Ally
Make the most of August’s harvest with summer vegetable soup.
We’re deep into August in Atlanta which means 100 degree weather, 100% humidity, and 100% chance I’ll be hiding inside in the A/C. It also means that some of my favorite veggies are in season: eggplant, bell peppers, summer squash, tomatoes, and corn. I was planning on making ratatouille for dinner with all these summer goodies, but I stayed home from work today so some summer vegetable soup for lunch sounded like an even better idea. I think I’ll make a big batch for healthy lunches all week 🙂
Assemble your cast of summer harvest characters and heat a large pot over medium heat. Add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and wait until it gets hot. Chop up a white onion and throw it in the pot and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Give it a stir. While the onions are cooking, dice up your eggplant, (small enough so your boyfriend doesn’t realize what it is). Sprinkle it with salt and pepper too. Deglaze with a splash of white wine if you’re feeling it 😉
Add it to the pot with the onions. Dice up a summer squash….
…and a green bell pepper….
Add ’em all to the pot, stirring, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Again. We need layers of flavor people!
I also sprinkled in some red pepper flakes because I’m an addict, and added two cloves of minced garlic. Now throw in a can on diced tomatoes and make sure to splatter it everywhere.
Now add a whole bag of frozen corn because it’s easy.
Pour in a carton, (4 cups) of low sodium chicken broth. Give it a stir, raise the heat to medium-high, and get that soup simmering.
Because you’re naughty like me, chop off the rind of some parmesan….
…Put that in the pot too with some herbs you have lying around. I found some thyme and rosemary. Sounds good to me!
Let that soup simmer for at least 20 minutes. The veggies will be plenty cooked, but it needs time to develop flavor. The longer the better.
Meanwhile…
… attempt to roll up crescent rolls and accept the fact that they’ll always be a little bit deformed.
Because who cares what they look like when they’re hot and golden *drools*, *eats 5 standing at the counter*.
Now let your soup rest for at least 5-10 minutes off the heat. Again, the longer the better. Soup just always gets better sitting around. Add a little last-minute lemon zest for some summery freshness.
Now put all this good stuff in a bowl and top it with freshly grated parmesan cheese and some fresh parsley.
Um, hi. My name is Ally, nice to meet you.
*dunks crescent roll into broth over and over*
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- White onion, diced
- salt and pepper
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 eggplant, diced
- 1 yellow summer squash, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 14 oz can diced tomatoes
- 8 oz frozen sweet corn
- Quart low-sodium chicken broth
- Sprig of rosemary and thyme
- Parmesan cheese, grated and rind removed
- Fresh parsley for serving
- Baked crescent rolls or crusty bread for serving
- Heat a large pot or dutch over over medium heat. Add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, and let the pot get hot.
- Put the diced onions in the hot pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and stir 5 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the rest of the vegetables.
- Pour ¼ cup white wine into the pot, stirring the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon for 30 seconds to deglaze.
- Add the eggplant, squash, bell pepper, and garlic to the onion mixture. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and stir.
- Open a can of diced tomatoes, and add to the pot. Also, add the frozen corn and chicken broth and stir.
- Raise the temperature to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Add a rind of parmesan cheese to the pot, along with a chopped sprig of rosemary and thyme.
- Let the soup simmer for at least 20 minutes, preferably longer. Before serving, add the lemon zest and juice to the soup, and stir.
- Allow the soup to rest off the heat for 5-10 minutes. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.
- This soup is even better with some freshly baked crescent rolls or crusty bread for dipping!
