A fresh, seasonal vegetable soup that can be made in advance and only improves in texture and flavour over time
Now that I am an accomplished sourdough maker, soon to start my own micro-bakery and YouTube channel … Only joking! Now that I can make half-decent, variable loaves of sourdough, I have become more aware of how the temperature in the kitchen affects food. Not that I was completely unaware, of course – I have curdled enough milk and neglected enough eggs – but feeding, then watching the sourdough starter in a jar, and then the dough itself, seeing how the process takes hours in winter, speeds up in spring, then takes on a foaming, bubbling and at times terrifying life of its own in summer, are lessons in living microorganisms and fermentation.
It is a shame, then, that I didn’t give the same attention to the pan of summer minestrone I had felt so pleased with myself for cooking, cutting the courgettes carefully so they looked like Trivial Pursuit scoring wedges, while drinking tea and listening for the bottle bank lorry to drop the glass into its box, and before the sun (or anyone else) was up. Even though the combined taste of minestrone and milky Yorkshire tea is interesting, I knew it had turned out particularly well. I put on the lid, left the pan at the back of the stove and went out.
