Trying to use up some of the last zucchini in my garden, I made a lovely vegetable broth for a cous cous, to fill my cravings as an expat for some spice in my life. The simple broth is onions, carrots, potatoes and zucchini with some water and salt. Simple and light. When I serve it for cous cous, I add some cooked chickpeas and then add Harissa as wanted as I ladle the broth onto the cous cous. I am a happy woman.
But this Sunday I had other cravings, a summer minestrone with rice, which I recalled seeing in a trattoria on the coast years ago, cooling in plates at the window.
chilling the soup outdoors
Summer’s gifts from the garden can inspire your Minestrone, which usually also includes winter greens. For my Summer version I used a wonderful vegetable broth I made for a couscous recipe and then added what I had in the garden today, which I sauteed to pump up the broth.
Mid-Summer Minestrone
a non- recipe
4 zucchini, 2 large potatoes, 4 carrots- peel and slice the vegetables into small pieces for soup.
2 red onions- peeled and chopped into larger pieces, not minced
If you have some butternut squash or pumpkin peel and slice and add to pot.
Boil all the vegetables in salted water until tender.
I added some cooked chickpeas ( garbanzo beans) any bean would be nice.
That creates the vegetable stock base.
Today I harvested a larger round zucchini and some cherry tomatoes and chili peppers.
I sauteed some garlic and added the zucchini and a tiny piece of chili pepper ( they are hot).
I sprinkled with some salt and cut the cherry tomatoes into pieces, covered the pan and let them stew.
I then gathered small branches of all my herbs and added them chopped into the pan:
Basil, mint, marjoram, thyme, chives and oregano.
I added this pan to my boiled vegetable broth I had made previously.
I then heated the soup and added some rice, about 1 cup.
I covered and let cook over low heat for about 15 minutes.
I then spooned the hot soup into my serving bowls and let cool to serve for lunch.
It was not COLD from the fridge, but room temp and perfect for a summer meal.