiest and tastiest cornmeal. So when I came to visit for the holidays I asked him to show me how. I’ll be honest with you that I’m still a bit intimidated. Papa showed me how to do it, but I think it’s going to take some practice before I’m on his level. So maybe that’ll be one of my New Year’s resolutions: to master Papa’s cornmeal.

Before we get started, let me provide a few of Papa’s tips for success.

1. He prefers Quaker brand cornmeal, but any regular cornmeal will do. He does not recommend ultra-fine cornmeal because he says it’s harder to work with.

2. This recipe is about finesse and whisking. It doesn’t take that long to make but you will need to be attentive and whisk constantly. You want the cornmeal to be smooth so you have to whisk a lot to keep it smooth. Lumps can happen, if you end up with a lot in the beginning then you’ll need to start over.

3. Think of this similar to how you think about making mashed potatoes. When you make mashed potatoes you add milk and butter until you get the desired creaminess. The same is true here. I’ve given amounts for ingredients, but you can add more butter and milk as you go until you get your desired consistency.

4. This whole thing takes about 20 minutes or less, but I don’t have specific times for these things. Next time I make it I’ll use a timer.

Ingredients:

1 cup yellow cornmeal

2 cup water, divided

2 cup milk

3 tbsp butter (plus more just in case)

1 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of salt

1/2 cup sugar (or more to your taste)

cinnamon for garnish

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, mix 1 cup water, milk, vanilla and salt. Bring to a simmer and stir occasionally.

2. While that’s heating, in a small bowl mix together the cornmeal and 1 cup of water. Whisk so that all of the cornmeal gets wet. The cornmeal and water will never get completely smooth, but you want it to be mixed enough so that the cornmeal does not stick in the whisk. See the picture below to see the cornmeal mixture stuck in the whisk. You want the cornmeal mixture to still be a bit thick and lumpy, but when you take the whisk out of the liquid clumps of cornmeal mix easily fall off.

3. When the liquid in the saucepan is bubbling (but not boiling over) add the cornmeal. WHISK LIKE CRAZY!!! Whisk, whisk, whisk until everything is smooth and there are no lumps.

4. When the mixture is smooth add the sugar. KEEP WHISKING!

5. Lower the heat (or remove quickly from heat if mix is thickening too quickly) and whisk, whisk, whisk. Taste it! Does it taste buttery and creamy? If not, add a splash more milk and a sliver more of butter. Whisk, and taste. You can also add more sugar if you like things sweeter.

6. Keep whisking until you have the consistency of grits or non-runny oatmeal. You want some of the liquid to evaporate and thicken, but not so much that it makes the cornmeal dense. Think back to the idea of mashed potatoes, you want them light, creamy, and buttery – and that’s the same idea here.

7. Pour cornmeal onto plates. You know the cornmeal is ready to pour when you lift the whisk, the cornmeal should run off smoothly. (Another hint, Papa recommends heating your plates in a 225° oven so that you’re cornmeal will stay warm as you eat.)

8. Sprinkle cinnamon on top for taste and garnish.

9. Eat with a spoon. My family scrapes around the plate in circles from the inside to the middle, that way you’re eating the coolest part first. Enjoy!

Messy Level: This is a two spoon mess recipe. It really doesn’t create much mess because most of the work is done in a single saucepan. But, it can be a little drippy so that’s the only reason I’m giving it two spoons.

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