Warm rainy days remind me of the summer I spent cooking in southeast Asia where light flavorful soups got me through many a damp, humid afternoon.  In Provence, soupe au pistou is the classic vegetable soup with macaroni, potatoes, onions, fennel and haricots verts, among others, with a dollop of bright basil pistou stirred in.  Instead of basil, this version uses cilantro and citrus, as well as Vadouvan curry and rock shrimp to take the soup “from Provence to Bangkok”, as Dr. France commented when I made it for lunch the other day.  Feel free to improvise with the garnishes—just make sure to add anything green at the end so it doesn’t lose its color from the acidity.

Difficulty:

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

½ white onion, diced

½ fennel bulb, diced

1 garlic clove, finely diced

1 medium shallot, diced

4 cups chicken stock

3 cups water

2 Tbsp. Vadouvan curry (from La Boîte à Epice)

1 bay leaf

1 ½ cups peeled, diced Yukon potatoes (½” cubes)

¾ cup Israeli couscous

1 pound rock shrimp, rinsed and patted dry

1 ½ cups (¼ lb) haricots verts, 1” pieces

3 scallions, thinly sliced (white & tender green parts)

zest of ½ lemon

juice of 1 lemon

zest of 1 lime

juice of 2 limes

¼ cup cilantro chiffonade

2 Tbsp. parsley chiffonade

sea salt & pepper

Technique:

•In a large, high-rimmed sauté pan over medium heat, sweat onion, fennel, garlic and shallots in olive oil until nearly tender (5-7 minutes).  Add chicken stock, water, Vadouvan, and bay leaf; bring to a boil, add potatoes and Israeli couscous, and simmer until tender (10 minutes).

•When potatoes are tender, turn off heat and add seasoned shrimp.  Allow to cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring gently until cooked through.  Add haricots verts, scallions, citrus zest and juice.