Empty-the-fridge Soup

The other night, I got “THE PHONE CALL.”

You know, the one where Gabe called to say he was coming home from swim practice with two starving friends. I panicked. It was a Thursday night, which meant that my week’s groceries had pretty much run out. The dinner I had planned to serve was “a little bit of this and a little bit of that,” as my father would say. Now I had to come up with something a little more coherent, not to mention substantial. A frantic survey of the refrigerator’s meager contents revealed three meatballs in about 1/2 cup of tomato sauce, a couple of slices of bacon, and some salad fixings. I rummaged the pantry, which yielded a can of pinto beans, small shell-shaped pasta, and a quart of chicken stock. This showed some promise. An onion, a couple stalks of celery, some broccoli florets, and some frozen peas all got piled on the counter. A carrot would have been a nice addition, if there were any.  But there were not. I sent the boys to the supermarket for Italian bread to buy me some time. The soup was nearly finished by the time they arrived, and was completely demolished, along with the salad and an entire loaf of bread, 30 minutes later. Whew.

Leftover Soup (feel free to use plenty of creative license)
3-5 slices bacon, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 large onion, sliced
Center stalks of celery, with leaves, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
2 cloves garlic, lightly smashed with the back of a knife
2 cups broccoli florets
1 can pinto beans (or cannelini or garbanzo)
Any random amount of leftover meatballs, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, and a few drops of tomato sauce. Or 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, or 1 cup chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned).
1 quart chicken stock
1 sprig of fresh oregano (optional)
1 rind from a hunk of Parmigiano Reggiano, which you have squirreled away in the fridge
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup small pasta shape (small shells worked perfectly)
1 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Put the diced bacon and the olive oil into a stockpot or Dutch oven. Cook the bacon on medium high until brown and crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Set aside.  Add the onions, celery, garlic, and 1/2 cup of diced carrots (if you have them) to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, about five minutes. Add the broccoli florets, stir, and cook another five minutes. Add the beans and their liquid. Stir. Toss in the meatballs and sauce. Add the chicken stock and oregano and stir again. Throw in the cheese rind. Cover the pot and bring to a simmer.  Meanwhile, in another samll pot, cook the pasta according to package directions. When almost done, add the frozen peas. Drain the pasta and peas, but save the cooking water. No, I am not kidding. After you have added the pasta and peas to the soup, you will find that you need more liquid. Am I right? Go ahead and add as much as you like. Add Sriracha, salt, and pepper to taste. Simmer for a few more minutes until flavors have melded or the ravenous teenage boys start to circle the stove. Garnish with grated cheese and bacon bits.

Serves four, if you are lucky.

A winter storm’s cooking: Red lentil soup with red kouri squash and coconut milk

“Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow!” William Shakespeare, King Lear, 3.2.1

It’s angry weather out there. The first real snowstorm of the winter finally hit, just when we were thinking we would sail through to spring with barely a freeze. With close to six inches on the ground by mid-afternoon and no sign of the storm slackening yet, the rest of the family headed out to shovel and play in the powder.

Me? I’m making soup.

My favorite winter meal is a hearty soup and fresh bread. A soup based on beans or lentils can usually be put together with pantry staples and, if you use canned or pre-cooked beans, you can have soup in under an hour. Red lentils are a particular favorite of mine as they take well to a variety of spices and cook in just 20 minutes. I happened to have a red kouri squash lying around, but I could have used butternut or buttercup. Or sweet potatoes.

Years ago, I learned the South Indian technique of  making onion-garlic paste or ginger-garlic paste for flavoring dishes and often use it when I don’t want chunks of those aromatics in my food. The mini-chopper attachment for my immersion blender was perfect for this task, but I burned out the motor a couple of months ago and haven’t yet replaced it. A full-size blender worked just fine in this case.

Ingredients
1 large onion
1-inch piece of gingerroot, peeled
2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons safflower oil
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup carrot, diced
2 cups red kouri squash, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch dice
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 cup red lentils
5 cups water or vegetable stock
1 small (5.46 oz.) can coconut milk
1 teaspoon sriracha hot sauce, or to taste

Hack the onion into 8 pieces, the ginger in four, and smash the garlic to remove the peel. Heave the lot of them into a blender with 1/2 cup water and punch the button. Puree until smooth. Now that you’ve gotten that out of your system, you can be a little more gentle with the rest of the process.

Heat the oil in a large soup pot on med-high. Add the pureed aromatics and saute until translucent and mellowed, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, carrot, and squash, and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes. Add the salt, pepper, cumin, and turmeric, stir and cook for 1 minute. Add the lentils, stir, and cook for 1 minute. Add the water, stir, and simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes, or until the lentils have broken down and the squash is soft. Add the coconut milk and sriracha. Simmer for another 15 minutes. Adjust seasonings and serve with toasted coconut or chopped cilantro.

New Year’s Irresolution: Minestrone Soup

I gave up making New Year’s resolutions long ago, about the same time that I stopped pretending that waiting around for the ball to drop was worth the loss of a precious hour or two of sleep. This lack of enthusiasm for New Year festivities may or may not have coincided with the arrival of one or both of my children, although it could have happened earlier, like around the time I started to earn my living at a day job.

No, I tell myself as I pour my pre-dinner cocktail, there’s nothing special about the advent of the New Year that would compel me to be a better person. If I wouldn’t change my self-indulgent ways in July, why would I do it in January? No, no, no. There isn’t one good reason other than symbolism and the fact that I’m a little bloated from all the holiday baking (not to mention from the cabbage soup you’ve read about in my Christmas Eve posts). My on-again, off-again vegetarianism is not so much resolution as whim: I’m just not feeling meat right at the moment.

I’m looking for something substantive, yet light and healthy. If the kids will eat it, too, I get extra virtue points.

This recipe has been adapted from The Classic Italian Cook Book. Sadly, Marcella Hazan’s book–which is falling apart from use but still holds premium real estate in my cookbook library–is out of print. It has been reissued, with her second book, More Classic Italian Cooking, in a volume entitled Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. It is worth reading for the perfect techniques, and especially for Marcella’s stern, yet warm, instructions on how to cook her way, i.e., the right way. She never lacked resolution.

Minestrone soup
Adapted from Marcella Hazen’s Classic Italian Cooking

2 tbsps. olive oil
3 medium leeks, white and light green parts, sliced crosswise and rinsed well
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
2 cups peeled, diced potatoes
2 cups broccoli florets
2 cups diced zucchini
1 cup diced green beans
3 cups shredded cabbage or kale
1 ½ cups fresh or frozen green peas
1 1/2 cups cannellini beans (optional)
6 cups stock or water
The crust from a 1-lb. piece of Parmesan cheese*
2 bay leaves
2/3 cup canned tomatoes, with their juice
The Secret Ingredient**, ¼ teaspoon or to taste
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

This is a prep-as-you-go recipe. You start by washing and slicing  the leeks (and then washing them again; they can be very sandy). In a deep stockpot large enough to hold all the ingredients, heat the oil and add the leeks. Cook on medium-low heat until the leek starts to soften. Meanwhile, peel and dice the carrots. Add them to the pot and cook for two or three minutes, stirring occasionally. This gives you enough time to wash and dice the celery. And so on; you get the idea.  Repeat this procedure with the potatoes, zucchini, and green beans. Add the cabbage and cook for about 6 minutes, giving the pot an occasional stir. At this point the vegetables are basically stewing in their own juices, which will not evaporate too much if you use a deep stockpot.

There’s a right way and a wrong way to do this.

Add the cheese crust, tomatoes and juice, the water or stock, bay leaves, and a little salt. Cover and cook at a low simmer for about three hours. Fifteen minutes before the soup is done, add the peas. Add more water or stock, if desired.

Serve with grated Parmesan cheese on top.

*I always have a hunk of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese in the fridge to grate over pasta, or for Crocque Monsieur sandwiches, or just to eat with some olives or prosciutto. If you hang on to the rind, you will find that it adds flavor and body to tomato sauces or soups, like this. Throw it in at the start of cooking and fish  it out when you are ready to serve. Waste not, want not, people.

**Rooster brand, please. My Secret Ingredient. I strongly doubt that Marcella would approve.

The austerity plan: Lentil Soup

After all of the rich foods, libations, and sweets of the last few weeks, something simple, almost austere, seems in order for the week between Christmas and the New Year. Soup is my favorite meal and an excellent way to recover from holiday excesses of all types. If you spent a little too much remembering your loved ones with gifts, you can also comfort yourself with the thought that lentil soup is cheap!

A pound of organic lentils cost $2.49;  a little onion, garlic, celery, and carrot made the base; I used up some leftover tomatoes and ham (waste not, want not!) for flavor. You could just as easily omit the ham for a vegetarian–and more virtuous–version.

Lentil Soup
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 onion, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, with leaves, diced
2 large cloves garlic, lightly smashed with the flat of a knife
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces green lentils
1 cup ham, cut into 1/4-inch cubes (optional)
1 cup canned tomatoes
1 quart chicken or vegetable stock
Secret ingredient: Sriracha hot sauce, to taste (optional)

Heat olive oil on medium-high heat in a medium soup pot. Add onions, carrots, celery, and garlic and saute, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes. Add the cumin and pepper, and stir. Add the lentils, and saute for 2 minutes. Add the ham, tomatoes, and stock. Simmer for 45 minutes, until lentils are tender. Add Sriracha to taste.

Serves 4. Some fresh bread or a simple salad are all you need to accompany this soup.

Kapusta for Wigilia: Part Two

It’s a special talent, overthinking something so simple as a peasant dish of cabbage with split peas. My goal, however, was to make a tasty vegetarian version of the usual porkified soup. I must say, it was a success. Dried borowik mushrooms imported from Poland add depth of flavor and color, while the sweetness of the fresh cabbage and sourness of the sauerkraut add some complexity. The yellow pea soup–I made my own–adds the perfect balance, mellowing out the cabbages’ assertiveness.

I actually prefer the vegetarian version, but you might not agree, so I am including both kinds of soup in this post.

Since I was making the two kinds of soup, I used a multi-step process, although some could be merged for ease. Start by soaking 1 ounce of dried Polish borowik mushrooms in plenty of water overnight. You’ll need this for the vegetarian version of the kapusta.

The next day, get the peas going. You’ll use this for both recipes.

Yellow Split Pea Soup
1 pound yellow split peas
1 onion, cut into chunks
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into chunks
1 stalk celery, with leaves, cut into chunks
2 cloves garlic, lightly smashed with the flat of a knife
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Salt and pepper, to taste

Put first six ingredients in a soup pot with 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil, stir, lower heat and simmer, partially covered, for 1 hour. Mash the vegetables and add back to the soup. Season with salt and pepper.

–♥–

For the non-vegetarian kapusta, you’ll need some broth.

Meaty broth
2 tablespoons bacon fat or olive oil
1 1/2 pounds beef marrow bones
1 pound country style pork ribs, boneless
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Melt the bacon fat or olive oil in a pot large enough to hold the meat. Brown the bones and meat on all sides. Season with salt and pepper. Add water to cover and simmer, partially covered, for 90 minutes. Drain meat and bones, reserving pork for another use (you can add it to kapusta that is not being served at Wigilia–why not?). Give the bones to the dog as a special treat. Chill the broth for an hour or two and skim the fat that congeals on the top.

–♥–

Meatless kapusta (makes about 2 quarts)
2 tablespoons butter
1 ounce borowik mushrooms, soaked overnight in water, and very thinly sliced
Reserved mushroom broth, about 1 1/2 cups
1 large clove garlic, lightly smashed with the flat of a knife
1 small onion (about 1/2 cup), thinly sliced
3 cups shredded fresh cabbage
2 cups sauerkraut, drained, rinsed with hot water, and squeezed dry (I used Ba-Tampte New Kraut)
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
2 cups homemade split pea soup (above)

Melt the butter in your soup pot and add the thinly sliced (matchstick) mushrooms. Add the garlic and stew, until the mushrooms are tender and the garlic is very soft. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the garlic cloves at this point, if you like, although it’s perfectly fine to leave them in. They’ll soften more and melt into the soup. Add the onion and the fresh cabbage and saute until softened and starting to brown slightly, about 20 minutes. Add the reserved mushroom broth and about a cup of water, and simmer. Add the sauerkraut, bring to a simmer, cover the pot partially, and cook for one hour. Add split pea soup and simmer for another 15 minutes.

–♥–

Almost-meatless kapusta (makes about 6 quarts)
4 tablespoons butter
3 large cloves garlic, lightly smashed with the flat of a knife
1 large onion (about 1 1/2 cups), thinly sliced
11 cups shredded fresh cabbage (about 1 1/2 heads), shredded
6 cups sauerkraut, drained, rinsed with hot water, and squeezed dry
Meaty broth (above) and enough water to equal 8 cups
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
5 cups homemade split pea soup (above)

Melt butter is a large stockpot. Add onions and garlic cloves and saute until the onion begins to soften and brown slightly. Add the fresh cabbage and saute until the cabbage is wilted and softened, about 20 minutes. Add the sauerkraut and stir well to combine. Heat through and then add the broth and water. Cover the pot and simmer for one hour. Add the split pea soup and simmer for another 15 minutes.

–♥–

The finished product: Vegetarian kapusta on the left; meaty broth version on the right.

             

Kapusta for Wigilia: Part One

I’m making cabbage soup for the Polish Christmas Eve celebration of Wigilia (Vih-GEEL-yah, for those of you who don’t know how to pronounce Polish). Poles celebrate the anticipation of Jesus’ birth, capping a meatless family meal with Polish carols and attendance at Midnight Mass. Anyway, the challenge here was for me to recreate my Aunt Alice’s kapusta and, because I’m a little crazy this way, to create a vegetarian version for those who don’t eat meat. I know, I said it was a meatless meal to begin with, but nearly every version of this dish I found in cookbooks or on the Web included a meat broth at the minimum. Not to be outdone, I’m in the process of making a broth with beef bones and country-style pork ribs browned in bacon fat. This recipe, along with the vegetarian version, will be included in the next post. In the meantime, here’s my aunt’s recipe, from our family cookbook:

Kapusta (courtesy of Alice Kret)
1 pound spare ribs, country style
1 kielbasa sausage
1 sweet cabbage, chopped
Small can of sauerkraut, drained, then rinsed once with hot water
2 large onions, chopped
Habitant French Pea Soup
Salt and pepper

Simmer spare ribs in water to cover for about 30 minutes to remove most of the fat. Take out the ribs and trim off more of the fat. Put broth in freezer to remove the rest of the fat (it will congeal on the top).

Put ribs, broth, whole kielbasa, onions, cabbage, and sauerkraut in a large pan. Add water, salt, and pepper, then simmer for about 1 1/2 hours. Take out the meat, chop, and put back into the pot. Add pea soup and simmer for another 15 minutes.