refrigerator clean-out

When classes ended on the last Friday of June, I still had a refrigerator full of vegetables and I was leaving town on Sunday. Summer squash, bell peppers, onions, shallots, garlic, tomatoes, jalapeno, eggplant, russet, red potatoes, and sweet potatoes. If you know me, you know what I made with all that – SOUP!  The first, I am calling Rataouille Soup since it has all the makings of the classic Provencal dish.  The second is a mixed potato soup, which I shall post tomorrow.  It’s too hot for soup, so it all got packaged up and went into the freezer to await a cool spell.  I know that won’t happen for another 4 months, but when it does, I will be ready!

Ratatouille Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 large onion, peeled and diced
2 cups yellow squash, roughly chopped
2 cups zucchini squash, roughly chopped
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
2 eggplant, chopped
1 pound tomatoes, diced
4 cups chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

Heat olive oil in a large pot and saute onion. Stir in garlic and saute for another minute or two.

Add the zucchini, squash, and red pepper, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the eggplant and cook another couple of minutes.

Add the chicken broth and chopped tomatoes to the pot and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20-25 minutes until vegetables are tender.  Use a slotted spoon to add the solids to a blender or food processor, and use a ladle to add in as much of the liquid as needed to create a smooth mixture.  As always, be sure to remove the feed tube to allow the steam to escape when blending hot mixtures.

Continue to puree the soup in batches, add the fresh basil to the last batch and return all to the pot, reheat, taste, and season as needed.