Provencal Vegetable Soup

My father's weekday lunch probably rubbed off on me. He would journey home from the office at midday, and sit with his suit jacket on the back of an adjacent chair in the sunny room off the kitchen. There, hunched over a bowl, he always said, each time as if he were marveling for the first time, "This is so soothing." The world, of course, can be tough. We ought to take comfort wherever we can get it.

One of my strongest memories of being cozy and cared for happened over a bowl of soup and in one of those seemingly-endless summers of early youth. The day had been spent at the community pool, and back at home, I was drowsy and warm, my limbs limp with exhaustion. I was in my bedroom, eating chicken noodle soup out of a frosted tupperware container my mother must have packed for our picnic that day. I sat on the windowsill looking out onto the street as I dipped the spoon in and tried to catch the noodles. The world seemed so quiet, then.

The last and perhaps most relevant reason for my interest in a steaming bowl of anything is much less romantic. Because I am not yet living super magical fantasy life, I work in an office. A temperature-controlled office. An office so chilly, nay, cold, that I don a jacket, my boss wraps herself in a billowing scarf, and I want to eat something to warm me from the inside out at lunchtime. Memories, though lovely, aren't quite up to the task, but a bowl of soup certainly is.

And in case you're wondering, let's not talk about how weird my hair looks in this video or how red lipstick suddenly makes me look old. Let's just talk about how much we love soup.

Provencal Vegetable Soup
Serves 6-8

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. dried herbes de Provence
2 garlic cloves
1 onion
1 large or 2 small leeks
1 celery stalk
2 carrots
4 oz. green beans
2 small zucchini or 4 baby ones
3 medium tomatoes
5 oz. frozen edamame
5 oz. frozen peas
7 cups water

for the pistou
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup basil leaves (packed)
4 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
4 tbsp. olive oil

First, prep all your veggies: wash and dry everything (pay special attention to those dirty leeks), and peel your carrots and onion. Throw your onion and leeks in your food processor and pulse until finely chopped. In a large soup pot, heat the two tablespoons of olive oil over moderate heat. When the oil is hot, add the chopped onion and leeks and saute until the onion softens.

Next, chop the celery, carrot and garlic. Add to the pot and saute for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the potatoes and green beans. Add them to the pot along with the water, herbes de Provence, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil and skim off the foam that rises to the top. Then reduce heat and let the soup simmer for about another 10 minutes.

Turn back to the food processor and chop the zucchini. Gently pulse the tomatoes -- you don't want to decimate them. Add them to the soup and simmer for another 10 minutes. Add the peas and edamame and simmer for another 10 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper to suit your tastes. Serve each bowl with a spoonful of pistou stirred in.

to make the pistou:

Put the garlic, basil, and Parmesan in the food processor and blitz. Scrap down the sides. Then, with the machine running, pour in the olive oil to form a paste. Don't skip this part, cause it's really what makes this soup special.