Serves 4
This is a two-for-one deal: a seasonal vegetable sauce for pasta that can double as a soup. You make pasta one day, and on another day, the sauce is your soup. Garnished with a bit of crumbled and browned sweet sausage and plenty of grated cheese, it becomes a hearty, yet still light, midsummer lunch or dinner. Rainy day? You’ve got a hot soup ready to be spiced or decorated all kinds of ways. Vague de Chaleur? It’s a cool soup that takes well to a dollop of yogurt or sour cream and some pesto or hot sauce. Start with making the sauce to toss with pasta and have some short shapes ready to absorb most of the sauce. The point is versatility for unpredictable conditions and supplies. The pasta can also be served cold, salad-style, for potlucks or picnics. Don’t worry about being overly diligent about cutting up vegetables; they’re going to be pureed when they’re cooked. And note that the amounts given can easily change to comply with what’s on hand and what you need to use up (hello CSA subscribers!). Our carrots? No worries. The onion or leek may be mandatory, but all the other vegetables are more of a list of possibilities. Even tired romaine hearts can go in, trimmed of brown bits. When you’re serving the sauce with pasta, drain the pasta, keep some pasta cooking water, and toss the short shapes with the sauce and browned sausage until it’s nearly all absorbed. When you go to serve the sauce as a soup, ladle it into bowls and sprinkle with an array of garnishes. The one constant is deliciousness.
| 2 | tablespoons olive oil |
| 1 | large onion or leek, thinly sliced |
| 3 | medium carrots, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced |
| 2 | stalks celery, thinly sliced |
| 3 | medium zucchini, quartered and cut into 1-inch pieces |
| ½ | small green cabbage or cauliflower, halved and cut into 1-inch pieces |
| Salt and black pepper, to taste | |
| 1 | teaspoon crushed red pepper or paprika |
| 4 | cups chicken stock or water, or more if needed |
| 2 | sweet Italian pork or turkey sausages, meat removed from casing |
| 1 | pound penne, ziti, small shells, rotini, or pipe rigate |
| 1 | cup grated Parmesan cheese (for serving) |
| 2 | tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, oregano, or thyme (for serving) |
| ½ | cup plain full-fat yogurt or sour cream (for serving) |
| ½ | cup pesto or 4 generous dashes liquid hot sauce (for serving) |
1. In a soup pot over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the onion or leek and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, zucchini, cabbage or cauliflower, a generous pinch each of salt and black pepper, and red pepper or paprika. Stir well.
2. Add 1 cup of the stock or water, bring to a boil, and cover the pan. Cook the vegetables for 5 minutes.
3. Add the remaining 3 cups chicken stock or water, or enough to cover all the vegetables. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until all the vegetables are cooked through. Leave the soup to cool slightly.
4. Meanwhile, heat a nonstick skillet and crumble the sausage into it. Cook, stirring, for 8 minutes, or until the meat is cooked and the edges are crispy.
5. In a blender, puree the mixture in batches. If it is too thick, add more chicken stock or water to loosen it.
6. For the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes, or until it is not quite cooked through. Remove 2 cups pasta cooking water and set it aside.
7. Drain the pasta and return it to the pan. Add the sausage and 2 cups of the vegetable sauce (the remaining sauce will be served another day as soup). Set the pan over medium-low heat and stir well to coat the pasta with the sauce. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the pasta absorbs most of the sauce. Add the reserved pasta water, 1/2 cup at a time, if the mixture seems too thick. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper, if you like.
8. Ladle the mixture into 4 shallow bowls and top with Parmesan and herbs.
9. For the soup: If serving hot, heat the soup over medium-low heat, stirring often, for 5 minutes, or until hot. Add more chicken stock or water if the mixture seems thick. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan and herbs or with yogurt or sour cream and pesto or hot sauce. If serving cold, ladle the pureed vegetable mixture into bowls. Garnish with yogurt or sour cream and pesto or hot sauce.
Caleb Barber
Serves 4
This is a two-for-one deal: a seasonal vegetable sauce for pasta that can double as a soup. You make pasta one day, and on another day, the sauce is your soup. Garnished with a bit of crumbled and browned sweet sausage and plenty of grated cheese, it becomes a hearty, yet still light, midsummer lunch or dinner. Rainy day? You’ve got a hot soup ready to be spiced or decorated all kinds of ways. Vague de Chaleur? It’s a cool soup that takes well to a dollop of yogurt or sour cream and some pesto or hot sauce. Start with making the sauce to toss with pasta and have some short shapes ready to absorb most of the sauce. The point is versatility for unpredictable conditions and supplies. The pasta can also be served cold, salad-style, for potlucks or picnics. Don’t worry about being overly diligent about cutting up vegetables; they’re going to be pureed when they’re cooked. And note that the amounts given can easily change to comply with what’s on hand and what you need to use up (hello CSA subscribers!). Our carrots? No worries. The onion or leek may be mandatory, but all the other vegetables are more of a list of possibilities. Even tired romaine hearts can go in, trimmed of brown bits. When you’re serving the sauce with pasta, drain the pasta, keep some pasta cooking water, and toss the short shapes with the sauce and browned sausage until it’s nearly all absorbed. When you go to serve the sauce as a soup, ladle it into bowls and sprinkle with an array of garnishes. The one constant is deliciousness.
| 2 | tablespoons olive oil |
| 1 | large onion or leek, thinly sliced |
| 3 | medium carrots, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced |
| 2 | stalks celery, thinly sliced |
| 3 | medium zucchini, quartered and cut into 1-inch pieces |
| ½ | small green cabbage or cauliflower, halved and cut into 1-inch pieces |
| Salt and black pepper, to taste | |
| 1 | teaspoon crushed red pepper or paprika |
| 4 | cups chicken stock or water, or more if needed |
| 2 | sweet Italian pork or turkey sausages, meat removed from casing |
| 1 | pound penne, ziti, small shells, rotini, or pipe rigate |
| 1 | cup grated Parmesan cheese (for serving) |
| 2 | tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, oregano, or thyme (for serving) |
| ½ | cup plain full-fat yogurt or sour cream (for serving) |
| ½ | cup pesto or 4 generous dashes liquid hot sauce (for serving) |
1. In a soup pot over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the onion or leek and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, zucchini, cabbage or cauliflower, a generous pinch each of salt and black pepper, and red pepper or paprika. Stir well.
2. Add 1 cup of the stock or water, bring to a boil, and cover the pan. Cook the vegetables for 5 minutes.
3. Add the remaining 3 cups chicken stock or water, or enough to cover all the vegetables. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until all the vegetables are cooked through. Leave the soup to cool slightly.
4. Meanwhile, heat a nonstick skillet and crumble the sausage into it. Cook, stirring, for 8 minutes, or until the meat is cooked and the edges are crispy.
5. In a blender, puree the mixture in batches. If it is too thick, add more chicken stock or water to loosen it.
6. For the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes, or until it is not quite cooked through. Remove 2 cups pasta cooking water and set it aside.
7. Drain the pasta and return it to the pan. Add the sausage and 2 cups of the vegetable sauce (the remaining sauce will be served another day as soup). Set the pan over medium-low heat and stir well to coat the pasta with the sauce. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the pasta absorbs most of the sauce. Add the reserved pasta water, 1/2 cup at a time, if the mixture seems too thick. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper, if you like.
8. Ladle the mixture into 4 shallow bowls and top with Parmesan and herbs.
9. For the soup: If serving hot, heat the soup over medium-low heat, stirring often, for 5 minutes, or until hot. Add more chicken stock or water if the mixture seems thick. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan and herbs or with yogurt or sour cream and pesto or hot sauce. If serving cold, ladle the pureed vegetable mixture into bowls. Garnish with yogurt or sour cream and pesto or hot sauce.
