Panisse Puffs + Vegetable Soup with Basil Puree

It may be Saturday, but today is all about Cook the Book Fridays! It’s a two-fer today since I missed the last CTBF post due to being out of town and poor planning.

Panisse Puffs

I have always enjoyed Yorkshire Puddings and this week’s recipe, Panisse Puffs, is a sturdier, easier version.

The technique is similar to Yorkshire Puddings, but the ingredients are a little different. Panisse Puffs contain more chickpea flour than all-purpose flour, seem less eggy, and add ground cumin and cayenne pepper to up the flavor.

These were fun to make, and I enjoyed the flavor, but I felt like mine were slightly overcooked. They were a little drier than I would have liked and the edges were a little too brown. I only baked up half the batter, so I may try again tomorrow, reducing the baking time by a couple of minutes.

Vegetable Soup with Basil Puree

Vegetable Soup with Basil Puree is David Lebovitz’s take on the classic Soupe au Pistou. It’s a humble vegetable-bean soup elevated by the addition of fresh pesto and grated cheese.

I have recently jumped on the Instant Pot bandwagon, so I decided to cook the dried Great Northern beans in my new pot. Super fast! I did overcook the beans slightly, but I have a tendency to under cook beans, so this was a refreshing change. I cooked the rest of the soup in the Instant Pot, but just using the “saute” mode, not under pressure.

The soup was a hit! The pesto and grated parmesan cheese really make the soup. I cooked the pasta separately, so we could each have some or not, according to taste. My vegetable-loving, pesto-loving, grated-cheese-on-soup-loving husband loved this soup! And my daughter enjoyed her serving too (though she skillfully avoided the dab of pesto).

This post participates in Cook the Book Fridays, an online cooking group currently making our way through David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen.