This is really a meat stew, based on the omnipresent lamb of southern mountain pastures, along with plenty of potatoes and cabbage. Far from the idealized Mezzogiomo of eternal sunshine, sparkling waters, and Greek ruins against brilliant blue skies, the home of this hearty, one-dish meal is up on the steep, rocky slopes where, in winter, winds howl and snow bears down on obstinate mountain villages clinging to cliffsides.

A village cook would use pure lard for the fat in this dish, but since lard without added preservatives is hard to come by in North America, I use extra-virgin olive oil instead.

Serves 6

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 to 3/4 pound lean boneless lamb, cut into bite-sized chunks
1/4 pound lean pancetta, diced 1 medium onion, halved and sliced
1 green celery stalk, cut into chunks
2 garlic cloves, crushed with the flat blade of a knife
1/4 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano (optional)
1 dried red chili (optional)
1 tablespoon tomato extract, concentrate, or paste, diluted in 1 cup hot water
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 pound green cabbage, slivered
1/2 pound linguine or other long, thin pasta, broken into 1-inch pieces
Freshly-grated aged pecorino cheese for garnish

Procedure:
In a terra-cotta pignatta or heavy stew pot, combine the olive oil, lamb, and pancetta and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until the meats are brown. Lower the heat and add the onion, celery, garlic, parsley, and bay leaves, stirring to mix well. Stir in the oregano and chili. Add the diluted tomato extract to the pot along with another 2 cups water. Add salt and pepper to taste and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot and cook at a very slow simmer until the meats are thoroughly cooked and starting to fall apart, 1 to 11/2 hours.

Once the meats are cooked, add the diced potatoes along with another 2 cups boiling water to the pot and cook until they are just tender, then stir in the cabbage and pasta, adding a little more boiling water if necessary, and continue cooking until the pasta is done. Serve immediately, garnishing each serving with a little grated cheese.

Recipe source: Cucina del Sole, by Nancy Harmon Jenkins, reprinted with permission.

Posted by at 10:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Those of you already feasting on (or anticipating) broccoli harvests will enjoy this preparation from our friend Chef John of FoodWishes. Be forewarned that if you don't already have an immersion blender, you'll want one by the end of this video.

Posted by at 5:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hearty, spicy and flavorful -- a classic soup that just makes people happy.

Ingredients:
6 strips of bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup diced onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
4-6 cups water or chicken stock
6 cups kale, washed and cut up
8 ounces sausage (linguisa, chorizo or any hot spicy sausage) thinly sliced
1 large can kidney beans
4 cups finely chopped potatoes
salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce to taste

Procedure:
In large pot, cook bacon, garlic and onions over medium heat until bacon starts to crisp and onions are just tender. Add water or stock, kale, and sausage. Bring to boil and then reduce to a simmer. Continue to boil gently (covered) for 15 minutes. Add potatoes and kidney beans. Allow to cook for another 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in seasonings and simmer the soup for another 30 minutes before serving.

Recipe and photo: Caryn74

Posted by at 2:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This recipe serves as a good basis for experimentation. You may substitute parmesan cheese for cheddar and red chili for jalapeno pepper.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic, 2 to 3 cloves
2 cups diced onions
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (for more heat retain the seeds)
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
10 cups cauliflower, cut into small florets (1-2 heads)
1/3 cup flour
4 cups low-salt chicken stock
2 cups milk
2 cups grated cheddar cheese, lightly packed

Procedure
1. Heat a medium-sized stockpot over medium-high heat and add the oil, garlic, onions, jalapeno, salt and pepper and saute until the onions are translucent.
2. Add the cauliflower and saute for another 5 minutes or until tender.
3. Add the flour and stir until completely incorporated and then add the stock, stirring vigorously until the flour is dissolved.
4. Add the milk and bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
5. Remove from heat, add the cheddar cheese and stir until fully melted. Simmer another 5-10 minutes to allow flavors to set.
6. Puree the soup until it is smooth, adding salt and pepper to taste.

Serves six to eight.

Posted by at 9:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Food writer Deborah Madison may well be the most famous vegetarian cook who isn't, in fact, vegetarian. With book titles like "The Greens Cookbook" and "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone" to her credit, those who may have assumed otherwise are easily excused.

While she is happy singing the praises of vegetable cookery, she is less at ease about preaching it as a philosophy. "For me it's not something I've ever been comfortable with because it's a very narrow platform," she says. "I've never been interested in a platform that pushes something away ... I'm interested in meat and what's happening and developments, how we're raising meats and different breeds."

Despite this, her latest endeavor, "Vegetable Soups From Deborah Madison's Kitchen" (Broadway Books, 230 pages, $19.95), continues down the same veggie path, branching off into some uncharted territory.

"I tried to explore some of the areas that are usually neglected, for example vegetable broths or very light soups or medicinal soups or soups that might help you recover from a cold or lose weight," she said. Here is a recipe that exemplifies the book's approach to soup.

WINTER VEGETABLE CHOWDER

MILK AND AROMATICS:
2 cups milk
4 large parsley branches
1 large thyme sprig or 2 pinches of dried
2 bay leaves
1 garlic clove, halved
10 peppercorns, lightly crushed with 5 juniper berries

THE SOUP:
3 tablespoons butter
4 leeks, about an inch across, white parts plus 1 inch of the greens, sliced diagonally about 1-inch thick and rinsed
8-10 cups vegetables, peeled and cut into big chunks (such as turnips, parsnips, rutabagas, potatoes, a few celery stalks, and celery roots)
2 cups or 10 ounces of carrots, peeled and left whole if only 3 inches long, otherwise cut into large pieces
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons flour
6 large slices country bread, toasted
Grated or sliced Gruyere or Cantal cheese to cover the toast
Chopped parsley or tarragon or a mixture for garnish

METHOD:
1. Put all the ingredients for the milk and aromatics in a saucepan, slowly bring to a boil, then turn off the heat. Cover and set aside while you prepare the vegetables.

2. Melt the butter in a wide soup pot. Add the vegetables, bay leaves and parsley and sprinkle with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or so to heat them up, gently moving them about the pan.

3. Stir in the flour, then add 5 cups water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the vegetables are tender but still a tad firm, 15-20 minutes. Strain the milk into a blender, add 1 cup of the vegetables, and puree until smooth. Add the puree back to the soup. Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.

4. To serve, lay a piece of toast in each bowl, cover it with grated cheese, spoon the soup with its liquid on top, and sprinkle with the chopped herbs.

Posted by at 8:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You say tomato, I say to-mah-to, you write Qaddafi, I write Gadhafi...

While the diverse peoples of the world may disagree on many things, there is strong consensus on at least one thing: we all love soup and eat it in many different forms. Here is the recipe for "sharba", the spicy and rich form preferred by Libyans.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1½ cups chopped onion
½ pound boneless lamb shoulder or dark chicken meat, finely chopped
4 medium-size ripe tomatoes, diced
½ can (3 ounces) tomato paste
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper or harissa, or to taste
½ teaspoon saffron threads
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ cup orzo, fine pearl barley or couscous
1 cup cooked chickpeas, drained (canned are fine)
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
½ tablespoon dried mint.

Procedure:
1. Heat oil in a four-quart casserole or saucepan. Add onion and lamb or chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until just beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, paprika, cayenne or harissa, saffron and salt and pepper. Stir, then add 8 cups water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes.

2. Add orzo and chickpeas and cook 15 minutes, until orzo is tender. Add cilantro and parsley. Taste and adjust salt and cayenne or harissa. Add dried mint. Cook for 5 minutes, then serve.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Recipe source: The New York Times

Posted by at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Asking for a recipe for potato leek soup for many European cooks is akin to asking for a step-by-step explanation of the making of toast. It demands no special skills or equipment. Its ingredients are few and generally available in most climates. It is not fussy when it comes to "what goes in when" and "for how long". Yet, despite this, it remains a largely undiscovered joy to many of the world's eaters, but, hopefully not to you. Here's the classic "recipe" along a few ideas for giving it a twist.

Ingredients:
-3 tablespoons butter
-3 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), halved lengthwise, thinly sliced (about 4 1/2 cups)
-2 large russet potatoes, peeled, diced
-4 1/2 cups (or more) chicken, vegetable stock, or water
-Chopped fresh chives or parsley for garnish
.
Method:
1. Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks; stir to coat with butter.
2. Cover saucepan; cook until leeks are tender, stirring often, about 10 minutes.
3. Add potatoes. Cover and cook until potatoes begin to soften but do not brown, stirring often, about 10 minutes.
4. Add 4 1/2 cups stock. Bring to boil.
5. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 30 minutes.
6. Puree soup in batches in processor or uising an immersion blender until smooth. Return to saucepan. Thin with additional stock if soup is too thick. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Bring soup to simmer. Ladle into bowls. Garnish and serve.

Variations:
As with peanut butter, there are those who love their soups chunky and those who prefer smooth. The recipe above is for smooth lovers, but the pureeing step can be skipped without consequence. For a creamier flavor and texture, try adding a dollop of cream. For a heartier version, consider adding some real, cripsy bacon bits or a sprinkling of grated cheese.

Posted by at 4:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's not unusual, when relocating to another part of the world, to discover new or unknown delicacies. Thus it was with us recently, when pale pink, knobbly vegetables started appearing on market stalls in this part of France. "What are they?", I asked. "They are topinambours", the man at the market replied. "You can sauté them with some garlic and parsley, or they make delicious soup. They have a slight artichoke flavour." The last sentence should have been a give-away but we remained in the dark. What were these strange vegetables, I asked our neighbor. "Huh, they're nothing special", she replied, "but they're all the rage now, even in expensive restaurants." (They had just had a special meal at a upmarket establishment where "topinambours" had been served, 'à la nouvelle cuisine', as an accompanying vegetable.) "But we grew them as rabbit food. And now we can't get rid of them in the garden!"

Continue reading "Sun Flower Soup" »

Posted by at 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)