Friends Food Family

Cranberry Bean Pasta Fagioli Soup

After spending an afternoon cleaning out my pantry, I came across a bag of dried cranberry beans. Figuring I should do something with them, I looked for a few recipes using cranberry beans. Cranberry beans are small red beans which sometimes go by Borlotti Beans, Roman Beans or small kidney beans. I came across a Food Network recipe from Giada and thought I would try it. I have made Giada's Pasta e Fagioli soup and decided I would use the basics to the recipe and then add a few tricks of my own. 

I started with a pound of dried cranberry beans and soaked them according to directions. I ended up with about 6 cups of beans when they were thoroughly soaked. I knew I had more beans than I needed but I was going to blend some of them to put in the broth. Adding chicken broth, more tomatoes and pancetta, the blended beans and additional kale, I had a delicious soup that is definitely worth trying. I also liked that I was able to make the soup fairly quickly after soaking and draining the cranberry beans the night before.

Follow along with these instructions and you will have a hearty soup in less than an hour. If you are a fan of the original recipe, I'd love to hear whether you like this version or the old version better.

Cranberry Bean Pasta Fagioli

adapted from Giada

Ingredients

• 1 pound of dried cranberry beans, soaked according to directions to yield 6 cups, drained (or 4 cans of cranberry beans)
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil, plus more to drizzle on soup as an option
• 4 cloves of garlic chopped
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon of finely chopped (fresh) rosemary 
• 1 - 4 ounce package of pancetta
• 8-10 cups of chicken broth
• 1 - 28 ounce can of whole San Marzano tomatoes, roughly chopped with juice
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 piece of Parmesan rind
• 2 cups of small pasta, shells or ditalini
• 8 ounces of chopped kale, no stems
• 1/2 cup of chopped parsley 
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. In a large dutch oven, over medium high heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
2. Once the pan is hot, add the pancetta. As it begins to render down, about 4-5 minutes, add the onions, garlic, red pepper flakes and rosemary.
3. Saute until onions become translucent, about 3-4 minutes. The mixture will be very fragrant. 
4. Add the tomatoes along with 8 cups of chicken broth, Parmesan rind, 2 bay leaves and 4 cups of beans (or 3 cans), saving 2 cups (1 can). Bring to a boil.
5. Add the 2 cups of shells and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. If the mixture starts getting thick, add more chicken broth.
6. Take remaining 2 cups of beans (or 1 can) and 1 cup of chicken broth and blend until creamy. Use a blender or food processor for best results.
7. Add this mixture to the pan along with the kale. Once the kale is cooked, about 3-5 minutes, remove from stove. 
8. Add salt and pepper to taste along with the 1/2 cup of chopped parsley.
9. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.

This dish comfortably feeds 6-8 people. 

 

White Bean Soup Recipe with Swiss Chard and Quinoa

As we enter fall in New England, days are cooler, daylight is shorter and our desire for comfort food is growing. When we get home from our long crazy work days, I am looking for something that is easy, hearty and healthy.

Most Sundays before we head to the grocery store, we pull out a few cookbooks and look for our meals for the week. We like to plan out our week of...

• What time will you be home?
• What nights are you out?
• Do we have anyone for dinner?

This works well because it allows us to get the ingredients we need and it gives us new recipes to try. The last thing I want to do, at 6 PM, is look at a package of chicken and think, what am I going to do with this?

This white bean soup recipe actually came from Pinterest and I pinned it to my "I want to make this board". I use this board as a resource when I want to try something new without looking through cookbooks. I save everything from simple appetizers to delicious desserts. When I saw the soup, I knew I could make it up ahead of time and use it for dinner or lunches all week. Anytime I can mix beans with tomatoes and quinoa, I know I have a delicious recipe. Add some good olive oil and crusty bread and that's my idea of comfort food.

When I was getting ready to make this soup, I didn't have some of the ingredients, but the great thing about soup is you can improvise. Instead of diced tomatoes, I used whole plum tomatoes. I didn't have kale so Swiss chard worked and I'm sure I could have added spinach as a substitute, too. I may not have had all the herbs and spices but as long as I have dried or fresh thyme, basil or parsley, I know I'll end up with a tasty dish. After years of cooking, these are the little things I can feel confident about when I have a recipe and maybe not all the ingredients. My best advice...try something new, what's the worst thing that could happen? Sometimes the biggest culinary disasters can end up being the best meals or create a few laughs and a quick trip for take-out!

This soup came together easily with a base of carrots, celery, onions and garlic. Add the beans, tomatoes, broth and quinoa and within 30 minutes the dish is ready to serve. This soup is flavorful and I love the quinoa as a substitute for rice or pasta. I have to remember to use different grains in soup, sometimes a small substitution to a traditional soup recipe can give it new life. So, start Sunday off with the ingredients to this recipe. Try making this soup ahead of time, it's just as delicious when it's warmed up a few days later.

If you have any soup recipes that you would like to share, send them over - we love trying something new!

White Bean Soup with Swiss Chard and Quinoa

Adapted from The Simple Veganista

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 small medium onion, peeled and chopped into 1 inch pieces

2 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1 inch pieces

2 celery stalks, chopped into 1 inch pieces

2 large cloves of garlic, chopped finely

2 (14-15 ounce) cans of cannellini beans, rinsed

1 (28 ounce can) of whole peeled tomatoes, remove tomatoes and roughly chop

6-8 cups of chicken or vegetable broth

6 sprigs of fresh thyme

1/2 cup of red or white quinoa

7-10 Swiss chard leaves, stalks removed and roughly chopped 

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large dutch oven, over medium heat. Heat oil and add onions. Saute for 3-5 minutes or until translucent. 
2. Add the carrots, celery and garlic and cook until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Add 6 cups of vegetable or chicken stock, beans, chopped tomatoes, quinoa and the 6 sprigs of thyme. 
4. Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the quinoa is cooked.
5. If the mixture looks thick, add additional broth.
6. Add chopped Swiss chard and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste
8. Serve hot with a drizzle of olive oil.

Serves 4-6 people.

Beans with Kale and Portuguese Sausage Soup

This year has probably been one of the coldest that we, New Englanders, have had in quite a few years. We have also been making more soup recipes than ever before because for us it is true comfort food at our house. Making a big pot of soup on a Sunday and using it for dinners and lunches makes for an easy week when you work long days.

As we became accustomed to new variations of chicken soups and lentil soups, conversation around a hearty kale soup began. Jeff was looking for some new soup and stew recipes when he found this recipe for Beans with Kale and Portuguese Sausage on Epicurious.com. It looked easy to make and there is nothing better than white beans, Portuguese sausage and kale, with a spicy kick from some crushed red pepper flakes...COMFORT FOOD!

This was an easy recipe to put together especially since we decided not to use dried beans. We chose to use canned beans and it cut the cooking time down by 1 hour. For me, it means we can put this dish together in about an hour, not bad on a busy work night. Some of our soup recipes call for 2-3 hours of cooking time so those become Sunday projects as the soup can cook while we do other things (like clean the house - LOL).

The soup was delicious and very hearty. I loved the heat from the crushed red pepper flakes which get calmed with the beans and kale. On a cold night it warms you all over. It was funny, we made the soup a few nights before my son, Brian, left to study abroad in Prague for his spring college semester. He had been home for a month, enjoying some serious home cooking. "This is the best soup I've ever had", probably the 8 best words most cooks like to hear. But then again, at our house, many recipes get made once and then on to a new recipe.

Maybe we'll make this soup again in May when he returns home or find another recipe to hear those 8 great words..."This is the best ______ I've ever had!"

Beans with Kale and Portuguese Sausage Soup (adapted from Epicurious):

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 8 ounces of Portuguese sausage or kielbasa, sliced 1/2" thick
• 1/2 of a medium onion, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 1 cup of white wine
• 1 small piece of Parmesan rind (about 2 inches)
• 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 sprig of thyme 
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 cups of chicken stock
• 1 (15 ounce) can of diced tomatoes
• 2 (15 ounce) cans of white cannelini or navy beans, rinsed
• 4 cup of kale, loosely chopped
• 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
• kosher salt and black pepper for seasoning and taste

Preparation:

1.  In a large dutch oven over medium heat, heat the olive oil and saute the sausage until slightly golden, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the onion and garlic cooking until the onions are translucent, about 5-7 minutes. 

3. Add the wine and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Once the wine is reduced by half, add the Parmesan rind, red pepper flakes, thyme, bay leaf, chicken stock and tomatoes.

4. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 15-20 minutes. Add the beans and continue to cook for another 15-20 minutes.

5. Return to medium heat and add the kale, cook for 10 minutes and then add the lemon juice.

6. Season with salt and pepper. 

7. Enjoy!

Lemon Chicken Soup with Pasta and Artichoke Hearts

Lemon Chicken Soup with Pasta and Artichokes - who would have thought of that combination? Leave it up to my son, Brian. He loves good food and gets to try quite a bit of it at the Country Club of Missouri, where he works during the school year. He is a student at the University of Missouri - Columbia. He has been home for the past month and is enjoying home cooked meals.

The other day, as we buckled down for more snow and temperatures below zero, I bought a cooked roaster chicken and decided I'd use it to make some soup. It seems like every week, over the past month, we have been making soup as one of our dinners. It's great because it makes 8-10 servings and after dinner it becomes lunches for the rest of the week.

As I was getting ready to make the soup, Brian brought a box of Stellette pasta from the pantry and asked if I could put it in the soup. He then began telling me about a lemon chicken orzo soup that he enjoys at the country club. "And there are artichokes in it." It made me think...artichokes in a soup? That might be delicious. "Oh, and tomatoes, too." Well, we had all the ingredients so "let the soup experiment begin!". Chop some shallots and garlic, grab the chicken stock, along with a jar (or two) of marinated artichoke hearts, a can of diced tomatoes and a lemon, we were ready to go. 

After an hour, we had lemon chicken soup with pasta and artichoke hearts ready to go and I can say, "It was amazing!" There was a slight tanginess to the soup which came from the lemon and marinated artichoke hearts and it blended so well with the chicken and pasta. A few diced tomatoes added color as well as taste. We finished our first bowl and Brian was back for seconds. I brought it to work a few days later and got rave reviews. Everyone thought it was wonderful, especially the artichoke hearts. This recipe is a keeper, and Friends Food Family is a great place for Brian to find simple recipes when he gets back to school. As much as he made the soup with me, he will fall short on the ingredients in a month or so.

The next time we make the soup, I would like to try it with orzo. Orzo has that rice type of flavor and feel in a soup. I think it could be delicious. This is an easy and quick soup that anyone can make. Hopefully, Brian will be able to re-create this amazing recipe when he gets back to Missouri. Fingers crossed!

Ingredients for Lemon Chicken Soup with Pasta and Artichoke Hearts:

• 1 - 3-5 lb roaster chicken, cooked and chopped (white and dark meats)
• 12 cups of chicken broth (2 -48 ounce boxes of chicken broth)
• 2 large shallots, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 3-5 sprigs of thyme
• 1 cup of dried stellette, or any other small pasta
• 1 (14-15 ounce) can of diced tomatoes with juices
• 2 (8 ounce) jars of quartered and marinated artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed
• 1 lemon, cut in half
• salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:

1. In a large dutch oven, over medium heat, add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once the olive oil is hot, add the shallots and garlic and cook for 5-7 minutes or until the onions are translucent and slightly golden.

2. Add the 12 cups of chicken broth and the chopped chicken. Add the bay leaf, sprigs of thyme and the lemon halves. Increase the heat and bring to a slight boil.

3. Once you have achieved a slight boil, add the pasta. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until the pasta is cooked. Stir regularly so the pasta doesn't stick to the bottom.

4. Add the tomatoes and the artichoke hearts. Cook for another 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add salt and pepper as needed. Remove the bay leaf, sprigs of thyme and lemons before serving.

5. Makes 8-10 servings.

Written by Tricia White 

Chickpea and Lentil Soup - A Great Vegetarian Soup

Snow Storm + Subzero Temperatures = Chickpea and Lentil Soup

Yes, more soup for the New Year, but I couldn't resist...we are stuck in the house recovering from the first New England snow storm in 2014. As much as they said we were going to get 12-18 inches of snow, I think we missed it by about 6 inches. As we clean up from this storm, everyone was coming in FROZEN. With temperatures in the single digits, it takes a while to warm up. 

While Jeff was recovering from the first round of shoveling, I grabbed a bag of lentils and a can of chickpeas. I went to my laptop and ran a Google search on Lentil and Chickpea soup. Up popped a recipe from Food and Wine called Chickpea and Lentil Soup. I looked at the ingredients and figured I had most of them in the pantry. It seemed easy and I could warm people up quickly. One (big) issue, it called for 1/8 teaspoon of turmeric. I searched through the spice cabinet and we didn't have any. I wasn't sure I could find a substitute but I looked for a substitute and it said I could use saffron. Perfect! I had a small jar of saffron...everything else should be easy. Some onions and celery, a few spices, dried lentils, diced tomatoes and some chickpeas. I was ready to go.

I wanted something hearty with a little bit of spice and this was perfect. In less than 30 minutes, we were enjoying bowlfuls of this delicious chickpea and lentil soup. Jeff and my son, Brian, ate the first bowls and thought it was perfect. Brian kept trying to figure out what the smell was...which was the combination of the saffron, tomatoes, ginger, cinnamon, cilantro and lemon. When you have a mix like that, the smell is strong but equally as flavorful. I couldn't wait to have a bowl. The lentils were soft and the chick peas had more solid texture, the broth was amazing as I thought the smell of cilantro was the strongest. I love cilantro, I could have it in all my food. But for those who don't care for it, feel free to substitute parsley, the flavors will still blend well.

If you are looking for a soup that is strong on flavor, will satisfy most appetites and diets, yes, this is vegetarian, try making a bowl of Chickpea and Lentil Soup. You won't be disappointed!

Ingredients for Chickpea and Lentil Soup

2 tablespoons of butter

1 medium onion, chopped into 1 inch pieces

2 celery stalks, chopped into 1 inch pieces

1/2 teaspoon of powdered ginger

1/8 teaspoon of crushed saffron threads

1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon

1-1/2 teaspoons of salt

1/4 teaspoon of black pepper

1 cup of dried lentils

6 cups of water

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

1 (15 ounce) can of diced tomatoes, we used fire roasted

1 (15 ounce) can of chickpeas, drained

1/3 cup of cilantro, feel free to substitute parsley if you aren't a cilantro fan

2 lemon rind strips, 1 inch by 3 inches

 

Preparation:

1. In a large pot or pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and saute until the onions are translucent. About 5-8 minutes.

2. Add the lentils, and dry ingredients (ginger, cinnamon, saffron, salt and pepper) to the pan. Mix with the onions and celery for 1 minute, it will begin to smell fragrant. 

3. Add the water, tomato paste, diced tomatoes and lemon rind. Bring to a boil. Then, lower heat to a simmer and cover partially with a lid. Cook for 25-30 minutes or until the lentils are soft.

4. Add the chickpeas and cilantro. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. remove from heat. Allow to rest for 5 minutes and enjoy.

5. Serves 4 - 6 people.

 

Written by Tricia White 

Happy New Year! Have a bowl of Neighborhood Ham and Bean Soup

Happy New Year! With a chill in the air and the first nor'easter for the New England area being only 24 hours away, nothing warms you up like a bowl of hearty ham and bean soup. Since we served a large ham to our family and friends at Christmas, we had one large ham bone that still had some meaty value. We aren't big split pea soup fans so we decided to look for a ham soup that served like a stew. With the white beans and vegetables, I knew this was going to be perfect.

As we were putting the soup together, many things came to mind as I was reflecting on where Friends Food Family has been and where it is going. I am a baking "nut" and I love dessert, so many of my recipes focus on the sugary end of the food chain. I also know that healthy eating and healthy choices are still very popular. I feel like our eating is healthy but it could stand to lose a few sticks of butter. As I look at recipes in 2014, we'd love to hear from you...

What types of recipes would you like to see us try in 2014? American? Italian? French? Lebanese? Greek? Chinese? Vegetarian? More desserts? Or maybe it's Quick and Easy? 5 Steps? Crock Pot Ready? Think of some ideas and pass them our way. We love a challenge!

So, back to the recipe...

During the first few months of the year, we like to find hearty soup recipes. We do this for two reasons:

1. It's a meal in a bowl. We don't have to worry about making side dishes for the main course.

2. They make great lunches for the following days. I'm bad about bringing lunch to work, but with leftover soup, we package it in small bowls and you can grab them from the refrigerator as you head out the door.

We had the ham bone so now we just needed the recipe. Jeff searched on-line for a ham soup recipe and ended up finding this recipe on Food.com. The recipe was posted back in 2005 and had 31 reviews, all of them were 4 and 5 stars. If it was a good recipe, we need to try it. This Neighborhood Ham and Bean Soup makes a batch that can feed 10+ people. We completely understand why they call it neighborhood soup...it could feed the neighborhood. If you are planing to make this soup, give yourself some time. This is a day long process. We made ours on Sunday, we started the soup around 11 AM, soak the beans (an hour), let it cook for two hours, added a few more ingredients and then it cooked for another hour. By the time we were done, it was a 5-6 hour process before we sat down to enjoy a bowl, but it was worth it. We changed the recipe a bit and added some additional beans to "chunk up" the soup and we also added a few parsnips. They were in the refrigerator, why let them go to waste. 

The soup was AMAZING. It had a nice smokey flavor from the ham bone along with the creaminess of the beans. A few chunky pieces of potato and parsnip brought a nice flavor to the soup. Though it takes a while to put together, the results are worth every minute. Football season isn't over yet and if you have time on a Sunday to start the process around 10 AM, you will have an unbelievable meal for dinner. One that the whole neighborhood will enjoy.

Ingredients for Neighborhood Ham and Bean Soup -

• 2 cups of dried great northern beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can of northern beans, drained and rinsed 
• 3 cups of water
• 1 large meaty ham bone (if you don't have one, you can use 2-3 smoked ham hocks)
• 2-3 tablespoons of chicken bouillon granules
• 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried marjoram
• 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon of dry rubbed sage
• 1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 inch thickness)
• 3 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 parsnips (don't worry if you don't have them, we added them because we did), chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 large potato, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
• 2 cups of chicken broth (on hand in case you need to add more liquid)

Preparation - 

1. Place dried beans in a large dutch oven and cover with water, 2 inches above the beans. Bring to a boil, boil for two minutes, remove from heat, cover and let stand for 1 hour. Drain beans. 

2. Place beans back in the pan and add the water, ham bone, chicken bouillon, thyme, marjoram, pepper, and sage. Bring mixture to a boil.

3. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 2-3 hours. If you are in a hurry, you can simmer for 2 hours, but it can be extended out to 3 hours. If you find the liquid is getting low, you can add a bit of chicken stock.

4. In a separate sauce pan, over medium heat, add the vegetable oil and saute the onions, carrots and celery. If you are using the parsnip, add it now. Saute until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. 

5. At the end of the 2+ hours, add the onion mixture, along with the chopped potato to the ham mixture, cover and simmer for another hour. Add more chicken stock if you feel the mixture is getting low.

6. Take the ham bone out of the pot and debone. Cut any large pieces into chunks. Return the ham to the soup.

7. Put the 1/2 the can of rinsed beans into a food processor with a 1/4 cup of chicken stock. Pulsate until the beans are smooth with a few chunks. Pour the beans into the soup. If you would like the soup thicker, finish the other half of the beans.

8. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with your favorite cornbread.

Makes enough for 10 people. Enjoy!

 

Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup with Rustic Croutons

What's better than making desserts through the holidays? Starting the New Year with some amazing soup recipes. So, let's start off the New Year with Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup.

My food adventure began on Friday when Dan, one of my co-workers, took me over to one of my favorite places in New Bedford, Sid Wainer and Son. Before we go in, there is a small fruit and vegetable store called Friendly Fruit in the same parking lot. They sell fruits and vegetable which have a short shelf life. I love it because we use the produce within a day or two and it is perfect. As I was getting some garlic, pears, and mushrooms, I came across a big bag of kale. My first thought was Portuguese Kale Soup. It would be a great dish to finish off the weekend.

Before we went grocery shopping, we looked for some Kale Soup recipes. Jeff grabbed one of his new cookbooks from Christmas, The Fresh and Green Table by Susie Middleton. Her recipe for Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup sounded delicious. We had all the ingredients...PERFECT!

This recipe was very easy, the ingredients were simple and the best part was the homemade chicken broth. I was cooking a roaster chicken to make chicken soup for later this week. When it called for 3 cups of low-sodium chicken broth, we used the homemade broth and what a difference that makes. I try to make my own broth when I am making chicken soup, but it never dawns on me to use the homemade broth in other things. We are so sporadic about using our broths, I need to remember to freeze it to use at another time. (I keep telling Jeff that if I could be a full-time blogger, we'd have homemade broth all the time. And I could freeze what we didn't use.)

One hour later, we were ready to serve the Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup. It smelled amazing and I couldn't wait to try my first bite. OK, it was AMAZING. The chicken broth, the kale, white beans...and the croutons with garlic and Parmesan cheese...had wonderful flavor. It ate more like a meal than a bowl of soup. And, you won't normally hear me say this, but it was light. After all the heavy meals through the holidays, it was nice to have something that was light yet filling. I might even use the word, "healthy".

January will be filled with a few more soup recipes, along with a hearty beef stew. We made it last week end and just need to get the ingredients down. We cook so often, we are putting together our own recipes but we aren't good about recording the specific amounts. 

Have a great week and enjoy a bowl of Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup!

Ingredients for Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 medium carrot, diced

2 ounces of pancetta, diced

1 tablespoon of finely chopped garlic

2 bunches of kale, stemmed and cut into 1-2 inch pieces (about 6-7 cups)

4 cups of chicken broth (we used homemade...definitely worth it!)

2 cups of water

1 - 15 ounce can of small white beans, drained

2-3 teaspoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

kosher salt and pepper, to taste

Rustic Croutons (recipe after preparation)

Preparation:

1. In a large dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat.

2. Add the onion, carrot and pancetta along with 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

3. Cover the pot and cook until the onion has softened between 6-8 minutes, be sure to stir occasionally.

4. Uncover and continue to cook until the vegetables have shrunk and they are slightly browned, another 6-8 minutes.

5. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds or until fragrant.

6. Add the kale and season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of pepper.

7. Stir kale with thongs as it begins to wilt, mixing well with the contents in the pan. Stir in the broth and water and bring to a boil.

8. Reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, until the kale is tender, about 8-10 minutes.

9. Add the beans and cook uncovered.

10. Stir in the lemon juice, 1-2 teaspoons and remove from heat.

11. taste the soup and adjust the seasonings with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Ladle soup into bowls, top with the Rustic Croutons and Parmesan cheese.

 

Ingredients for Rustic Croutons:

4 ounces of crusty bread, including crust, cut into 1 inch cubes

2 tablespoons of butter

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 large garlic clove, smashed and peeled

1 teaspoon of fresh thyme or rosemary, chopped

2-3 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place bread in a medium mixing bowl.

3. In a small skillet, heat oil and butter over low heat. When the butter has melted, add the garlic and break it up further by mashing it with the back of a spoon. 

4. Raise the heat to medium and cook until the garlic has just begun to brown. (2 minutes)

5. Remove the pan from the heat and remove the pieces of garlic.

6. Drizzle the garlic oil over the bread cubes, stirring to mix, add the rosemary or thyme and toss again.

7. Place the bread on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes.

8. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for another minute.

9. Remove from oven, let cool and add to the Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup.

Written by Tricia White

Lebanese Lemon Lentil Soup with Swiss Chard

I absolutely love lentil soup. It is definitely up there with chicken soup, but when I am looking for that hearty comfort food, lentil soup is what I crave.

Last month, we were in Groton, Connecticut, moving Jeff's daughter from one apartment to another within the same complex. We rented a moving truck in Mystic and moved her in record time. As we were returning the truck, we saw a little place called The Pita Spot. It looked inviting, we were starving, perfect match. When we got inside, we weren't sure what to expected. We were seated and we looked through the menu. We wanted something light so the waitress suggested the sampler, where we could choose three items from the hot and cold appetizers. Jeff and I decided to split a bowl of lentil soup along with a sampler to include baba ghannouj, moussaka and the best of thyme mediterranean flatbread.

When the lentil soup arrived, with spoons in hand, Jeff and I dove in. OMG, can I say, "Oh, my god!" this was amazing! Nothing like I had expected. There was lemon and spice and the flavor was just amazing. With each bite, we tried to figure out the different ingredients. I had lemon and couldn't figure the spice, could be cinnamon...maybe cloves, but it was just a pinch. There were greens, which we thought were kale. Anyway you spooned it, it was delicious. Then the baba ghannouj, moussaka and flatbread finished the amazing experience. The mousaka was loaded with tomatoes, eggplant and chickpeas. The flatbread had one of my favorites - zahtar. I love zahtar, especially when it is mixed with olive oil and then spread on flatbread.

Leaving, completely satisfied, I was going home to figure out the lentil soup recipe. I had not heard of Lebanese lentil soup, but I was going to make it again. I looked up quite a few recipes and tried a few different combinations. Well, they say, third times a charm...I think I hit it. After two other attempts, I think this batch was the best. This version is very good, not as good as The Pita Spot, but since I can't go to Mystic on a regular basis, I think this will hold us over until we can get back.

Lebanese Lemon Lentil Soup with Swiss Chard Recipe

Ingredients:

1 bag of GOYA Lentils (16 ounce bag)

3 tablespoons of olive oil

2 medium carrots, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces

2 celery stalks, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces

1 large yellow onion, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces

3 cloves of garlic, sliced

8 cups of chicken broth

1 bay leaf

1 cinnamon stick

1 lemon (you will need the juice of one lemon and 1/2 teaspoon of lemon rind)

4 cups of roughly chopped swiss chard (or kale)

1/4 cup of cilantro, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

 

Preparation:

1. In a large dutch oven or pot, over medium heat, heat three tablespoons of olive oil, add the onion, carrots and celery, cook for 5-7 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and the onion is translucent.

2. Add the lentils, chicken broth, garlic, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for about 45 minutes to one hour or until the lentils are tender. Place 1 (full) cup of the lentil mixture into a food processor and process to a liquid. Add this liquid back into the soup.

3. Increase heat to medium and add the kale, cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, take out the cinnamon stick and bay leaf, stir in the lemon rind, lemon juice and cilantro. Stir and allow to rest for about 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Rice Soup with Red Beans

Last year, I kept thinking about chicken and rice soup, but not your average chicken and rice soup, Auntie Agnes' chicken and rice soup. Auntie Agnes was our next door neighbor, she was like a second mother to us (me and my siblings) and was an amazing Italian cook. She taught my mother how to make tomato sauce and it was where I first tried homemade gnocchi. When we were invited to Auntie Agnes' for dinner, you ate what she put in front of us, which my mother found hilarious. If my mother made sauce for dinner, we wanted our pasta plain and if she made chicken and rice soup, we would have picked out the beans. My mother was a really good cook, we were just very picky and we could be picky at home, but not as a guest at Agnes'. 

(Note: As I write this, there are so many scenarios and memories of being around and with Auntie Agnes rushing through my head; from the hair salon she owned, to her Christmas dinners and helping her put her earrings on. I wish I could share them all, but I think they would be scattered and probably only entertaining for me. I believe that everyone has a person from their past, that makes them smile when you think about life with them or without them. Even if it has been 20+ years since Agnes passed...)

So,

I was going to make, what I remember of, Agnes' chicken and rice soup. I decided to begin with a homemade chicken broth and that starts with a  whole chicken (3-4 pounds). I placed the chicken in a large pot with

2 medium yellow onions, chopped into quarters

2 carrots

2 stalks of celery

1 bay leaf

3 large cloves of garlic, sliced

Enough water to cover half the chicken

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat until the chicken is thoroughly cooked, about 2 hours. (I used a chicken with an auto pop-up). Once the mixture has cooled slightly, remove the chicken from the pot. Remove the meat from the chicken and place in a separate bowl. I hand shred while I am removing the meat. Take out the carrots and pour the broth through a fine sieve. I try to push as much of the onion, garlic and celery through the sieve. Discard whatever is left (or won't go through the sieve.) You are looking for 8-10 cups of chicken broth. I was short by 2 cups and added boxed chicken broth.

Over medium heat, return the broth to the pot. Cut one carrot into 1 inch pieces and add to the broth. Then add:

2 (14-15 ounce) cans of small red beans, rinsed

4 cups of cooked rice

Shredded, cooked chicken

Allow the broth to come to a boil and and season salt and pepper. Serve hot with a bit of parmesan cheese. A crusty bread would be good, too!

This chicken and rice soup with red beans is absolutely delicious. For me, it has been a wonderful comfort dish that has reminded me of my days of growing up in Quincy, next door to a woman who was passionate about what she cooked. I think Auntie Agnes would be proud that something she made still lingers in my memory.

Is there someone in your life who taught you about food? I'd love to hear your story.

Saveur's Escarole Soup

As I look back over the holidays, I am a bit disappointed in myself. We made some incredible dishes from potato gnocchi to fig stuffed pork loin and Parker House rolls. In all the craziness of the moment, normally entertaining, I never got to take pictures of many of our creations. I am going back through some of my pictures and piecing together some of the recipes. I told Jeff that we may have to make some of these meals again, which will be fun because they were delicious.

After feeling like we had been eating non-stop, Jeff decided to put together something a little lighter. We decided that Christmas Day would be perfect since we tend to be alone or have fewer people expecting to be fed. He found this recipe in Saveur's Italian Christmas Magazine 2011. This December version has some amazing traditional Italian recipes which are served around the holiday. We actually have two more recipes marked off to try and make this month.

This escarole soup, which is sometimes known as Wedding Soup, was really easy to make as it works up in three parts: 1. making the meatballs 2. creating the broth and 3. cooking some white rice. If you don't have time to put the entire dish together, you can make the meatballs with the broth. It can be saved and when you are ready to serve it just cook some rice.

This soup was delicious and a welcome meal for a lighter fare after the holidays. The meatballs were perfectly cooked, firm yet you could break them with a spoon. The rice and escarole balanced the remainder of the soup. For me, it was a great comfort dish after a long (over -indulging) holiday season.

Ingredients:

Meatballs
1 lb. of ground beef
1/2 cup of seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of grated pecorino cheese
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 tablespoon of dried Italian seasoning
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, minced
1 small bunch of parsley, minced
1 egg, lightly beaten

Soup Base
1/4 cup of olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
2 large heads escarole, cored and cut into 2″ pieces
8 cups chicken stock
kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

4 cups of cooked white rice, for serving

Grated parmesan cheese, for serving

Preparation:

1. For meatballs: Mix beef, bread crumbs, parmesan, pecorino, olive oil, Italian seasoning, minced garlic and onion, chopped parsley, egg, salt, and pepper in a bowl (between 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of each). Form into 30, 1-1/2″ meatballs; chill.

2. For soup base: Heat remaining oil in an 8-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sliced garlic and onions; cook until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add escarole; cook until wilted, about 6 minutes. Add stock; boil. Reduce heat to medium-low.

3. Add meatballs; cook until meatballs are cooked through, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over rice; top with more parmesan and black pepper.

This escarole soup serves 6-8 people.

Southwestern Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

 

Turkey, Turkey, Turkey. How many dishes of turkey did you eat over the past week?

We enjoyed a non-traditional Thanksgiving and ate at Latitude 41 in Mystic, CT. Jeff's daughter is a nurse and was scheduled to work on Thanksgiving. We drove down to CT to enjoy a quick lunch with her and didn't cook our turkey until last Sunday. We went with a small 14 pound turkey, compared to our normal 26 pound bird, and enjoyed a mini Thanksgiving. It was missing some of our favorites but it had the good old-fashioned staples - garlic mashed potatoes, green beans, corn bread stuffing, cranberry sauce and an awesome turkey gravy.

Once we had all the turkey removed, we put the remainder into a large dutch oven, cooked down the bones and made a delicious broth, that yield about 6 cups of turkey, too. I knew I would make a turkey soup as a second meal along with turkey tetrazzini with the leftover turkey from our Sunday dinner. As I said...turkey, turkey, turkey.

I was getting ready to make the soup and turkey with wild rice was my first thought. But, we had just finished a homemade chicken and rice soup last week and I thought any type of soup with rice might be repetitious.

SIDE TRACKED THOUGHT- I promise to showcase the chicken and rice soup the next time I make it. It was made and consumed so quickly, I never got to take pictures or blog about it.

I started looking up some southwestern versions of turkey soup. Progresso makes a southwestern soup with corn, beans, tomatoes and spices. I found this Southwestern Turkey Soup through Taste of Home and began grabbing ingredients from my pantry. Some black beans, diced tomatoes, chilies and corn...I was ready to go.

The best part of any soup is a homemade broth. I cooked the turkey bones with garlic, onions, carrots and celery. I strain my broth with a fine sieve so the broth is clear then I use some of the cooked carrots and celery to add color and flavor to the soup. 

Having the turkey and broth ready to go made this soup easy to put together. Within 10 minutes I had almost everything in the pan. With some increased heat and the cooking of the wild rice, start to finish was about 45 minutes. 

Results: DELICIOUS! First, I loved that we were able to use the turkey (for a third night) in a way that you didn't feel like you were eating another turkey meal. The soup had lots of flavor, some heat and a heartiness that made the soup a meal. I love any combination of tomatoes, corn, beans, cumin and chili pepper - part chili, part soup. Our family devoured half of the soup and I was able to take leftovers to friends and co-workers. So far, everyone enjoyed it as much as we did. (And all the containers have been returned empty.)

Tomorrow is game day, the cold weather is finally setting in (at least in New England), this is a great "end of the weekend" soup that will clean-up the last of those turkey leftovers.

Ingredients:

2 medium onion, chopped

3 tablespoons of olive oil

8 cups of turkey broth (we used the broth from cooking down the turkey, use can use chicken broth, also)

4 teaspoons of ground cumin

1-1/2 teaspoons of chili powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

6 cups of cubed cooked turkey

2 can (15 ounces) of black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (14.5 ounces) of fire roasted diced tomatoes with juice

1 can (4.25 ounces) of diced green chilies

1 (16 ounce) bag of frozen corn (we used a yellow and white corn combination)

1 cup of wild rice

tortilla chips and sour cream, optional

Preparation:

1. Over medium heat, place oil and onions in a large dutch oven and saute until tender and translucent. (about 5-7 minutes)

2. Add the broth along with the cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper and salt.

3. Once blended add the turkey, black beans, tomatoes, green chilies and corn.

4. Bring to a boil, and add the rice. Allow to simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes.

5. Serve with sour cream and tortilla chips.

Serves 10-12 people.

Adapted from Taste of Home - Southwestern Turkey Soup

Harvest Corn Soup with Lobster, Bacon and Scallions

Summer is officially over when you buy the last fresh ears of corn. As we drove to Flint Farm, we were told that this was the last day for corn. We arrived just in time. I kept telling Jeff that I wanted to make some type of corn soup or chowder since it would be perfect for a cool autumn evening.

While we were in Maine, last month taking cooking lessons, we made a delicious corn soup with lobster. It was a completely blended soup and I was looking for something that had more corn left in the broth. The only true test of corn chowder I have is my mother adding a can of milk to a can of creamed corn and calling that corn chowder. Not a great reference point.

I found this recipe from Epicurious called Summer Corn Soup and it was written by Dorie Greenspan. When I went into her "Around My French Table" Cookbook, I realized it was one of her recipes. Just a quick plug, if you want to buy a great gift for your favorite cook, definitely consider this cookbook. Jeff and I love the book and it has amazing recipes. We took the original version and adapted it.

As we were putting the recipe together we realized that we would need to double the recipe. At our house, a recipe serving 4 will not cut it. As we shucked the corn, there definitely wasn't enough corn (for my liking) so we added more. Once we got all the vegetables cooked and added the herbs, we found the herbs fell off the sprigs as the mixture came to a boil. The flavor was great but I didn't enjoy fishing all the rosemary out of the soup. Our recommendation is to place it in cheese cloth. Easier and less messy to remove.

Lastly, when it called for you to blend and strain the soup, we decided to only blend 1/2 of the soup and not strain any portion of it. It allowed the base to thicken and left a filling in the soup. We steamed two lobster ahead of time and had lobster meat ready to go. Lobster first, soup second, bacon and scallions to garnish. Grab spoon and and say Ahhhhh.

The soup a.k.a. corn chowder was amazing. It was so fresh and the flavor was distinct with every bite. The lobster was moist and the bacon give a slight smokiness to the dish. It was perfect for a cool night in October.

As we enjoyed the corn soup for lunch, I was disappointed that I might not be able to make this soup again until next year. You need the freshness of the corn kernels and the cobs to add that additional flavor. I did say to Jeff that I will attempt this soup again with some frozen ingredient. Not sure I will get the same freshness, but I might be able to re-create the memory in the winter. It might be a faint memory but I will try!

Ingredients:

3 cups whole milk
4 ears of fresh corn, kernels cut from cobs, cobs broken in half and reserved
3 tablespoons of butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled, thinly sliced
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 cups water
2 large fresh thyme sprigs
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
1 bay leaf
Salt and white pepper to taste

Optional:
cooked lobster meat from 1 1/2 pound lobster, coarsely chopped

Garnish:
2 thick bacon slices, diced
1 green onion, thinly sliced

Preparation:

1. Bring milk and corncob halves (not kernels) just to boil in heavy medium pot. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep while sautéing vegetables.
 
2. Melt butter in dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion; sprinkle with salt (about 1/4 teaspoon) and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add corn kernels, carrot, celery, and garlic; cook until vegetables are soft, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Place herbs and bay leaf in cheese cloth or herb bag. Add 2 cups water, herbs, and milk with corncobs.

3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, partially cover with lid and simmer 20 minutes to blend flavors.

4. Remove corncobs, herb sprigs, and bay leaf. Cool soup slightly. Working in batches, puree 1/2 of the soup mixture in a blender or food processor. This will give a thicker consistency while leaving filling within the broth. Add salt and white pepper to taste.

5. If using lobster, add 1/4 to 1/3 cup of chopped lobster to the bottom of each serving bowl, spoon the soup over the lobster, garnish with chopped bacon and scallions. Enjoy!

Makes 4-6 servings.

Pasta e Fagioli (Pasta and Bean Soup)

 

After coming home from a week of being away and eating at some great restaurants, in both Richmond, VA and Washington, DC, it was time for a big bowl of comfort food...pasta e fagioli.

As we were making it on Monday afternoon, I was laughing with Jeff about this dish being one we make quite often yet we hadn't blogged about it. Sometimes we cook so much we lose track of which dishes we have highlighted and which have been put aside.

We found this recipe 3 to 4 years ago in Giada DeLaurentiis cookbook, Giada's Family Dinners. This Pasta e Fagioli instantly became a family favorite. It's one of those meals that takes 15-20 minutes to put together and within 30 minutes you have a delicious (and nutritious) meal. We love eating it with a crusty sourdough bread. Nothing better than sopping up the last of the soup with a great piece of bread.

We have made a few adjustments to the recipe, adding more pancetta, mixing up the beans, and changing the pasta. Here are a few hints when making this pasta e fagioli soup...

1. Keep a package of pancetta in your refrigerator. It's easy to make some great recipes when it's readily available.

2. When blending the two cups of bean mixture, make sure you have mostly beans. Once you add the mixture back into the soup, taste to see if it is flavorful. If it tastes watery, blend another 1/2 cup of beans and add to the soup.

3. We used ditalini pasta but you can use elbow macaroni which is what the recipe originally called for.

4. Use fresh herbs and freshly grated Parmesan cheese, it truly does make a difference.

Now, create a favorite for you family! 

Ingredients:

4 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 large sprig of fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon of butter
1 cup of chopped onion
4 ounces of pancetta, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
6 cups of low-sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1 (15.5-ounce) can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15.5-ounce) can of small red beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup of ditalini pasta
Freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup of freshly grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil

Preparation:

Wrap the thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf in a piece of cheesecloth and secure closed with kitchen twine. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, pancetta, and garlic and saute until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add the broth, beans, and sachet of herbs. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, then decrease the heat to medium and simmer until the vegetables are very tender, about 10 minutes. Discard the herbs. Puree 2 cups of the bean mixture in a blender until smooth*. Before putting the puree back into the soup, add the pasta and boil with the lid on until it is tender but still firm to the bite, about 8-10 minutes. Return the puree to the soup in the saucepan and stir well. Season the soup with ground black pepper.

Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with some Parmesan and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil just before serving.

*When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.

 

Giada's Pasta e Ceci Soup (Chick Pea Soup)

 

Earlier this year, when the weather was a bit cooler, I came across a recipe for Pasta e Ceci Soup. In August, on probably one of the hottest days of the year, I decided to make the chick pea soup again. My family is still trying to figure out why I made the soup that night as we sweat through dinner. I guess I was craving chick peas! But, for the life of me, I could not find that recipe. I searched in all the cookbooks but came up empty.

I finally came across the recipe on Serious Eats, posted by Kristen Swenson of Cheap, Healthy, Good. I was so excited. It was such a great soup and I wanted to keep the recipe in a place where I could find it. As she had mentioned it was in Giada DeLaurentiis' Everyday Pasta Cookbook.

The ingredients are common staples and the recipe is very similar to another soup Giada makes called Pasta e Fagioli. Like Kristen, I enjoy a pasta-style soup with pancetta. It gives the soup a wonderful flavor. I also like the way you thicken the soup by pureeing the chickpeas. It makes a hearty soup that can be complemented with a loaf of crusty bread.

Cooking is so easy when the ingredients are staples, the time and preparation is about 30 minutes and there are hungry people waiting to try something new.

Ingredients - serves 4 to 6

4 fresh thyme sprigs

1 large fresh rosemary spring

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 cup chopped onion (1 medium onion)

3 ounces pancetta, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

6 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 (14.5 ounce) cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juice

3/4 cup ditalini or other small, tubular pasta

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan, for garnish

Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Preparation

Wrap the thyme, rosemary and bay leaf in a piece of cheesecloth and secure with kitchen twine to make a sachet.

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, pancetta and garlic and sauté until the onion is tender, about 3 minutes. Add the broth, beans, tomatoes and herb sachet. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then decrease the heat to medium and simmer until the vegetables are very tender, about 10 minutes.

Discard the sachet. Transfer 1 cup of the bean mixture to a blender and reserve.

Add the ditalini to the soup pot, cover, and bring the liquid back to a boil. Boil gently until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Puree the reserved bean mixture until smooth, then stir the puree into the boiling soup. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls.

Sprinkle each serving with some Parmesan and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil.

Chicken Soup with Couscous and Craisins

  
We were making dinner the other night when my son was looking for something quick because he was heading to the movies. Knowing that dinner wasn't going to be ready for another hour, I looked in the pantry and found some CousCous Grande and then headed to the refrigerator. There was a container of chicken left from Giada's Garlic and Citrus Chicken (which I'll blog about this weekend); I should probably do something with that before we throw it out.

I grabbed some carrots, celery, a shallot, garlic and presto...chicken soup.

But, I was thinking, whenever we make CousCous Grande, I make it with craisins. What if I put them in the soup? So, I chopped a quarter cup of craisins and put them into the soup. For all of you who are making faces, if you like cranberry sauce on your chicken or turkey, I bet you'll like craisins in your chicken soup. Look at the recipe for Danielle's Chicken Salad, we mixed chicken with craisins.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 clove of garlic, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped,

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 shallot, chopped

2 cups of cooked chicken, chopped

2 cups of CousCous Grande (Marrakesh Express)

6 cups of chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon of thyme leaves

1/4 cup of craisins (chopped)

Preparation:

Heat a large sauce pan on medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When the olive oil is hot, add the garlic, carrots, celery and shallot. Cook about 5 minutes until the vegetables slightly softened. Add the chicken and couscous. Cook for 2-4 minutes until the couscous is slightly browned. Add 4 1/2 cups of the chicken broth, thyme and chopped craisins. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer until all the broth has been absorbed and the pasta is soft to the bite.

Remove from heat, place couscous mixture in a bowl and pour 1/3 cup of chicken broth on top. This can be served as a one dish pasta meal or soup. I took the mixture for lunch the following day, without the broth.

So, if you like what you see, try it, if not, send me your favorite chicken recipe and I'll feature yours!

Now, enjoy your chicken soup!

Gourmet's Winter Minestrone

We are one-dish dinner people. If you can combine everything into one bowl and call it a meal, we are very happy. A few weeks ago we found this recipe for a Winter Minestrone in a 2009 copy of Gourmet Magazine. It looked hearty and had quite a few vegetables in the mix. We picked up all the ingredients, arrived home and started chopping. The combination of ingredients cooking made the house smell delightful.

The soup, at one point, seemed a little bland. We decided to add 3 chicken bouillon cubes and it brought the soup together. The next time we make it we will probably substitute chicken broth for 1/2 of the water. We put the ditalini pasta in ours because we like the traditional minestrone with vegetables, beans and pasta. Putting a piece of parmigiano-reggiano into the stock while it cooked was something we had never done before. I had a few pieces floating in my bowl when we were serving and it really rounded out the flavor of the soup. We finished the minestrone with grilled provolone cheese paninis. The soup was delicious and filling. It was a wonderful meal on a cold winter night.

Ingredients

• 1/3 pound sliced pancetta, chopped
• 3 medium red onions, chopped
• 4 celery ribs, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 bunch Swiss chard
• 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice
• 3 quart hot water
• 5 cups coarsely chopped cored Savoy cabbage (6 ounces)
• 5 cups coarsely chopped escarole (1/2 pound)
• 1 piece Parmigiano-Reggiano rind (about 3 by 1 1/2 inches)
• 1 (19-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• Accompaniments: extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling; cooked ditalini pasta tossed with oil (optional); grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Preparation

Cook pancetta, onions, celery, and carrots in oil in a wide 7-to 9-quart heavy pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, while preparing chard.

Cut out stems from chard and chop stems, reserving leaves. Stir chard stems into pancetta mixture with garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very tender and begin to stick to bottom of pot, about 45 minutes total. (Set aside chard leaves.)

Push vegetables to one side of pot. Add tomato paste to cleared area and cook, stirring constantly, until it starts to caramelize, about 2 minutes. Stir paste into vegetables and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. (Paste may stick to pot, but don’t let it burn.)

Stir in tomatoes with their juice, breaking them up with a spoon, then add hot water (3 quarts), scraping up any brown bits from bottom of pot.

Bring to a simmer. Stir in cabbage, escarole, and parmesan rind. Simmer, covered, until greens are tender, about 40 minutes.

Coarsely chop chard leaves and stir into soup along with beans. Simmer, partially covered, 10 minutes. Discard rind. Season soup with salt and pepper. If using ditalini, stir in just before serving.

 

 

Onion Soup with Pecorino - Zuppa Di Cipolle al Pecorino

 
 
I always thought that making French onion soup would be difficult. Whenever I have ordered a bowl at a restaurant, the rich flavor and softened onion seemed difficult to recreate. Last month, we purchased a Le Creuset casserole pan (a shallow Dutch Oven) along with a book called The Glorious Soups and Stews of Italy by Domenica Marchetti. We found Zuppa Di Cipolle al Pecorino basically Onion Soup with Pecorino Cheese. To date we have made three delicious recipes and I can't wait to make more. The soup took us an hour and a half, mostly because the onions cook slowly and must turn golden and velvety soft. The onion soup was amazing. The broth was rich and the onions were cooked perfectly. It was just what we needed after a big Christmas Eve meal the night before. It was warm, flavorful and hearty enough to be served as a meal. If you like onion soup, try this recipe. You'll never order it out again!

Ingredients

4 tablespoons of unsalted butter

3 pounds of yellow onions or a mix of yellow and red, halved and thinly sliced

1 teaspoon minced fresh marjoram

1 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt

1/4 cup dry Marsala

1 tablespoon tomato paste

4 cups of low-sodium beef broth, heated to a simmer

8 Crostini al Pepe

Freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese for serving

In a Dutch oven or other heavy bottomed pot, melt the butter over medium heat. When the butter has melted and begins to sizzle, add the onions and stir to coat well. Sprinkle in the marjoram and salt, reduce the heat to low and let the onions cook, uncovered, stirring from time to time, for 45 minutes, or until they are golden and velvety soft.

Raise the heat to medium-high and pour in the Marsala. Cook, stirring for 2 minutes, or until some of the wine has evaporated. In a small bowl, mix together the tomato paste with a 1/4 cup of the broth. Add the diluted tomato paste to the soup and stir. Pour in the rest of the broth. Reduce the heat to low once again and simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes.

Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning with salt. Place 2 Crostini into each of 4 shallow bowls. Ladle the soup over the bread and sprinkle each serving with a tablespoon or two of cheese.

My cheat sheet on the soup:

1. We used both red and yellow onions in our soup mix.

2. We didn't have marjoram and used 3/4 of a teaspoon of oregano as a substitute.

3. For the Crostini, we cut french bread into slices and sprinkled them lightly with olive oil. I baked them at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Zuppa di fagiolini e polpettine (Green bean and meatball soup)

Two weeks ago, Ike DeLorenzo of the Boston Globe ran some great soup recipes in their Wednesday FOOD section. One that seemed very interesting was Zuppa di fagiolini e polpettine (Green bean and meatball ‘soup’). As it gets cold, we love to make hearty soups that work as a meal. So with Jeff as chef, we began chopping and mixing and putting together this layered soup. In the end, we had a delicious soup that fed quite a few people...our family (4), my parents, Jeff’s parents and my cohorts at the United Regional Chamber. If you have a large crew to feed or guests for a Sunday football game, grab the largest pot you have and start chopping!
In this unusual method, the potatoes are simmered in the chicken stock, then green beans and meatballs are cooked without stirring, so the meatballs and potatoes stay intact.

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
3 pounds mixed ground beef, pork, and veal
1 cup seasoned Italian breadcrumbs
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 bunch parsley, stemmed and finely chopped
2 eggs
3 cans (28 ounces each) Italian peeled tomatoes, crushed with your hands
2-1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 pounds small red potatoes, skin on, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 pounds green beans, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

1. In a soup pot, heat the oil and cook the onion, stirring often, for 10 minutes or until it begins to brown.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix the beef, pork, and veal with the breadcrumbs, Parmesan, parsley, and eggs. With clean hands, work the mixture well. Shape it into meatballs about 1-inch wide; set aside.
3. To the onions, add the tomatoes and chicken stock. Stir well. Cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a simmer. Add salt and red pepper. Add the potatoes and simmer for 10 minutes or until tender.
4. Add the green beans in a layer on top of the potatoes. Do not stir. Add the meatballs in a layer on top of the green beans. The layering is important: it keeps the potatoes and meatballs whole, and keeps the meatballs at the top. Do not stir the pot at all until the dish is served. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until the meatballs are solid and cooked through.
5. With the back of a ladle, gently press the meatballs into the liquid so they’re just submerged. Cover and simmer gently for 1 hour without stirring. Some potatoes may stick to the bottom of the pan - and scorch. If you’re lucky you’ll get one of the charred red potatoes in your dish.