Pistou ( Provençal: ''pisto'' (classical) or ''pistou'' (Mistralian), ), or pistou sauce, is a Provençal cold sauce made from cloves of garlic, fresh basil, and olive oil. It is somewhat similar to the

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n sauce

pesto Pesto () is a sauce that traditionally consists of crushed garlic, European pine nuts, coarse salt, basil leaves, and hard cheese such as Parmigiano-Reggiano (also known as Parmesan cheese) or Pecorino Sardo (cheese made from sheep's milk), a ...

, although it lacks

pine nut Pine nuts, also called piñón (), pinoli (), pignoli or chilgoza (), are the edible seeds of pines (family Pinaceae, genus ''Pinus''). According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, only 29 species provide edible nuts, while 20 are trad ...

s. Some modern versions of the recipe include grated parmesan, pecorino, or similar hard cheeses.

Etymology and history

In the Provençal dialect of Occitan, ''pistou'' means "pounded". The sauce is similar to Genoese pesto, which is traditionally made of garlic, basil, pine nuts, grated Sardinian pecorino, and olive oil, crushed and mixed with a

mortar and pestle Mortar and pestle is a set of two simple tools used from the Stone Age to the present day to prepare ingredients or substances by crushing and grinding them into a fine paste or powder in the kitchen, laboratory, and pharmacy. The ''mortar'' ( ...

. The key difference between pistou and pesto is the absence of pine nuts in pistou.

Use

Pistou is a typical condiment from the Provence region of France most often associated with the Provençal dish ''soupe au pistou'', which resembles

minestrone Minestrone (; ) is a thick soup of Italian origin made with vegetables, often with the addition of pasta or rice, sometimes both. Common ingredients include beans, onions, celery, carrots, leaf vegetables, stock, parmesan cheese and tomatoes ...

and may include white beans, green beans, tomatoes, summer squash, potatoes, and pasta. The pistou is incorporated into the soup just before serving.

Gruyère cheese Gruyère (, , ; german: Greyerzer) is a hard Swiss cheese that originated in the cantons of Fribourg, Vaud, Neuchâtel, Jura, and Berne in Switzerland. It is named after the town of Gruyères in Fribourg. In 2001, Gruyère gained the ''appella ...

is used in Nice. Some regions substitute

Parmesan cheese Parmesan ( it, Parmigiano Reggiano; ) is an Italian hard, granular cheese produced from cows’ milk and aged at least 12 months. It is named after two of the areas which produce it, the provinces of Parma and Reggio Emilia (''Parmigiano'' ...

or Comté. In

, pecorino, a hard sheep's-milk cheese from

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

or Corsica is used. Whatever cheese is used, a "stringy" cheese is not preferred, so that when it melts in a hot liquid (like in the pistou soup, for instance), it does not melt into long strands.

References

External links

Soupe au Pistou, Wolfgang Puck

Soupe au Pistou, Paula Wolfert
{{Allium French sauces Cold soups Garlic dishes Food combinations

Etymology and history

Use

See also

References

External links