Stone Soup Minestrone

Minestrone is a staple at my house because you can use anything you have in your refrigerator leftover at the end of the week to put it together. It's also a great way to really showcase the flavors of the vegetables. When zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes are in season, this dish is wonderful. But it also works well with whatever other vegetables are in season, and in a pinch, canned tomatoes will work.

The first time I made this soup, Mr. Stone Soup and I were in the south of France, staying on an island in the middle of the Rhone River in Avignon. It was quite remote, but we had a spacious little cabin that included a cozy porch and a tiny kitchenette. It was stocked with a tea kettle, a skillet, a sauce pan, a couple of knives made out of stone, some plates and silverware. As we tooled around the island in our tiny rental car, we saw farmers sitting on the flipped-down tailgates of their trucks, displaying tidy piles of brightly colored, ripe, fresh fruits and vegetables. I could smell them from the car and I begged Mr. Soup to stop so I could buy some of it, insisting that I could make us dinner at our cabin. He was skeptical, but loves me too much to say "no" to such a request. I bought an eggplant, some tomatoes, a couple of zucchini, a yellow squash, an onion, some garlic and some sweet basil, reasoning that I could throw together a quick ratatouille. We stopped at a little grocery store and got some olive oil, pasta and a couple of chicken breasts. And wine. Duh. I also got some bread and cheese, and we were off to the races.

That night, we dined on grilled chicken, ratatouille, some pasta with olive oil, salt and pepper, and some fresh fruit and cheese for dessert. It was delicious and I WAS IN HEAVEN, and I remember it being one of the first times I really tasted fresh food.

The next day, we went out to dinner and Mr. Soup was certain that we would have to discard the leftover fruits and vegetables I had. Overnight that night, Mr. Soup came down with the flu--he was running a pretty good fever, had chills, and general flu-like symptoms. Our innkeeper called in a doctor who confirmed that a 24-hour bug was making the rounds and to rest and get plenty of fluids. We had breakfast supplied by the inn, but other than that, Mr. Soup stayed in bed all day. By evening, we were both hungry and I decided to make soup out of the leftover ingredients, which included the vegetables, olive oil, sweet basil and, critically, some of the pasta. I made us minestrone soup that was absolutely sublime. The produce was all so fresh, flavorful, bright and clean--we could truly taste the ingredients as they were meant to be enjoyed. I've tried, but never quite been able to duplicate that minestrone. I decided long ago that it was the ingredients.

This recipe is a good one for an everyday minestrone. In the wild, I only had water to use for the broth, which worked fine because the vegetables were so flavorful. If you can get your hands on such remarkable produce, then this recipe works fine with just the water, but if you want a little extra flavor, the chicken broth is delicious, also.