It is such a bountiful time of year at the farmers market! I come home every Saturday laden down with red and yellow peppers, purple eggplant, green zucchini, orange carrots, scarlet beets, tan butternut squash, and even coal-black radishes. Somehow I still spend less than I did in July when I could easily blow a quarter of my walking-around money on a few precious pints of berries. Compared to the fruits of summer, the vegetables of autumn are a bargain.
Stocking up every week on these seasonal, local vegetables makes menu planning a breeze. On Sunday, I made turkey Sloppy Joe’s, a family favorite, and roasted Brussel sprouts from the farmers’ market. Monday, it was butternut squash risotto. Tuesday, pasta with sausage and peppers. And I still had enough vegetables left on Wednesday to make a hearty, minestrone-style vegetable soup.
How adorable is this Staub pumpkin cocotte from Sur La Table? Perfect for serving soups and stews.
With a well-stocked pantry and some farmers market or CSA vegetables, dinner is easy to put together, even on a busy weeknight. And believe me, it was a busy night. Zuzu was making a cake for a science project that required her to make a visual representation of cell structure and JR wanted help with his Halloween costume. They both had Hebrew school to go at 6:30 pm. But I still managed to pull off a healthy dinner in between hot-gluing wings onto gladiator sandals and piping mitochondria out of white chocolate.
From my farmers market haul, I pulled out carrots, celery, a red pepper and zucchini; from my pantry, a can of tomatoes, cannellini beans and chicken broth. In between helping the kids and checking email, I chopped vegetables, added the ingredients in stages, and finally simmered the soup until it was time to eat. With some crusty bread, this soup is a satisfying, vegetarian meal for a chilly night – and the beans even give it protein.
A delicious vegetable soup is is a recipe that you can fit in around everything else in your life. And if dinner is delayed by a late soccer practice or missed train? Just let the soup simmer a little longer – it will only taste that much better. Best of all, you are pretty much guaranteed leftovers for the next day. As someone who works from home, I always want a recipe to make enough for leftovers.
Speaking of fall vegetables, local textile company Dermond Peterson has a new line of kitchen towels, aprons and tote bags inspired by the bounty of the farmers market. Titled “Bumper Crop,” these punchy, graphic designs are inspired by tomatoes, red onions, artichokes and more.
I absolutely love the whimsy of the kitchen towels and my cavernous artichoke tote bag is the perfect vessel to haul my vegetables home from the farmers market. All Dermond Peterson products are block-printed by hand in the company’s studio in nearby Milwaukee on linen and cotton fabric using water-based inks that are free of solvents, lead and heavy metals. The products are both beautiful and durable reminding me of the William Morris adage: “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
Right now, West of the Loop readers can use the code “FALLHARVEST” to get 20% off everything in the Bumper Crop collection. Any of the towels, aprons or tote bags in the Bumper Crop line would make a wonderful holiday gift for the cook in your life.
So tie on your best apron and get chopping. This vegetable soup isn’t going to make itself!
Ingredients
- 2 TB extra virgin olive oil (plus more for drizzling)
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 3 ribs celery, trimmed and diced
- 1 red pepper, cored and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 TB tomato paste
- 1 tsp oregano
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- 28 oz can whole tomatoes
- 1 TB sugar
- 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- Parmesan rind (optional)
- 1 zucchini, diced
- 15 oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat.
- Add the onions, carrots and celery and sauté until tender, about ten minutes, adjusting the heat as necessary so that the vegetable do not brown.
- Add the red pepper and garlic and sauté an additional five minutes.
- Add the tomato paste, oregano and red pepper flakes and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté a few additional minutes until fragrant.
- Add the tomatoes with their juice and the sugar and bring mixture to a boil, crushing the tomatoes with a wooden spoon to break them up.
- Turn down heat and simmer until thickened, about ten minutes.
- Add the chicken broth and a Parmesan rind, if using, and return to a boil.
- Turn heat down and simmer.
- About twenty minutes before you want to serve the soup, add the zucchini and cannellini beans. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.
- To serve, garnish each bowl with a drizzle of fruity extra virgin olive oil and grated Parmesan cheese.
Full disclosure time: I received the Dermond Peterson products free of charge for review purposes. I have not received any compensation for my post. As always, all opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.
