Imagine having a jar of a ready-to-use flavorful soup base on hand in the fridge to complement stews, bean dishes, sauces or a novel twist on panzanella salad.

Not only does this ferment save time, but it can add a savory complexity to many meal scenarios.

There is something so satisfying when taking economical, widely-available ingredients and taking them to extraordinary culinary levels. Here, celery, onions, carrots and garlic are combined with aromatics such as fresh thyme, tomato paste, dried oregano and black peppercorns and left to ferment at room temperature for one week to create a jar of umami-rich vegetables.

What’s Good to Know with Chef Olivia:

Making a batch of this lacto-fermented minestrone soup base is a resourceful way to use up any extra carrots, onions and celery on hand.
Tomato paste contains acid, which helps the vegetables retain their crunchy texture while being fermented.
Use up any stale bread you have lying around to create this panzanella salad. You can also mix and match smaller amounts of different types of bread.
This salad has a classic minestrone flavor profile with addition of legumes, red chili flakes, Pecorino and fresh basil.
Add the basil, cheese and bread to the chickpea panzanella salad as close to the serving time as possible for the best texture.

Ingredients

For the Lacto-Fermented Minestrone Soup Base:
Yield: 1/2-gallon jar

2 yellow onions, diced
8 celery stalks, diced
4 carrots, peeled and diced
1 garlic head, smashed
8 thyme springs
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons sea salt
2 bay leaves
water, to cover

For the Fermented Minestrone Chickpea Panzanella Salad and Assembly:

1 baguette, diced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 1/2 cups fermented minestrone vegetables
3 cups cooked chickpeas
1/3 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons sea salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
1/4 cup fermented brine
1 small bunch basil, destemmed
3/4 cup grated Pecorino

Directions

For the Lacto-Fermented Minestrone Soup Base:

Add diced onions, celery, carrot, smashed garlic, thyme, tomato paste, black peppercorns, dried oregano, and sea salt to a large bowl.
Massage for 1 minute and add bay leaves. Allow mixture to rest for 5 minutes.
Pack mixture into a sterilized, 1/2-gallon glass jar and add fermentation weight.
Cover with water until level reaches 1 inch below the bottom rim.
Attach airlock lid and ferment at room temperature for 5 to 7 days.
Refrigerate for extended storage.

For the Fermented Minestrone Chickpea Panzanella Salad and Assembly:

Add diced baguette and olive oil to a large wide pan. Toast over medium heat, while stirring for 2 minutes or until golden.
Toss together fermented minestrone vegetables, cooked chickpeas and diced baguette in a large bowl.
Whisk together olive oil, sea salt, dried oregano, ground black pepper and brine and fold into chickpea mixture.
Toss with basil leaves and grated Pecorino.

More fermented recipes from Chef Olivia:

Olivia Roszkowski

Chef Olivia Roszkowski (@oliviathechef) is a native New Yorker who holds a B.A. in Neuroscience & Behavior from Columbia University and an M.A. in Food Studies from NYU. An alum of the Natural Gourmet Institute, Chef Olivia has 14 years of professional kitchen experience. She has been teaching Plant-Based Culinary Arts at ICE since 2013.