HOT SOUP: This is not an everyday popular soup that one is in a hurry to try out, but it is still worth the effort to put it together at least once.

TOMATO & SCALLOP SOUP WITH PESTO:

½ lb. scallops cut into bite-sized pieces

2 cups tomatoes, seeded and thinly sliced

1 cup each, onion & potatoes, diced

1 cup each carrots & celery, diagonally sliced                        

pinch of dried basil

1 bay leaf                                                       

salt and pepper

1 tsp. each lemon zest  & lemon juice

½ cup dry white wine  + 4 cups fish stock                  

½ cup whipping cream

3 tbsp. pesto, see recipe                                              

1 tbsp. cooking oil

Heat oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until hot, add onion and cook until pale golden. Add potatoes, carrots and celery, continue cooking for 8 to 10 minutes. Add basil, lemon zest and juice.

Deglaze pan with white wine and cook until liquid has been reduced by half. Add 1 cup tomatoes and bay leaf and cook until mixture resembles tomato sauce; then add fish stock. Cover pot and bring mixture to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add scallop and the remaining tomatoes.

Simmer for 5 minutes, or until scallops are opaque and just cooked, but do not overcook scallop. Add cream and salt and pepper to taste. Heat through then serve immediately, garnish with a dollop of pesto.

PESTO SAUCE:

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed                                

½ cup extra virgin olive oil                             

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese                    

1/3 cup pine nuts

3 cloves garlic, minced                                                           

salt and pepper to taste

Combine basil and pine nut in the work bowl of a food processor with steel blade attached. Process with on/off pulses a few times. Add garlic and process on/off a few times more.

With motor running, add olive oil through the feed tube in a steady stream, stopping machine and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula once or twice, until well blended. Add grated cheese, salt and pepper to taste and pulse once or twice to mix.