Weeknight Dinner: Provencal Chicken Soup

This is a tasty—a nutritious—way to make use of a leftover roasted chicken (something I deal with quite often). It's perfect in the late summer or early fall, when most of these veggies can be found in the garden. For the best texture, toss the eggplant and zucchini in salt and let sit for 30-60 minutes to drain out excess moisture.

Provencal Chicken Soup
There are a lot of ingredients in this soup, so don't stress if you don't have all the same vegetables available—just use what you like and have on hand.

1. In a Dutch oven, saute 2 ounces of pancetta (finely chopped) in 1/4 cup olive oil until crispy. Add 1 large leek (chopped), 2 stalks celery (finely chopped), 1 carrot (finely chopped), 2 cloves garlic (minced), and 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or less if that's your style). Cook until the carrot is softened. Add 1/4 cup flour; cook and stir for 2 minutes. (Add additional oil if needed.) Add 1 cup white wine; bring to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes.

 
2. Add 3 large tomatoes, roughly chopped, and 2 tablespoons fish sauce. Bring to a boil then add 2 to 3 cups chicken stock. (Make the stock using the carcass from a roasted chicken: Simply place the carcass, 1 tablespoon salt, and some veggies, such as a carrots, onions, or celerys, in a stock pot with enough cold water to cover (about 8 cups). Bring to a boil then simmer for 45 minutes or so. You can do this while you prep the veggies for the soup. Or I suppose you could you high-quality canned chicken stock...)

3. Bring the soup to a boil, then add one 15-ounce can cannelini beans (drained), 1 zucchini and 1 eggplant (both chopped and salt-drained), 3 swiss chard leaves (julienned), and about 2 cups chopped cooked chicken. Bring back to a boil and cook until perfect, about 10 minutes. Add a good handful of chopped basil. Garnish with freshly grated Parmesan.