Open lasagna with melon & ham

For ➍ 

stracciatella (or burrata)

green pesto

lemon (juice)

flesh tomatoes

cantaloupe melon

lasagna sheets

dried ham

pine nuts

balsamic cream

Mix the stracciatella with pesto and some lemon juice. Cover briefly and store in the refrigerator.

Slice the tomatoes into thin slices. Remove the seeds from the melon and peel the melon. Then slice it into thin slices.

Cook the lasagna sheets until done. It is best not to cook them all at once, as they will stick together. Cook them in batches of 3 or 4 and then drain them on a kitchen towel

Assembling the lasagna is best done just before serving. Place a lasagna sheet on a plate. Spoon some of the stracciatella-pesto sauce, a few slices of tomato, melon, and dried ham onto it. Place another lasagna sheet on top, followed by sauce, minced meat, and cherry tomatoes.

Divide this among the plates and finish with some roasted pine nuts and balsamic cream if desired.

Grilled fennel salad with apricots & goat cheese

For ➍

2 fennels

4 large apricots

2 tbs roasted hazelnuts*

1 handful of basil

200 g fresh goat cheese

lemon

salt

olive oil

Heat the barbecue.**

Slice half a fennel into thin slices using a mandoline or a sharp knife. Pour the juice of a lemon over it and add a generous pinch of salt. Mix briefly and let it marinate. Cut the rest of the fennel into slightly thicker slices. Rub with olive oil and salt, and grill on the barbecue**. Use a grill with small openings for this, so that the fennel does not fall through. When the fennel is slightly charred and a little soft, remove it from the barbecue. Cut the apricots in half and remove the pits, then rub with oil. Place them on the grill** with the cut side down for a moment, until they soften slightly and develop black stripes.

Assemble the salad by mixing the roasted and marinated fennel (and the lemon juice in which they marinated) with the grilled apricots. Place the goat cheese on top and finish with the basil leaves and hazelnuts*.

Season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with some good olive oil.

*Replace with walnuts.

**Use a grill pan for small quantities if necessary.

Risotto & oyster mushrooms

For ➋

120-180 g risotto rice

200 g small oyster mushrooms

1.5 shallots

1 clove of garlic

10 g sage

30 g flaked almonds

10 cl almond milk

20 g grated Parmigiano

75 cl vegetable stock (or poultry stock)

4 cl white wine (or mirin)

2.5 cl soy sauce

2 tbs butter/olive oil

Salt & pepper

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan. Fry half the sage leaves in the olive oil for 1 minute until crispy. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Bring the vegetable stock to a boil and season with the soy sauce. Peel and finely chop the shallots and garlic. Sauté them together in hot butter until translucent. Deglaze with the white wine and add the rice. Cook briefly, stirring well. Gradually add the chicken stock, stirring regularly. Add a ladleful of stock each time the previous one is absorbed. Remove from the heat when all the stock has been absorbed and the rice is al dente. Stir in the almond milk, a little butter, and the Parmesan cheese. Stir in the remaining sage. Clean the mushrooms and sauté them in a little olive oil in a separate pan. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the risotto with the sage and the sautéed oyster mushrooms. Toast the flaked almonds in a pan without oil and garnish the risotto with them.

Read the tip on making a quick risotto.

♥︎Roasted pumpkin & fregola

For ➋

2 small round pumpkins* (Hokkaido type) or 1 large one (approximately 1 kg unpeeled weight)

3 white onions

200 g pearl couscous*** or fregola Sarda

100 g Parmigiano

20 sage leaves

olive oil

lemon juice

salt & pepper

chili flakes (optional)***

Preheat the oven to 210°C. Meanwhile, cut the pumpkin(s) into wedges about 2 cm wide, after scooping out the seeds. You don't need to peel the pumpkin; roasting softens the skin, making it perfect to eat.

Toss the pumpkin wedges with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Peel the onions and cut them into six wedges. Toss the onions with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast the onion and pumpkin in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until the pieces are tender and browned at the edges. Place the pumpkin pieces far enough apart in the oven so they roast well (and don't steam through). Keep the onions separate: they can go on the same baking sheet, but don't mix them with the pumpkin; we'll use them separately later.

For the pasta sauce, blend half the roasted pumpkin with 65 g grated Parmigiano. You can do this with an immersion blender or a food processor. Deglaze the empty pumpkin baking sheet with a splash of water and scrape up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Add this juice to the sauce, along with a squeeze of lemon juice. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Set the other half of the roasted pumpkin pieces aside.

Simmer the pearl couscous in salted water for about 8 minutes, until tender. Taste regularly (and reserve a cup of the cooking liquid when draining the pearl couscous). Meanwhile, heat a generous amount of olive oil in a large pan. Sauté the sage leaves over medium heat (not too hot, otherwise the leaves will brown and become bitter). Turn them over and season with salt. Remove them from the pan and place them on a paper towel to drain and cool.

Mix the pearl couscous into the pumpkin sauce. Add a little more cooking liquid, if necessary, to loosen the sauce. Serve with the remaining roasted pumpkin and the onion on top, and garnish with the sage leaves and the remaining Parmigiano cheese.***

*Don't use butternut squash for this dish; that silky squash is delicious in soups or stews. But for roasting, I prefer a firm, round squash. It holds its shape better and roasts beautifully brown.

**Other small pasta such as shells, spiralized or short macaroni, or nutty whole wheat pasta.

***the sweet, mild flavors of pumpkin and onion are enhanced by a bit of heat. A generous pinch of mild chili flakes (like Aleppo flakes) is also delicious.

Gnocchi with pumpkin & spinach

For ➍

butternut squash (peeled, deseeded, cubed)

800 g baby spinach

1 onion (peeled & chopped)

1 tbsp fresh sage (chopped)

500 g gnocchi

50 g grated Parmigiano

2 tbs olive oil

pepper

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven and sauté the onion until translucent. Add the pumpkin cubes and sage and cook for about 12 m, stirring occasionally, until the pumpkin cubes are soft.

Add 50 cl water and bring to a boil. Add the gnocchi. Cook uncovered over low heat for 3 m.

Rinse the spinach and add it to the pan. Let the spinach wilt.

Stir in the Parmigiano, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Fregola Sarda alla vongele (fregola with clams)

For ➋

200 g fregola Sarda

500 g vongele clams

3 cloves of garlic, pressed or chopped

1 sweet onion, finely chopped

2 stalks of celery, finely chopped

15 cl white wine

100 g Parmigiano

2 tbs mascarpone

zest of 1 lemon

handful of parsley, finely chopped

salt & pepper

olive oil

Fry the onion and garlic in a dash of olive oil over medium heat until they start to colour. Add the celery and let it stew a little. Rinse the clams well under cold water and let them drain. Add them to the pan and deglaze with the white wine. Let them cook for 3-4 m with the lid on until the clams open. Remove them with a slotted spoon, so that the cooking liquid remains in the pan. 

In the meantime, cook the fregola as indicated on the packaging (probably 10 m). 

Let the clam juice in the pan simmer for another 2-3 m for extra flavour. 

Add the cooked fregola to the pan with the reduced clam juice. Stir in the mascarpone, salt and pepper, chopped parsley and grated Parmigiano. Add the clams (either shelled or with shells). Finish with some extra pepper, a drizzle of olive oil and some more parsley.

♥︎Spicy Moroccan carrots

For ➍-➏
500 g carrots

marinade:

juice of ½ lemon (2 tbs)

3 large garlic cloves

¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

¼ cup fresh coriander, finely chopped

4 tb olive oil

1 ts honey

1 ts sweet paprika

½ ts hot paprika

½ ts ground cumin

½ ts salt

Peel carrots. Cut into 1.5cm slices. Cover with hot salted water. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 15m. Drain and steam.

Crush garlic with salt to a paste. Thoroughly mix all marinade ingredients in a bowl.

Add warm carrots to marinade. Toss gently to coat

Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 h, stirring occasionally.

Pinsa primavera with anchovy

For ➍ 

2 pinsa bottoms

400 g baby spinach

1 clove garlic

140 g green pesto

125 g marinated artichoke hearts

50 g anchovy fillet

250 g mozzarella

2 tbs dried oregano

spicy olive oil

nutmeg

salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to the highest setting. Rinse the spinach and drain well. Peel and chop the garlic. Stew the garlic and spinach in a pan with olive oil, season with pepper, salt and nutmeg. Scoop them out of the pan and drain well in a colander. Press out all the liquid with the rounded side of a spoon.

Drain the anchovies and artichoke hearts. Halve the artichoke hearts. Spread a layer of pesto on the pinsa bases and spoon the spinach in heaps on top. Finish them off with the halved artichoke hearts and anchovy fillets. Tear the mozzarella into pieces and top the pinsas with it. Season the pinsas with the oregano and bake them in the oven for 10 minutes.

Finish the pinsas with a little (spicy) olive oil and the extra spinach. Cut them into pieces and serve.

♥︎Tajine with cod & sweet potato

For ➋ 

 500 g skinless cod fillet 

2 onions, in half rings 

1 sweet potato, cubed 

15 cl fish stock 

15 cl passata 

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 

½ red pepper, in strips 

½ orange pepper, in strips 

1 red chili pepper 

1 tin of chickpeas 

olive oil 

 marinade: 

1 handful of coriander, finely chopped 

1 handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped 

1 tsp baharat (Arabic spice mix) 

1 dash of olive oil 

½ preserved lemon, finely chopped peel 

Put the coriander, parsley, baharat, olive oil and preserved lemon in a bowl.  Stir everything well. Marinate the cod fillets in the oil for a while. Or put them together in the fridge for 30 m. 

Put some olive oil in the tajine and fry the onion in it. Add the sweet potato cubes and season with salt and pepper. Deglaze with the fish stock and the passata. Put the lid on the tajine and let it cook for 10-15 m. After 5 m, add the pepper strips. 

Then add the garlic, the chili pepper and the pieces of fish, together with the marinade (optional). Let it cook covered for the rest (depending on the thickness of the fish, 15-20 m). 

Pat the chickpeas dry between two pieces of kitchen paper. Put a pan on the stove and heat a dash of olive oil in it. Fry the chickpeas with, if desired, some more coriander, mint and baharat. Put the chickpeas in a jar and serve with the tagine on the table.

♥︎Grilled tuna with green beans, lemon, garlic & eggs

For ➍

1 tbs olive oil*

300 g green beans

4 tuna steaks, 220 g each & 3 cm thick

1 tbs extra virgin oil

2-3 eggs

2 cloves of garlic

lemon (finely chopped zest of a lemon)

Hard boil the eggs in 10 m, peel them and rub them through a sieve.

Clean the beans and cook them until al dente.

Shock them in ice water and then drain them well.

Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the garlic in it.

Add the beans and heat well.

Season with the lemon zest, pepper and salt and carefully mix in the finely ground eggs.

Keep warm.

Rub the tuna steaks with extra virgin olive oil and grill them for about 5 m.

Season with pepper and salt afterwards.

Serve with the beans and southern sauce of your choice.

*or vegetable fat

♥︎Roasted cauliflower salad with pancetta & baby potatoes

For ➍ 

50 g pancetta♥︎

1 cauliflower 

400 g baby potatoes 

2 cloves garlic 

½ lemon, juice 

10 g flat-leaf parsley

400 g chickpeas 

200 g hummus 

5 Medjool dates 

5 cl tahini 

1 tbs za'atar 

4 tbs olive oil 

salt & pepper 

Preheat the oven to 180°C. 

Rinse the baby potatoes and cut them into wedges. 

Cut the cauliflower into florets and the slices of pancetta in half. Rinse the chickpeas thoroughly and drain. 

Stir the za'atar through the olive oil, squeeze in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle over the cauliflower, chickpeas, baby potatoes and pancetta and mix thoroughly. 

Peel and halve the garlic and mix with the vegetables. 

Roast the vegetables and pancetta in the oven for 25 m until cooked and crispy. 

Stir the tahini into the hummus and spoon a generous amount of the mixture onto each plate. 

Spoon the roasted vegetables and bacon on top and finish with a generous amount of finely chopped parsley and pieces of date.

♥︎Replace with heart-friendly alternative like turkey.

♥︎Fregola Sarda with clams & fennel

For ➍ 

350 g fregola Sarda

1.5 kg clams/ vongele

1 l fish or vegetable stock

2 cloves of garlic

2 large fennels, cut in small cubes, stems reserved

1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped finely

1 organic lemon, juice & zest

1 glass of white wine

sea ​​salt & pepper

extra virgin olive oil

If you still have to clean the shells yourself, soak them in a large container of cold water beforehand. Then rinse them under the tap. The mussels will then open for a moment and you can rinse away the sand.

Boil a pan of water with the fish or vegetable stock.

Take a deep pan and now add a dash of olive oil. Cut 1 clove of garlic into slices and fry it together with the fennels for 5 m on medium heat until the fennel is translucent and just turns a brown color. Add the fregola and stir well.

Add enough stock (approximately the same volume as the pasta) to the risotto, reduce heat and cover with a lid for +/- 10 m. Fill if necessary. add extra stock.

5-6 m before the end of the risotto cooking time, cook the clams. Place a large frying pan or wok over low heat with a dash of olive oil. 

Crush 1 clove of garlic and fry with the skin on briefly in the oil. Remove after the oil has been seasoned. 

Add the shells, increase the heat and add a dash of white wine. Cover the pan with a lid and cook the shells for a few m. Shake the pan regularly to ensure they all open. 

After 10-12 minutes, when the fregola is just al dente and the mixture looks soupy, stir in the clams and the cooking liquid with a little chopped parsley and the lemon zest.

Squeeze half a lemon and add it, season the pasta with salt and pepper.

Serve the dish in bowls with some of the fennel fronds kept aside and a drizzle of olive oil on top.

♥︎Fregola, cucumber & orange

For ➋ 

2 small cucumbers about 150 g* 

1 tbs caster sugar 

1 ts sea salt 

1 ts coriander seeds 

5 tbs white wine vinegar 

2 tbs dill, finely chopped

150 g fregola Sarda** 

2 tbs olive oil 

1 large orange

2 spring onions, finely chopped 

a handful of watercress 

To make the pickle, thinly slice 1 cucumber and put in a small mixing bowl. Mix the sugar, sea salt, coriander seeds, vinegar and dill and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Pour over the cucumber, cover and place somewhere cool for at least 1 hour. The cucumber will darken a little in colour and soften slightly, but should retain its crunch. 

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, salt it lightly, then tip in the fregola. Simmer for about 10 m, testing regularly for tenderness. Drain thoroughly, tip into a bowl then sprinkle a few drops of olive oil over it and toss to coat evenly. This will stop the beads sticking together as they cool. 

Peel the second cucumber, halve it lengthways and cut it into 1cm chunks. Peel the orange with a kitchen knife, taking care to remove the white pith, then cut into thin slices. Warm the oil in a shallow pan, add the raw cucumber pieces and continue to fry them gently. 

Add the spring onion to the pan with the drained fregola. Season with salt and black pepper. Fold the pickled cucumber and its liquid into the ingredients, add the watercress then stir briefly. 

Divide between plates and place the orange slices at its side. 

*When using larger cucumber, cut the slices in half. 

**Use Sardinian roasted fregola. Or plain pearl couscous

♥︎Sea bass fillet with tomato & caper salsa

For ➍ 

4 large sea bass fillets with skin

1 fennel bulb,  4 slices of ½ cm, keep the fennel tops aside

2 tomatoes on the vine, peeled, without seeds, cut into cubes

4 tbs capers

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 handful of fresh thyme

6 tbs good olive oil

1 tbs lime zest

1 handful of watercress

pepper and salt

Fry the fennel, garlic and thyme in some olive oil until al dente.

For the salsa, mix the rest of the olive oil, capers, lime zest and tomato together and season with some salt and pepper.

Pat the pieces of sea bass fillet dry with kitchen paper and mark the skin of the fillets lightly with a small knife.

Fry the fish in a hot pan with a non-stick coating until nicely browned on the skin side, for about 3 to 4 m, turn off the heat and leave the fish in the pan for another 1 m.

Serve the fish skin side up together with the fennel, salsa and watercress.

Season everything with some coarse pepper and sea salt and the fennel tops.

Serve with fried potatoes.

♥︎Spanakorizo ​​(Greek spinach rice).

For ➋

400 g spinach leaves (wild spinach)

150 g onions

20 g dill

4 tbs olive oil

120 g carnaroli rice

5 cl dry white wine

25 cl water

1 lemon

salt & freshly ground black pepper

Check the spinach, wash it several times in plenty of water, drain and chop coarsely. Peel the onions and chop them finely. Remove the dill from the stems, set some tops aside and chop the rest finely.

Heat 2 tbs olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium to high heat. Fry the onions until translucent; stir regularly.

Add the rice and fry briefly. Deglaze with the wine. Reduce the wine almost completely.

Add the chopped spinach and let it shrink. Add 25 cl of water, add some salt and let it simmer without a lid for about 15 m (depending on the type of rice) over low heat, until the rice is al dente; stir occasionally.

The rice should be cooked, but not falling apart. 

Stir in the dill. Season with the finely grated zest of ½ lemon, 1-1½ tbs lemon juice, 1-2 tbs olive oil and black pepper. The rice should taste fresh and lemony.

Divide the spinach rice over two deep plates. If desired, drizzle some olive oil over it and grate over the zest of a few lemon wedges. Sprinkle the dill tops over it.

Risotto with scampi & zucchini

For ➍ 

240-300 g arborio rice

24 scampi

2 small zucchini

2 shallots

2 cloves of garlic

10 cl dry white wine

1.½ l chicken stock

olive oil

salt & freshly ground pepper

1-1½ tbs vadouvan (*)

Clean the scampi (remove the intestinal tract), mix them with the herbs and 1-1.½ tbs oil and put them away in a cool place.

Cut the zucchini into slices of about 1 cm thick and cut the slices again into sticks.

Bring the stock to the boil and keep it warm. We will use the stock to cook the risotto.

Heat the olive oil in a wide pot and fry the chopped shallot and garlic.

Add the rice to the pot and let it fry for a while until the grains become transparent.

Add the white wine and let it boil away. Then add a small tablespoon of stock and wait until the liquid has largely been absorbed. Then add stock again and keep repeating until the rice is done. This will take about 15 to 20 m. The rice should still be creamy, but should certainly not be cooked too flat.

Heat a large frying pan with a dash of olive oil and fry the marinated scampi over high heat.

Remove the scampi from the pan, add an extra dash of olive oil if necessary and fry the zucchini strips in the same pan, over sufficiently high heat (season them with salt and freshly ground pepper).

Add the fried scampi and zucchini to the risotto when it is done and stir everything carefully.

*or 1 ts kurkuma + 1 ts paprika powder + ½ ts chili flakes

Couscous with halloumi & fried red pepper

For ➍

4 red peppers, cut into strips

335 g whole grain couscous

40 g raisins

40 g almonds, roughly chopped

2 cloves of garlic, pressed or finely chopped

20 sprigs fresh cilantro, finely chopped

2 limes

250 g halloumi, cut into 1-2 cm cubes

125 g fat yogurt

70 cl vegetable stock

3 tbs olive oil

4 tbs extra virgin olive oil

pepper & salt

Grate the zest of the lime. Squeeze the lime.

In a salad bowl, mix the couscous and raisins with the stock and allow to soak, covered, for 10 m. Then stir with a fork.

Heat ½ of the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and fry the pepper strips 7 - 9 m. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in another frying pan over medium heat and fry the lime zest and garlic for 30 s.

Add the cubes of halloumi, fry for 3 - 4 m until crispy. Then remove them from the pan.

Fry the soaked couscous 1 - 2 m in the same pan in the lime-garlic oil.

Mix the coriander with the couscous and season with the extra virgin olive oil, pepper and salt.

Divide the couscous over the plates and scoop the bell pepper strips on the side. Drizzle the couscous with the lime juice and garnish with the halloumi and almonds. Serve the yogurt separately, so that everyone can add it to their own taste.

Risotto zucchine e gamberetti (zucchini & shrimp risotto)

For ➍ 

vegetable broth 

1.5 l water 

1 lemon, zest, grated 

1 carrot 

1 celery rib 

½ onion 

coarse salt 

risotto

350 g arborio rice 

2 zucchini 

250 g shrimps 

½ onion, chopped 

olive oil 

½ glass white wine 

50 g butter *

lemon, zest, grated 

fine salt 

decorate 

lemon, zest, grated 

mint 

Start with a vegetable broth. Put the water in a pot and add the carrot, celery, onion and the zest of a lemon. Bring it to boil. 

In a frying pan, brown the chopped onion. Add the zucchini cut into small pieces, salt and cook for about 5 m. Add the shrimps in the pan and let it cook for another 2 m. Remove from the fire and keep aside. 

In another pan, toast the rice. When it's very hot, blend it with the white wine. Add the broth a little at a time, and mix the risotto. As soon as the broth dries, add a ladle and continue like this for about 15 m, to cook the rice.**

When it is close to the cooking, add the zucchini and shrimp and cook for a couple of more m. 

Turn off the heat and stir with the butter, stirring the risotto well. Add a copious grated lemon zest. Decorate the risotto with another lemon zest and a mint leaf. Serve immediately.

*Optional.

*Use a quicker way to cook risotto.

Za'atar chicken pilav with pistachios & pomegranate

For ➍

4 chicken legs

2 cloves garlic

1 tbs lemon juice

3 tbs za'atar

70 g pomegranate seeds

1 bunch flat leaf parsley

1 bunch of dill

4 tbs olive oil

50 g butter

2 large yellow onions

250 g basmati rice

40 cl poultry fond

75 g green pistachios

1 ts pilipili

1 bunch coriander

Peel the garlic and finely chop.

Cut the chicken thighs in half at the joint and place in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Sprinkle with 1 tbs salt and the garlic snippets. Toss together and refrigerate for min. 2 h.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Bake the chicken ± 7 m with the skin side down golden brown and crispy in a roasting pan.

Arrange in a baking dish, sprinkle the skin side with za'atar and roast for another 10 m.

Deglaze the casserole with poultry stock and heat.

Peel the onions and cut into fine half rings. Coarsely chop the pistachios.

Rinse the rice under running water until the rinse water is clear. Preheat the butter and oil in a shallow wide cast iron pot. Add the onion rings, sprinkle with salt and fry for 15 m until caramelised. Stir in the rice, pistachios, pilipili and warm poultry stock. Season with salt and pepper. Arrange the chicken on top of the rice. Pour the juices from the baking dish over.

Place in the oven for 45 m until the rice is soft. Cover the pan and let rest for 5 m.

Finely chop the parsley leaves, coarsely chop the coriander and dill and sprinkle over the chicken together with the pomegranate seeds. Serve.

♥︎Tray bake of giant beans with ratatouille vegetables & pistou

For ➍

2 cans giant white beans (400 g each), rinsed & drained

2 red onions, peeled, cut into 8 wedges each

2 red bell peppers, chopped

1 eggplant, in pieces

1 zucchini, in pieces

4 small tomatoes on the vine, each cut in 4 wedges

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 tbs rosemary needles, coarsely chopped

1 red chilli pepper, in rings

pinch chilli flakes

salt pepper

4 tbs olive oil

For the pistou*:

80 g pine nuts

40 g basil

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

10-12.5 cl olive oil

Preheat the oven to 200 °C.

Put the beans, all the vegetables, the garlic, rosemary, chilli pepper and chilli flakes, four tablespoons of olive oil, a good pinch of coarse salt and a pinch of pepper in a bowl and toss. Divide the mixture over two baking trays lined with parchment paper.

Slide the baking trays into the oven and roast for 45-60m, until the vegetables are tender and the beans are just a little crunchy. Switch the baking plates halfway through, so that they both receive the same amount of top and bottom heat.

For the pistou, toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan until they are nicely browned. Set aside 12 basil leaves. Place the rest of the basil leaves, garlic and half the pine nuts in the bowl of the food processor and pulse a few times. Then, while the machine is running, pour in as much oil as needed for a runny sauce in a trickle. Taste and season the pistou with salt and pepper.

Transfer the beans and vegetables to a serving platter. Sprinkle over the rest of the pine nuts and the reserved basil leaves. 

Serve the pistou separately.

*Pistou is the Provencal version of Italian pesto. It's basically the same sauce without Parmigiano.