This is the soup I make whenever I have leftover vegetables

Last week’s cold and windy weather inspired me to stay indoors. A lot. I think I left home once and hated it so much. By the end of the week, I didn’t have many ingredients left to make a particular dish. I looked around my kitchen and rummaged through my refrigerator to find five forgotten baby potatoes, two chicken sausages, and a single zucchini. Divided between two people, this alone isn’t a meal to look forward to – but as Giambotta, it could be a winter meal to look forward to.

Giambotta is also spelled Ciambotta (and if you’re from my partner’s family you pronounce it something like “jom-both”) and comes from southern Italy. This hearty vegetable stew is one of those wonderfully flexible dishes that can be varied depending on what you have on hand and how your family prefers to eat it. Although I only started eating it when my partner started making it for me, I already know how much I prefer it. Personally, there has to be zucchini and I like the vegetable in pieces. He likes a less watery broth, but I don’t mind.

Photo credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

Apart from that, you can modify this soup a little to your liking. Your Giambotta might have a slightly tomato-colored broth that looks more yellow; Your neighbor may prefer a thicker, light tomato sauce. The consistent ingredients I always see are potatoes, onions, some sort of tomato additive, and zucchini.

Additionally, you can add sliced ​​chicken, sausage, a can of chickpeas, wilted vegetables, or chopped carrots. Basically whatever you have on hand. I love this soup for a Thursday or Friday night when I’m using up the little things I never made of earlier in the week – the little zucchini, the five baby potatoes, the frozen foods Tomato sauce that lives in my freezer. It is the best soup you can make when you want to gain time between grocery shopping.

I didn’t have any fresh tomatoes for the sauce, so I broke off chunks of the frozen sauce that I often keep in the fridge.
Photo credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

This soup is absolutely delicious served plain, with a scoop of rice, or with short, wavy noodle shapes. The zucchini tend to get too soft when reheated the next day, so I prefer to eat the entire batch without leaving any leftovers.

Giambotta recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• ½ small onion, chopped

• 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed

• 4-6 baby potatoes, halved

• 4 mushrooms, chopped

• 2 chicken sausages, halved lengthwise and sliced

• 1 zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• ½ cup seasoned tomato sauce

• 2 cups chicken, beef or vegetable broth

1. In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil and add the onion, potatoes and garlic. Cook over medium heat until onions begin to sweat and potatoes are coated in oil and fragrant. This should take about three minutes.

2. Add mushrooms, chicken sausage pieces and zucchini. Stir occasionally for another three minutes to allow them to begin cooking and gain some color.

3. Add salt, tomato sauce and broth. Stir and then cover the pot with a lid. Let the soup simmer until the potatoes are cooked. This should take about five minutes depending on the size of the pieces.

Note that I don’t use any additional dry spices in this recipe – that’s because my tomato sauce was homemade. I suggest using a pre-seasoned sauce or adding some dry seasonings (e.g. garlic powder, onion powder, or dry chili flakes) to taste.