A SOUP FOR YOUR EARLY FALL EVENINGS.

Last Saturday I sherpa’d two giant bags home from the farmers’ market, one slung over each shoulder: A red cabbage the size of a bowling ball, bunches of carrots and turnips, leeks and potatoes, tomatoes, melons and stone fruit. I slogged along under my delicious, greedy burden, considering the 2-mile walk home a strengthtraining workout.

Even in California, where the year-round market bounty is always a treat, these early days of fall, still full of late-summer produce, can still drive a cook crazy. You’re never going to be able to eat, freeze, can and ferment it all, especially if, like me, these weeks also mark the start of a new school year, with all the chaos and disruption that brings, or if you’re just coming down from the last long weekend of summer vacation and are resenting routine.

So here’s another option: Dump it all in a pot and walk away, and return to dinner an hour later. I’ve yet to adopt the Instant Pot, so in my house this recipe for late-season minestrone is not a quick weeknight supper (though you could certainly try it in yours, if you have one). But it’s the kind of recipe I like, because it’s mostly hands-off, extremely flexible and it holds up fine for many days.

Leftovers are great for lunch, and as the season progresses you can vary the vegetables, adding in some diced winter squash, or substituting a bunch of stemmed, chopped kale for the spinach. You could add sausage coins for a heartier soup, or stir in some small pasta or rice in the last 15 minutes of cooking.

Best of all, this vegetarian recipe clears the crisper drawer, readying you for another trip to the market— quick, before all those beautiful tomatoes, figs and bouquets of basil are gone for another year.

Jessica Battilana is a San Francisco freelance writer. Her cookbook is “Repertoire: All the Recipes You Need.” Twitter: @jbattilana Email: food@sfchronicle.com.

Late Summer Minestrone

Serves 6

1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained 2 leeks, sliced into thin half-moons 2 medium carrots, diced 2 cups shelled fresh shelling beans (such as cranberry) or 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans

1 large russet potato, diced

1 bulb fennel, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

1 medium zucchini, diced

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 Parmigiano-Reggiano rind, about 1-by-3-inch

4 cups baby spinach

½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

½ cup basil pesto, for serving

Crusty bread, for serving

Pour 8 cups water into a large pot. Crush the tomatoes by hand and add them to the pot with the leeks, carrots, shelling beans (if you are using canned beans, do not add them now), potato, fennel, celery, zucchini, salt and the rind. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat so the liquid is simmering. Simmer for about 1 hour, until the vegetables are tender but not mushy. Retrieve the rind and discard, then stir in the beans (if you’re using canned), spinach and grated cheese. Simmer until the spinach is wilted and the beans are warmed through, about 5 minutes more. Season to taste with additional salt. Ladle the soup into bowls and top each serving with a generous spoonful of pesto. Serve immediately, with crusty bread alongside.

Jessica Battilana