Soupe au Pistou with Gluten Free Corn Dumplings

When I was still married, my ex husband would make this fantastic soup every January and since I’m a nostalgic foodie, I have kept this tradition of his alive by continuing to do so, even though we are no longer together.

In truth, I get teary eyed and feel the hot tears roll down my cheeks every time I make soup au pistou. Something ineffable happens when I pull the smell of the vegetables sweating into my lungs and suddenly am filled with a movie reel of memories of all the incredible dishes we made together over the years. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss it. Cooking with your partner is a very magical, alchemical moment, so it goes without saying that food is what brought us together and I cherish my memories of cooking with him. Tim was my greatest teacher and he will forever remain my greatest confidant when it comes to unveiling a new gluten free recipe, so Tim, may this gluten free version of Jacques Pepin’s soup au pistou be for you, so neither one of us will ever forget all those beautiful Januarys.

I have, over the years, adapted Pepin’s corn dumplings to be gluten free through a series of versions and this is my latest incantation. I recently shared a bowl of it with Tim a couple of weeks ago and he didn’t bat an eye when he said it was just as good as the “gluten-version.”

Isn’t is a wonder that foodie memories are so laced with emotion? It’s so many sensations rolled into one, the memory on top of the memory on top of the moment. I firmly believe that yes, the dishes, the smells, the lighting, the linens and the wines, set the scene, but it’s the people we share these moments with that define our culinary lineage.

For me, my foodie memories harbor some of my most comforting, loving moments in life, which is why I always say I live from dish to dish.

Anyhow, I digress.

On the baking front, the thing that makes this recipe special in the present moment is that the dumplings don’t contain any gums, so for those of you that have either a mold allergy, making xanthan gum off limits, or a legume allergy, making guar gum a no-no, then these are the dumplings for you.

Happy Gluten Free January, Everyone!!! ENJOY.

Soupe au Pistou with Corn Dumplings
Adapted from a recipe by Jacques Pepin

For the Dumplings:

80 g. or 1/2 cup cornmeal
40 g. or 1/3 cup tapioca flour
40 g. or 1/4 cup cornstarch
30 g. or 2 tablespoons potato flour
30 g. or 2 tablespoons potato starch
25 g. or 1/4 cup sorghum flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons baking powder

2 whole eggs
½ cup 2%milk
4 tablespoons pure olive oil

Preheat oven to 400°F and liberally grease a jellyroll pan with pure olive oil.

Whisk together all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the eggs, whole milk and pure olive oil. Mix until you can no linger see any dry ingredients.

Using a 1 ½ inch retractable ice cream scoop, spoon out the dough into even mounds in staggered rows onto your prepared jellyroll pan. Brush the top of each dumpling with additional pure olive oil and bake until golden, 15-20 minutes. Rotate the pan half way through baking.

Allow the dumplings to cool until you can handle them and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the soup:

½ lb. diced pork salt
2 cups yellow onion, diced
1 leek, finely sliced (white part only)
2 celery stalks, diced
2 carrots, cut in half and sliced
2 medium zucchini, diced
2 cups butternut squash, diced
½ cup turnips, peeled and cubed
1 ½ cups quartered green beans
3 medium yukon gold potatoes, peed and cubed
4 oz. white beech mushrooms
8 cups homemade chicken stock

In a 9-quart dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of pure olive oil over medium high heat and then add the diced salt pork and fry until crispy, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking and burning.

Add the diced onions, celerey, carrots, leeks, zucchini, butternut squash and turnips. Stir to evenly coat with the fats in the pan and dust with a generous pinch of salt. Reduce the temperature to medium and sweat the vegetables for 20 minutes, stirring every now and then so the vegetables cook evenly. Add the green beans, and potatoes. Stir to evenly coat and the add the chicken stock and then the mushrooms.

Bring the soup to a boil for two minutes, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 ½ – 2 hours and the vegetables are fork tender.

Now make the pesto.

Since my son is deathly allergic to nuts, I made my pesto without the pine nuts, but this recipe is delicious both ways. In fact, in the south of France, the traditional recipe for pesto or pistou is made of basil, parsley, garlic, grated cheese and olive oil, so technically, both jive in both Italy and France.

For the pesto or pistou:

2 cups packed basil leaves
2 fresh cloves garlic, minced
½ cup grated Parmesean
½ cup picorino romano
½ cup pure olive oil
¼ cup pine nuts (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

In a food processor, blend the basil, garlic, cheeses together, and pine nuts if using. In a slow steady stream with the processor still running, add the pure olive oil. Blend and pulse until smooth.

(I like my pesto to be on the ticker side so that it can sit on top of the corn dumpling, but if you prefer a thinner version, then simply add more olive oil, in small increments, until you have achieved the consistency you desire.)

Salt and pepper to taste if needed.

To serve:

Ladle the soup into a bowl. Invert the dumpling so the flat side is facing up. Mound a generous amount of pesto on top. Serve immediately.

Serves 8

All photos by Knoxy