Ribollita

I saved this recipe ages ago, and decided to make it because it sounded “different".” After buying the necessary ingredients and cooking the beans, I started to get nervous at how different it was, with very few herbs in the broth and, well, soggy bread. Luckily, Heidi is a master with soups, I needn’t have worried.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• ½ fennel bulb, chopped
• 3 medium cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 medium carrots or equiv. winter squash, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 14-ounce can tomatoes
• 1 T. crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 pound greens (kale, chard) stems trimmed off and leaves well chopped
• 4 cups cooked white beans
• 1/2 pound loaf of bread
• 1 1/2+ teaspoons salt
• zest of one lemon
• lots of well-chopped oily black olives

Directions:

1. In your largest thick-bottomed pot over medium heat combine the olive oil, celery, fennel, garlic, carrot, and onion. Cook for 10 -15 minutes sweating the vegetables, but avoid any browning. Stir in the tomatoes and red pepper flakes, and simmer for another 10 minutes or so, long enough for the tomatoes to thicken up a bit. Stir in the greens, 3 cups of the beans, and 8 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the greens are tender, about 15 minutes.
2. In the meantime, mash or puree the remaining beans with a generous splash of water - until smooth. Tear the bread into bite-sized chunks. Stir both the beans and bread into the soup. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the bread breaks down and the soup thickens, 20 - 30 minutes. Stir in the salt, taste and add more if needed. Stir in the lemon zest.
3. Serve immediately, or cool and refrigerate overnight. Serve reheated, or "ribollita" meaning reboiled, the next day ladled into bowls. Finish each serving with a drizzle of olive oil (optional) and some chopped olives.

Comments: This recipe is extremely flexible, and undeniably delicious. I used plain white bread, with crusts and had no problems, although I’d probably try something heartier next time for a bit more nutrition. I’ll definitely be repeating this, despite it’s less-than-savory appearance.

Lentil Squash Soup

I had half a sqash left over from my Butternut Sqash and Carmelized Onion Galette, and decided to adapt Rachel’s Lentil Soup recipe for the occassion. Here’s what I did:

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 fennel bulb, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 lb. winter squash
• 1 cup of lentils, rinsed and picked over
• 1/2 tbsp cumin
• 1/2 tbsp curry
• 4 cups of low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup additional low-sodium vegetable broth or 1/4 cup of cream

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil and add the carrots, fennel, and onions.

1. Cook for about 3 minutes, until the veggies soften. Add the garlic, squash, lentils, cumin, and curry, and stir. Heat for another minute.

1. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to low and let simmer for 25 minutes.

1. For the last 15 minutes, don’t stir at all; the veggies will rise to the top. Skim the veggies off the top and puree with the cream or extra broth.

1. Stir the pureed soup back into the pot.

Comments: I made this late at night (really late!), so it didn’t occur to me to add bullion to the water I subbed for broth, and perhaps this is why the soup came out a tad bland. Nothing that some hot sauce can’t cure, but I’ll probably stick to my Syrian Lentil and Chard soup next time around.

The sad supermercado near me had no celery, which lead to the fennel substitution.

Creamy Chipotle-Carrot Soup

Captious Vegetarian inspired me in the best way for this creamy carrot soup. Her version roasts the carrots first, a technique I’d never thought of. This is where I went with it:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 1 medium onion, halved and sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 1 fennel bulb, halved and sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 1 T. vegetable oil
• 1 t. salt
• 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• 4 cups water or broth
• 2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo

Instructions:

1. Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 450 degrees. Toss half of the carrots with half the oil and place in a single layer on a small baking sheet. Sprinkle with 1/4 t. salt. Place the garlic cloves on the pan as well, they will roast with the carrots.
2. Toss the fennel and onion with the rest of the oil and place on another small baking sheet. (Alternatively, do this in two stages.) Sprinkle with 1/4 t. salt.
3. Roast the vegetables until they are browned and softened, stirring occasionally. This will probably take 15-20 minutes for the fennel and onion and twice as long for the carrots.
4. When vegetables are finished, or near-finished, heat the water or broth to boiling. Add the remaining carrots and boil until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the roasted vegetables (taking the garlic out of its skin) and chipotles, and continue cooking another 3-5 minutes.
5. Allow to cool slightly and puree the mixture in a blender until smooth. Return to the saucepan to heat completely, or store in an airtight container for up to five days.

Comments: I thought this was terrific. The roasted sweet vegetables are balanced by the heat of the chipotle, creating a very healthy and satisfying snack or appetizer.

Adzuki Butternut Squash Soup

This recipe happened from a perfect pairing of ingredients. I found chipotles in adobo about a month ago, and quickly swiped them. Then, I bought Adzuki beans on a whim, to try something new. Butternut squash is always plentiful, and then the weather turned cold.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cumin
3 teaspoons finely chopped chipotle pepper
2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
2 medium-large onions
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
5 - 6 cups water
1-2 red bellpeppers OR 5 tomatoes, chopped
4 cups cooked or canned adzuki beans

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the cinnamon, coriander, chipotle and salt and saute for a minute or two - until aromatic. Add the onions and saute another 5 minutes or so, until they start to go translucent. Add the garlic and bell pepper, if using stir well, and then add 5 cups of water. Increase the heat to bring to a boil, and once boiling, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for a few minutes, until the pepper begins to soften—no more than 5 minutes.

Once the pepper has softened, add the squash and use a potato masher and break up the pieces a bit. Add the tomatoes (if not using bell pepper), and cook a couple more minutes before adding the beans. Serve drizzled with the cilantro.

Comments: What can I say? It's healthy and delicious, and freezes well, so I have leftovers for rainy days. I love it.

Green Soup with Ginger

I made this tasty soup after catching a cold. It was light and simple, yet comforting. A little strong on the ginger, next time I'll cut back. The bites of sweet potato were delicious, so next time I'll double the amount. The onions and vegetables were both done early, probably after 20 minutes each. It needs some bread and protein to make a meal, maybe garbanzos or white beans mixed in? The water didn't look like enough, but it was perfect. Here's the recipe with my changes:

1 large yellow onion (250g)
2 tablespoons (30 ml.) olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, plus more to taste
2 large sweet potatos (1 1/2 pounds; 700 g)
1 large leek, white and light green parts (5 ounces; 140 g)
1 bunch spinach (8 ounces; 225 g)
1 large bunch green chard (12 ounces; 350 g)
3 tablespoons (30 g) chopped fresh ginger, plus more to taste
2 cups (500 ml) good-tasting vegetable broth
2-4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
freshly ground black pepper

Chop the onion and cook it slowly in the olive oil with a sprinkle of salt, stirring now and then, over low heat until it is soft and golden, about half an hour.

Meanwhile, peel and dice the sweet potato and put it in a large soup pot with 4 cups (1 liter) water and a teaspoon of sea salt. Thoroughly wash the leek, spinach, and chard, chop them coarsely, and add them to the pot, along with the chopped ginger.

Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer the soup, covered, for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are completely tender. Add the caramelized onions when they are ready. When the vegetables are soft, add the vegetable broth (you can add less if you like a thicker soup) and decide whether you want your soup chunky, like this, or smooth. If the latter, puree the soup in a blender, in batches, or with an immersion blender until it is smooth.

Stir in 2 teaspoons of the lemon juice and a few grinds of black pepper. Taste, and correct the seasoning with additional salt or lemon juice.

Serves 5-6.

Butternut Squash Soup

This is one of my favorite recipes at home, and I made it for the special occasion of splurging on cream cheese. However, it just didn't turn out the same. I subbed rosemary for marjoram and hot pepper flakes for cayenne, however, I think the bigger problem was my lack of a blender. I used a submersion tool that just didn't do it. I'll try blending the leftovers a bit more, and see if it improves with time and further blending.

Butternut Squash Soup (adapted from AllRecipes)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 small chopped onion
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 6 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
• 3 cups water
• 4 cups bouillon
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 4 oz cream cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large saucepan, saute onions in margarine until tender. Add squash, water, bouillon, marjoram, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Bring to boil; cook 20 minutes, or until squash is tender.
2. Puree squash and cream cheese in a blender or food processor in batches until smooth. Return to saucepan, and heat through. Do not allow to boil.

Syrian Lentil and Chard Soup--Adas bi Haamud

I modified this with an aji picante (hot pepper)...although the spice was nice, it overwhelmed the lemon after the second day. (The first day it just tasted weird.) Still, it was a good soup.

1 1/2 cups of lentils

3 T olive oil

1 large bunch chard, any kind is fine

1 large onion, chopped

1 rib celery

4 cloves garlic

1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 t flour

salt and pepper to taste

Cook the lentils in plenty of water (more than enough to cover) until done, approximately 40 minutes. Add chard leaves which have been chopped and one cup water, reserve the stems. Meanwhile saute the onions, chopped chard stems and celery in the olive oil. Crush garlic with salt and add to onions, continue to saute until vegetables are softened and golden. Add with the vegetables to the chard and lentil mixture. Stir. Add lemon juice mixed with one teaspoon flour to flavor the soup. Let simmer until it thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste.

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Garbanzo Bean Soup

I made this recipe, from AllRecipes. Despite the positive reviews, I found it bland and uninteresting. I used a clove of garlic (blended with the garbanzos), dried rosemary, and omitted the pasta as I didn’t have anything appropriate on hand. I don’t think any of these changes made an important difference. I’ll probably use the rest as a pasta sauce, maybe adding some olives, or something to give it a stronger flavor.


INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 (15.5 ounce) cans garbanzo beans
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 1 cup acini di pepe pasta

DIRECTIONS
1. Combine the tomatoes, olive oil and 1 1/2 cans of the beans in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Puree the remaining 1/2 can of garbanzo beans using a blender or food processor, and stir into the saucepan. Place the sprigs of rosemary into the pan without breaking off the leaves. The sprigs will be removed before serving.
2. Add acini de pepe pasta and simmer until pasta is soft, stirring gently to prevent sticking. Remove rosemary, and season with salt and pepper.