Leftover Vegetables Soup

I'm putting this one in the Presentation category.  Like most home cooks, but unlike me, I had a bunch of uncooked veggies left over after Passover.  I'd bought too many tomatoes, bought "insurance carrots" in case the ones I pulled from the garden were unusable, had half a crown of broccoli, most of the parsley, and several varieties of partially used onions.  The race was on to come up with something appetizing to do with them before the broccoli and tomato spoiled.  (Carrots keep a lot longer.)

I decided on soup, and it evolved from there.  What I ended up deciding to do was purée a tomato and carrot soup, with some help from a can of tomato paste to even out the tomato-to-carrot ratio.  Garnish would be blanched broccoli and chopped parsley.  Presented well, even that crazy mishmash wouldn't be too awkward.  It kind of tasted like marinara, but more carroty.  And it counted as at least one vegetable side dish.

Obviously, everyone has different vegetables sitting around, wilting helplessly.  Too much kale and cilantro?  Do a green base and garnish with something bright, like that jicama you grabbed instead of a potato and couldn't figure out what to do with.  (That actually sounds really good for a summer soup.  Possible future recipe.)  Kindly neighbor "gifted" you with several zucchini?  Actually, the best solution for that is Marisa's zucchini spread, but soup works too.  The point is, this is one solution of many to reduce waste in the kitchen and your grocery bills while you're at it.

*1 lb carrots, peeled and sliced
*1 Roma tomato, diced
*1/2 C diced yellow onion
*1 rib celery, diced
*1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tb olive oil
*1 5oz can tomato paste
1 qt water
salt and white pepper to taste
*1/2 lb broccoli florets
*1 C chopped fresh parsley leaves

1.  In a large saucepan over medium heat, sauté onion in olive oil until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about one more minute.

2.  Add water, carrots, celery, tomato paste, and tomato.  Stir until the tomato paste breaks down.  Bring to a low boil, then reduce heat and simmer until tomatoes and carrots are cooked, about 30 minutes.

3.  When soup is softened, separately cook broccoli in a medium saucepan in 1" of water over medium heat, covered, just until the color changes.  You don't want it completely soft.  This is your texture.  Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking.

4.  Purée the soup in batches until smooth.  Return to pot over low heat.  Taste and add salt and white pepper as needed.

5.  To serve, ladle hot soup into bowls.  Top with several pieces of broccoli and scatter the top with the chopped parsley.

Difficulty rating  :)