Doesn’t this just sound delicious. It’s strange how adding multiples of the same concept make your brain just say ‘want’ Like, why would you go for a chocolate cookie when there is a ‘double’ or ‘triple’ chocolate one on offer? Or how Trillionaires Shortbread is far more appealing than a paltry Billionaires Shortbread?
So yes, the triple Basil here is the game changer. Sweet Genovese, Tiny Leaved Greek and the mild Liquorice notes of Thai Basil sing a harmony conducted by the wonderous zing of Pink Grapefruit.
Adding the Green Vegetables and Pistou right at the end of cooking maintains that fresh note that only late spring can deliver to your food. This feels like a bowl of nutrition, and I guess it is.
Should you have any left over, it keeps well in the fridge and is probably most enjoyed with Bed Hair, semi naked, bathed in the incandescent light of the refrigerator bulb….
Ingredients:
Pink Grapefruit & Triple Basil Pistou
20g Thai Basil
20g Greek Basil
20g Genovese Basil
1 Clove Garlic, chopped
80ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
20g Parmesan
½ Pink Grapefruit, zest
Sea Salt & Black Pepper
Soup:
500g Leftover Roast Chicken
150g Iranian Giant Cous Cous
2 Onions, finely sliced
2 Carrots, chopped in a food processor
2 Sticks Celery, chopped in a food processor
3 Cloves Garlic, minced
200g Asparagus
200g Frozen Peas
200g Sugar Snap Peas
50g Watercress
2 Courgettes, cut into ribbons
900ml Hot Chicken Stock
Olive Oil
Method:
1. Make the pistou, blend everything in a blender until smooth, decant into a jar, cover with a little more oil and store in the fridge.
2. Pour boiling water over the cous cous and soak for 12 minutes or so to plump up. Drain and coat in a little olive oil to separate the grains.
3. Heat a good glug of olive oil in a large pan and sweat the carrots, onion and celery for 10 minutes until soft and sweet. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
4. Pour in the stock and bring to a simmer. Add all the remaining ingredients, including the cous cous and bubble for 5 minutes.
5. Taste, season with salt and pepper before ladling into bowls and serving with piles of pistou and crusty bread.