Odds and Ends Vegetable Soup
The beef broth left over from a stew I’d served to company was taking up too much space in my refrigerator. Rather than overcrowd the freezer with it, I decided to make soup.
This inspiration struck at dinner time, too late to shop for ingredients, so I used what was on hand: a handful of mushrooms, a lone zucchini, a carrot, a potato and a small packet of dried roasted sweet corn.
Out in the garden, a late-season tomato had just ripened. I also picked some Italian parsley, a fresh bay leaf and a rather wrinkled red serrano chile still clinging to its bush (a bit of chile heat really perks up soup). Celery would have been nice, but I had none and so added a few leaves of lovage, an herb that tastes like celery. I also put in a pinch of herbes de Provence that a friend had brought back from southern France.
Now you see why I call this Odds and Ends Vegetable Soup. The only requirement is good homemade broth. Then you can add whatever you like from your own store of vegetables and herbs. I served the soup as a main dish. The accompaniments were hot chile-cheese bread and a glass of the same red wine that I had served at my dinner party.
Cook the onion, garlic and chile in the oil in a skillet over medium heat until the onion is tender, 5 minutes.
Add the beef stock, potato and carrot and bring to a boil. Add the tomato, corn, lovage, parsley, bay leaf, herbes de Provence, the peppercorns and salt to taste. Simmer the soup, uncovered, until the potato starts to become tender, about 12 to 15 minutes.
Add the zucchini and mushrooms and continue cooking until they’re just tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Serve the soup in heated bowls.
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