pistou

[ pee-stoo ]

1. a paste or sauce from Provençe made of basil, garlic, olive oil, and sometimes Parmesan cheese and tomato paste.
2. a vegetable soup flavored with pistou.

Word History and Origins

Origin of pistou¹

First recorded in 1950–55; from French: literally “crushed basil, pesto,” from Provençal, pistou “ground, pounded,” past participle of pista “to crush,” from Old Provençal pester, pistar “to grind,” from Vulgar Latin pistāre; pestle ( def ), pesto

Example Sentences

We first came across pistou in Marseille as a no-cook basil and garlic sauce stirred into a hearty bean soup.

From Washington Times

Their mushroom and green sauce pie hit all the notes, with a lemon cream playing off a garlicky parsley-basil pistou, creminis roasted for added forest flavor, a little spiciness, three cheeses chiming in — this was a pizza of complexity and beauty, one that could vie for a spot at the table at a very fine restaurant.

From Seattle Times

In his Times review, Mr. Miller waxed rhapsodic about chef Antoine Bouterin, “a largely unsung master of classical and Provençal cooking,” and wrote that his pistou, a summer vegetable soup, was “as heady as a stroll through a Provençal garden.”

From New York Times

The curry mussels were finished with cilantro and a lime wedge, while the cioppino was topped with a spoonful of pistou.

From Seattle Times

But the soupe au pistou was just the best thing I’ve eaten for so long.

From The Guardian