It's soup weather! This warming Vegetable & Pesto Soup is even easier to make if you use "Pesto" Paul Arceneaux's excellent product (for this recipe, we recommend his parsley pesto) now available at all THREE WEEKLY Crescent City Farmers Markets.

Ingredients

Pesto

• 2 ounces fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic 
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese

Soup

• 2 tablespoons orzo pasta
• 1/4 cup dried black-eyed peas 
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh garlic
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 turnip, diced
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1/2 stalk celery, diced
• salt and pepper

Directions

To prepare Pesto: Combine basil and garlic in blender container. Purée. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. With blender running, drizzle oil into mixture and continue blending to make a paste. Stir in Parmesan cheese and reserve.

To prepare Soup: Toast orzo in a nonstick pan until it turns a golden color. Set aside. Sauté black-eyed peas, onion, garlic, and thyme. Add stock and simmer until the peas are half-cooked. Drain off and save about half of the stock. Add carrot, bell pepper, turnip, zucchini, and celery to pea mixture; sauté for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add reserved stock and simmer for 15 minutes. Add orzo and simmer for another 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper if needed.

To serve, ladle into soup bowls and garnish each serving with a spoonful of pesto

Serves 6-8

Recipe compliments of Chef Philippe Pinon, Midi South of France at Le Meridien Hotel