Friday, September 19, 2008

Farmer's Market Soup

This is one of my very favorite soups! And this time of year is
perfect for it. I just bought some lovely fresh vegetables and
with this soup, you can use just about any combination you like.
Add a heavenly slice of crusty home made bread and you've got
a perfect little supper. Can you tell I'm celebrating the empty
nest cooking?

Farmer's Market Soup

3 tbsp olive oil
3 leeks chopped
pinch of saffron threads
3 large carrots, diced
3 medium turnips, peeled and diced
3 zucchini or other summer squash, chunked
3/4 lb green beans, cut into 1 inch lengths
2 large ripe tomatoes, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 quarts vegetable stock
1 cup dried pasta, I like bowl shaped Orecchiette

The Pesto
3 cups loosely packed basil leaves
1 garlic clove
3 tbsp pine nuts
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
2 tbsp grated Romano
1/2 cup olive oil

Warm oil in a wide soup pot over medium heat. Add leeks
and saffron and cook until translucent, about 10 minutes.
Add vegetables, garlic and salt, cook 5 minutes and add
stock. Bring to a boil, lower heat, simmer until vegetables
are tender, 20 - 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in salted water, drain and rinse with
cold water.

Make the pesto. Mash the garlic in a mortar with 1/4 tsp salt
and the pine nuts (I use a mini food processor) then add the
basil a hand full at a time. Grind until you have a fine paste.
Briefly work in the cheeses and stir in the olive oil. Taste for
salt.

Add the pasta to the hot soup, ladle the soup into bowls and
stir a spoonful of pesto into each serving. Season with pepper.

NOTE: Don't skimp and leave out the pesto! And don't
use that nasty store bought kind. It is the key ingredient
that gives the soup it's rich fabulous flavor, when stirred
into each bowl full!
*photo by Willow*

27 comments:

  1. Oh, yum--I've been on the road too long--I'm craving good homemade foods and this sounds simple and delicious. I love fresh pesto, too--I can picture that taste, and I could get into making this big time. I'm so glad your recipes will be here when I get home! LOL. Thanks for another good one!

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  2. Well, the black box brought me back here again! We really must be simpatico!

    Oh gosh, we had soup tonight as well. This is too wierd, I'm going to bed!

    Happy weekend!

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  3. Looks tasty! That is one thing I like with fall coming on.....eating more soup. Have a good weekend.

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  4. Yum, yum, yum--and. hey, even good for you!

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  5. That looks so scrummy! I believe I'll give it a try.

    I had soup with practically every meal while we were walking the TMB over the last few weeks. They serve it at all the huts.

    I was never much of a soup fan before, but I am learning to love it. I expect I'll be making a good bit of it during as the season's change around Cornwall.

    Plus, your soup looks much better than the thistle soup John made for me when I first got to England.

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  6. Gosh this sounds scrummy! I can tell that you are happy about eating veggies now that meat and potato head has flown the coop:)

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  7. Yum yum... I love Fall for the soup. This looks great... thanks for sharing!

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  8. the soup looks delicious. and, i really like all the artistic touches you've added to your blog. it is so rich and vibrant . . . a feast for the eyes!!

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  9. That looks delicious. Being a farmer's wife I suppose I should be able to make stuff like that but somehow, I don't think it will be quite like yours!!

    CJ xx

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  10. oh my goodness Willow. Yum ! I love soup and will add this to my recipe file. Merci. Cheers from the gang at 29 Black.

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  11. Just the season for a hearty soup.
    I sometimes wish my better half would travel more, like in his professional days, then I could survive on soups. Yours sounds scrummy, especially with pesto. The bought stuff is useless I agree, basil needs to be used as near to picking as pos., and does nt survive heat treatment.
    Bon appetit!

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  12. This looks so good and if it has pesto then I know I would love it! I can almost smell this....Yum!!!

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  13. That looks fabulous! I've never made pesto....must give it a try! And the Orecchiette is so cute!

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  14. I am drooling. Gee Willow, is there anything you cannot do?

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  15. That looks so yummy!And best part is it's veg :)

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  16. Oh, oh, oh, oh. Speechless with soup envy!

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  17. Looks delicious, but not for today. It is hot hot hot here. Maybe in a week or two though? I love the idea of the pesto in a veg soup.

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  18. Looks good enough to eat!
    Pop it in a vacuum flask and bring it on the ramble.

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  19. Sounds heavenly. I can make this, too. So wonderfully captured, as well.

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  20. Willow, I love fresh vegetable soup and the fall is the best time for soup. This looks so good - the photo and the soup.

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  21. This looks so wonderful, I can almost smell it!

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  22. mm! YOu are right, it is the pesto. Now I am hungry...

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  23. Thank you so much for this recipe! YUMMY!

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  24. Well, I can see that at the Manor autumn has already arrived! What I love the most is the earthy colours combined with your blog's outlook! Yummy! Between the gazpacho soup whose recipe you uploaded some weeks ago and this one, I will have to start plundering your treasure chest for my very own 'Fodd, Music/Movies' section' :-D

    Greetings from London.

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  25. It's getting to be the time of year when a bowl of soup like that looks really good. Yum. Pappy

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  26. Definitely a soup I will make!
    Thanks for the recipe...
    Alida (Long Island Woman)

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  27. A perfect soup for those cold winter days! Thanks for posting this great recipe.

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Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)