Recipe Renovation : Italian-Inspired Vegetable Soup

I know, I know....it's been ages. I have my reasons, though - honest !

About a year and a half ago, I made the very difficult decision to leave a job I loved. Leaving was absolutely heart-wrenching, but I had no choice - it had become imperative that I focus on my family and my health, both mental and physical.  The job, while interesting and exciting and challenging and something I daresay I was pretty good at (and full of people who I loved dearly - still do, in fact) was too demanding, insanely stressful, and just took up way too much of my time...I was working nights and weekends, and even when I wasn't there I was working via my phone or thinking about working or feeling bad that I wasn't working. I couldn't focus on anything else; I quit my chorus, never saw my family, and just focused on getting through each day. So - with plenty of tears and not a small amount of fear - I walked out the door. And somehow, incredibly, against all odds I walked into another job that I love, with new people I adore, exploring a part of my field I hadn't really worked in much that turned out to be really interesting and a great challenge - but something I could definitely do. The new job not only gave me back my nights and weekends, but left me with enough mental energy to enjoy them. My family prospered, my chorus welcomed me back with open arms, and I was living more of the kind of life I had always envisioned for myself. Well, except for one little thing...actually, not so little.

My weight.

When I walked out that door so reluctantly my weight was the highest it has ever been in my life - including when I was pregnant. (Yes, 9 months pregnant me was smaller than new job and newly minted family woman me. ) I have always struggled with my weight; most members of my family are not small, and I'm definitely an emotional eater - and my emotions were in overdrive. Food was my main comfort - something that made me feel better, something I was good at making and talking about, and something I could use to make others around me feel good too. So I walked through another scary door..,,into a Weight Watchers meeting. I had done WW before and knew it worked; it's pretty much the only plan where you can eat absolutely anything as long as you keep track of it all...with my foodie predilections I have to have that flexibility or I can't do it. (No, I am no Oprah and this is not turning into a WW ad...the program has definite issues, especially with the newest revamp...but the basic premise is sound. The thing just works.)

I already knew how to cook and eat healthy...it just that I didn't. I ate (and drank) all the time, like there was never going to be enough to fill me. Occasionally I made good choices, but not consistently enough to matter, I was going to need the accountability of someone weighing me every week...so last April I finally took the plunge and walked in to my local meeting, I  cried hard when I got on the scale because I couldn't believe it really had gotten to that point, and I think I cried through my first few meetings too. But somehow, incredibly, my lucky streak with scary life choices was still with me. The meeting I walked into was not only full of supportive people with the same issues I had, but was led by an absolute dynamo of a woman who has cheered me on every step of the way. Her  no-nonsense take on what the program does and does not do is exactly my cup of (unsweetened) tea. And with her support, I have now lost over 80 pounds, Eighty. It's a ridiculous number, isn't it ? I barely recognize pictures of sad, stressed out me, I'm a new, happy woman - with knees and a back that don't hurt anymore - who has energy to get things done. And one of the things I want to get done is writing in my blog about all the exciting cooking I'm doing, And that, dear readers, is why we're here :)

If you've made it this far (yeah, I do go on :) ) you're probably thinking "Well, no wonder she was approaching maximum density - look at these recipes !! Butter ! Cream ! Cheese ! Pork fat !!" I assure you, I have not given up on any of these lovely things. I just keep track of how much of them I eat....and I don't eat them all the time. (And I definitely haven't quit drinking !)  I plan to keep blogging all the good things we love, as well as the good things that are good for us. Today's recipe is definitely in the latter category.

Each week at WW we get a weekly handout - usually consisting of some sort of pithy "yay us" articles and tips (this week's was all about an app with 1 minute workouts that we can download...of course, it didn't mention that it isn't available for Android. Because apparently screw us if we're not drinking the Apple Kool-Aid...wonder how many points that is ? See, I told you they have issues ! But I digress...). It also usually has a WW recipe...and herein lies the problem. While I cook a lot of Cooking Light recipes (for the most part they are pretty flavorful , filling, and work well with minimum tweaking) , I find most of the WW ones lacking - way too watered down, not enough flavor, too many points for not enough of a serving, This week's actually looked promising, though -a 0 point Italian-ish veggie soup that looked like it would actually work. With me spending most of Valentine's weekend alone I thought I might need the extra points for treats (and sure enough I woke up to caviar and chocolate...mmm !) , so I figured a pot of 0 point soup would fit the bill perfectly...I just had to fix it a little, Lose the fennel (personally can't stand the stuff), add in some other filling 0 point veggies to replace it...eggplant and mushrooms, that would be just the thing, Oh, and cook the onions a little first (really, WW - that's a soup making basic !) , and cook the firmer vegetables a little longer than the greens. Yup - minimal fuss, maximum taste...this stuff is awesome, Excellent flavor, perfect broth to veg ratio, just the thing for the sub-zero weather this weekend.. Eating a bowl while I blog, actually :)

The great thing about a soup like this is that it's so adaptable. As written, it truly is 0 points - meaning you can really eat your fill, as much as you want - and it's actually pretty satisfying just as is. You can definitely change around the vegetables - go ahead and put the fennel bulb in (thinly sliced), add some leeks, use up the green pepper you have hanging around - whatever you like. You can also add pretty much anything as a garnish or mix in and it would work; the bowl in the picture had 2 oz of cubed cooked polenta stirred in at the end (2 points - you can get it ready made in tubes, though we happened to have some made already) and 1 tsp of grated Parmesan sprinkled on top (0 points). Cooked white beans would be outstanding (nothing wrong with canned - 1/4 cup is 2 points), as would your favorite cooked pasta (points vary); adding some fish with the greens or adding cooked chicken or shrimp at the end would turn this into a main course for not a lot of points. Bread would of course be wonderful - just make sure you know what and how much you're eating if you're tracking,

Bottom line : eat what you like; then it isn't a diet, and that's the only way it works (for me, anyway),

So...if you've really really made it this far...thank you for reading, and staying with me, I promise moving forward I won't be quite so...soul-baring; not that there's anything wrong with that, this is just not that kind of blog. Usually :)

Enjoy !

Italian-Inspired Vegetable Soup 
loosely based on "Weight Watchers Weekly" recipe of Jan 24-30

1 cup chopped onion
olive oil spray to lightly coat bottom of pot (or use 2 tsp of olive oil - adds 3 points)
1 tsp kosher or sea salt
couple grinds black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 small zucchini or yellow squash )or both), cubed
2 small eggplant, cubed
1 medium red pepper, chopped
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
6 cups vegetable stock
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp (or to taste) crushed red pepper
2 cups chopped escarole or kale, chopped (packed tightly)
2 cups fresh baby spinach (packed tightly)
28 oz fire roasted chopped tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Heat a large soup pot over medium heat; lightly spray with cooking spray. Add onion and cook until it starts to get soft and a little translucent, stirring occasionally - 10 minutes is plenty. Add the salt and pepper after it's been on about 5 minutes,

Add the garlic, zucchini, eggplant, red pepper, mushrooms and stock; bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Add the thyme, oregano, basil and red pepper. Let simmer for 10 minutes; add the escarole and simmer another 5 minutes, then add the spinach and tomatoes. Simmer another 5 or 10 minutes, or until all the vegetables are done to your liking, Stir in the parsley and additional salt and pepper to taste.

Ribollita (Italian Bread and Vegetable Soup)

Apologies for the terrible picture - by the time I realized how good this was going to come out, it was gone !

Italians - gotta love them. I'm a quarter Italian, myself, though as I always say I think the only Italianate qualities I've inherited are the talking with my hands thing and my deep, deep love of food. (Though the food part could be from any and all of my ancestors :) )

One of the things I love about Italians is that not only do they love food, they waste nothing. A loaf of stale bread isn't something to be thrown out, to an Italian - it's a springboard, a gateway drug to all sorts of culinary delights. Not that the Italians have dibs on delicious things to do with stale bread, of course...this very blog is loaded with recipes for bread puddings, both savory and sweet; there are also references to French toast, croutons etc....but we're sticking with an Italian theme here.

We've already explored the glories of panzanella (Italian bread salad) in this space; but it's winter - lovely tomatoes are hard to come by, and our bodies and bellies crave something much more comforting, Ribollita - a hearty, warming soup - answers that craving perfectly, and I'm so glad I took the plunge and decided to learn how to make it. Think of the best minestrone you've ever had, but with bread instead of pasta (not like you don't dip bread in minestrone anyway ! ) - super flavorful broth, loaded with vegetables and creamy white beans, stick-to-your-ribs Italian nonna (grandma) goodness. And not only does this one use stale bread....next time you come to the end of a wedge of Parmesan, throw the rind in the freezer. It adds a wonderful depth of flavor to this or any other soup that that tastes good with cheese on top (don't most of them ? :) )

The only trick to this soup is to use a bread with some heft - something nice and dense that isn't going to dissolve in your soup. (Most French breads, although wonderfully useful when stale, would probably be a bit too airy for this - though use 'em if you got 'em, I say.). For this batch, I used a loaf of Italian Pugliese; sourdough, a dense ciabatta, or any peasant-type bread would work. Leftover rolls would be perfect - lots of nice crust to go around. If you want to make this and don't have stale bread on hand, just find the "day-old" rack in your supermarket and select a worthy candidate. Even a flavored bread would work, as this is one of those happy soups that take to all sorts of variation. Any kind of bean would probably be at home here, as would any sort of leftover vegetable. Spinach or Swiss chard could very easily stand in for the kale, if you're adverse to kale (though you should try it in this - it's wonderful). The recipe can easily be made kosher (yet still delicious) by omitting the pancetta and using vegetable stock or could even become vegan via the use of a vegan cheese alternative.  Go forth and experiment...there's no wrong here !

Ribollita 
Serves 6 - 8

1/4 cup olive oil
4 oz pancetta, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped (leeks or shallots would also work well - about 2 cups worth)
3 good-sized carrots, chopped
3 good-sized celery stalks, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon tomato paste*
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes, drained (fire-roasted are great in this)
8 cups kale, large stems removed and coarsely chopped  
2 15.5 oz cans cannellini beans, drained
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (or 1 tablespoon dried)
1 bay leaf
1 piece of Parmesan rind (optional)
6 - 8 cups chicken stock
4 cups stale bread cubes, about 1 inch

Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion and pancetta and cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the onions become translucent. Stir in the tomato paste, and add the carrots, celery, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste and cook for another 10 minutes or so, or until the vegetables just start getting tender (add a ladle or so of stock if it seems to be getting too dry.). Add the tomatoes, kale, beans, basil, bay leaf, and Parmesan rind if using along with the 6 cups of stock and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Add the bread cubes, along with some additional stock if the soup seems too thick (though you do want it thick) and simmer for 10 more minutes.

Serve with plenty of fresh Parmesan. and a nice glass of wine, if you're of the wine persuasion. (The Parmesan rind in the soup should have mostly dissolved...if yours is old and stubbornly still in one piece, you can fish it out before serving lest it traumatize somebody. Though if you're traumatized by Parmesan, you may have issues...)

*I buy tomato paste in tubes that resemble toothpaste tubes; these are awesome when you just need to add a little bit to something as you can store the rest in the fridge. If you only have cans, I suggest freezing the rest in tablespoon-sized scoops; stick them on a paper plate until frozen, then store them in a baggie once frozen. Way useful ! 

Sister's Stew (from Game of Thrones), Culinary Orgasm style

a trencher of yummmmm

This post found inspiration in so many places, I hardly know where to start...

I discussed my family's love of the "Song of Fire and Ice" series (better known in TV Land as "Game of Thrones") in this post , as well as giving a brief history of trenchers. We've also discussed our love of fishing in a few places (notably here and here ).  So when a dear friend pointed me to an entire blog of recipes from the books via a recipe for this amazing stew, I had to check it out. The blog is fantastic, if you're a fan....it's called Inn at the Crossroads , named after a location in the books that's seen its share of drama. And the stew...oh, the the stew. The Sisters (in the books) are three islands - and apparently they make one heck of a stew :

“The beer was brown, the bread black, the stew a creamy white. She served it in a trencher hollowed out of a stale loaf. It was thick with leeks, carrots, barley, and turnips white and yellow, along with clams and chunks of cod and crabmeat, swimming in a stock of heavy cream and butter. It was the sort of stew that warmed a man right down to his bones, just the thing for a wet, cold night…”

-George R.R. Martin, Dance with Dragons

Pretty much says it all right there.

The recipe as written in the blog (entry here) really looked pretty fantastic (OT: it was actually a guest post from another blog about Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander"series - another one of my faves !). I made some minor changes, as I come from a long line of chowder makers and have some definite firm opinions about what goes in a good chowder . The changes include swapping in some potatoes for part of the turnips as I'm not the hugest turnip fan out there (though we had to keep some for authenticity), added some nutmeg and cloves as they were referenced in the book (again with the authenticity...plus they compliment the heavy cream so well), and some other minor changes. The biggest changes I made, though, were to start the vegetables in salt pork instead of olive oil (no self-respecting Down Easter would use anything but) and to swap our own excellent homemade fish stock for the water and clam juice.

veggies for stock

fish heads, fish heads, roly poly fish heads....

 Our stock recipe is at the end of this post...now, granted, if you're not a crazy fisher-person like the people who live here you may not have giant fish heads in your freezer...that's just how we roll :) You can sometimes find heads for stock making at your local grocery store or fish market, but if you don't see them, ask - they'll be able to recommend something.

Enjoy !

Sister's Stew
adapted from Inn at the Crossroads

1/4 lb salt pork, cubed
2 cups leeks, white & light green only (save the tops for the stock)
1/2 cup carrot, peeled & diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup barley, uncooked
1/2 cup white wine
3 cups fish stock (see below)
1/2 cup diced white potatoes (or white turnip)
1/2 cup yellow turnip (rutabaga), peeled & diced
4  sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup heavy cream
Pinch of saffron
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground clove
1 lb cod or other white fish , in small chunks
1/2 lb crabmeat
1 cup clam meat, chopped if large
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
Salt and pepper to taste


Fry salt pork in a large pot over medium heat until toasty brown and the fat has been released (this is called "trying out"). Remove salt pork from pan, but leave fat in there (you can drain the cubes on paper towels and retain for garnish if you like that sort of thing,, which we do...be warned the bits are very salty though !) Add the leeks, carrots and celery to the hot fat in the pot and sweat until tender, 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and barley. Stir constantly until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Deglaze with wine and reduce until almost dry. Add the fish stock, potatoes, turnips and thyme. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium-low and simmer until the vegetables and barley are almost tender, 30 minutes. Remove the woody thyme stems and add the cod. Simmer for 5 - 10 more minutes, or until the cod is almost cooked,

Warm the cream gently in a small saucepan then add the saffron, rubbing the threads between your finger tips to break them up slightly. Add the nutmeg and cloves, then stir the cream into the stew. Add the crabmeat, clams, and butter . Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring gently once or twice, until the fish is done and and the butter is melted. Season with salt and pepper, and garnish each bowl with a few cubes of salt pork (if using. )

Serve hot with plenty of freshly ground pepper and black bread (or, if you really want to go for it , serve in hollowed out large rolls or small bread loaves)

Fish Stock
(loosely based on Jasper White's)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 celery ribs, including leafy green tops, coarsely chopped
Dark green tops from 4 leeks, coarsely chopped
2 shallots, sliced
2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
2 bay leaves
6 to 8 thyme sprigs
1/4 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
2 - 3 good sized fish heads, rinsed well
1/4 cup dry white wine
6 cups  hot tap water
1 - 2 tsp kosher or sea salt, to taste

Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the celery, leeks, shallots, carrots, bay leaves, thyme, parsley and peppercorns to the saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 8 - 10 minutes. Stir in the fish heads and the wine. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. 

Add the hot water, stir gently and bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, stir once and let stand for 10 minutes. Strain the stock through a fine sieve. Season lightly with salt and let cool, then refrigerate or freeze until needed.

Note : Depending on the size and species of your fish, you may have some lovely meat left over when the stock is done - cod cheeks from a large cod are particularly tasty. Feel free to retain this meat and stir it into your final soup/stew/chowder/what have you...

Pinto Bean Soup

I really was not a fan of beans as a kid. I think I was afraid they all tasted like canned baked beans, which were one of the very few foods I simply would not eat - and of course, being half-raised by New England Yankees meant this was a problem come Saturday night. I'd get down a few hot dogs and a ton of brown bread, but the beans...those went to Sput (the dog :) ). It was only when I got older and realized that beans came in varieties other than canned baked that I realized how much I'd been missing. Now I love them, any way I can get them.

I've already blogged about a few of my favorite bean dishes- cassoulet , frijoles borrachos - but this was a new one for me. This dish was one of those things that just sort of happened, for a number of reasons - one of which was the frijoles, actually. The last time I made them, I soaked way too many beans and there's been a bag of them taking up space in my overstocked freezer ever since. We also had our very first snowstorm of the season today, and I really didn't relish going out for any more ingredients. Mostly, though, it was because our planned ham dinner didn't happen on account of a nasty virus going through the house. One resident foodie was down for the count, but the other one requested soup - and as I was out of carrots and celery (and the snow was flying), it was going to have to be a soup that didn't involve either.  Voilà - pinto bean soup.  Of course, I didn't photograph it as I was making it, because I didn't think it was going to amount to much (I mean...no carrots or celery ??) Imagine my surprise when it was absolutely amazing, and something I'll definitely make again.

My soup is somewhat based on this recipe, though with quite a bit of adjustment. As for the bacon drippings, as with most things beans are always better with bacon, and I do usually keep some frozen for just this sort of occasion. Just let the drippings cool, then run then through a strainer before you freeze them. It's a good idea to do them in small quantities (ice cube trays, snack size baggies etc) so it's easier to just grab a bit when needed. However, if you're not quite as crazy as me and you don't have any drippings handy, oil would work perfectly fine in this recipe - just adjust for salt if needed.

Cornbread is definitely called for with this...pictured is my own recipe for cheesy pepperjack cornbread, just made into muffins instead of a square. Gotta change things up every so often :)

Pinto Bean Soup

1 pound dried pinto beans, picked over

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons bacon drippings or vegetable oil 

1 tsp chili powder

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 - 2 tsp chipotle powder, or to taste

1 tsp ground cumin

3 cups chicken or vegetable stock 

1 pound chorizo, chopped (or other spicy sausage)

28 oz can fire roasted tomatoes 

1 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup enchilada sauce

1/4 cup chopped cilantro (or 1 tablespoon dried)

lime wedges, for serving

Soak beans in water to cover by 2 inches overnight (or use quick-soak method on bag)

           

In a heavy kettle sauté onions and garlic in bacon drippings over moderately high heat, stirring, until pale golden.  Add chili powder, paprika, chipotle and cumin and cook, stirring, for about a minute, or until you can really smell the spices. Add drained beans and the stock and simmer, covered, until tender, about 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

While soup is simmering, in a skillet brown chorizo over moderately high heat and transfer to paper towels to drain. Add chorizo to soup with tomatoes, corn, enchilada sauce and salt to taste and simmer, covered partially and stirring occasionally, 30 minutes. Serve with lime wedges.  

Chicken Soup, Silver Palate style

soup is good food...

Just a quick blog entry to let you know that I am, in fact, alive :). Busy time of year for me...it's time for one of my other hobbies to take center stage for a bit, singing and concert management for the Newton Community Chorus. Our Winter Concert is this Saturday...so of course, what happens this week ? I get an absolutely brutal cold, of course...damn plague carriers I live with !! I feel like my head and lungs are full of cold, wet oatmeal and I can hardly open my eyes. Definitely not C.O. material.

I know if there's any substance in this world that has a chance of getting me in shape to sing by Saturday, it's the chicken soup from the Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook....so as exhausted as I am, I made a pot when I got home instead of giving in to the urge to snuggle with my pillows and blankie. I love chicken soups of all kinds, and I do all sorts of variations on simmering chicken frames for hours with a medley of delicious items. This soup is a little different - chock full of veggies (including lots of leeks...I have a serious leek obsession) and noodles for staying power...but it's made with boneless skinless chicken breast, and comes together in under an hour. I swear, you can feel yourself ingesting health and well being with every bite.

I am including the recipe here with my own very well tested modifications - I have made this more times than I can count, and it is nothing short of spectacular every time. Basically, I use more of the leek and more chicken than called for...change the proportions and timing a bit...and I go through less steps and use less dishes. Much as I love the SP, I usually see no need to use as many pots and pans as they call for...who has time to clean all that stuff ? I can hear my bed calling from here...

Chicken Soup, Silver Palate style

4 leeks, white and tender green parts only
water to cover leeks
2 T cider vinegar
2 sticks unsalted butter
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 t kosher salt
1 t fresh ground black pepper
2 1/2 quarts chicken stock
1 c white wine
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast (4 good sized pieces)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cups fine egg noodles (uncooked)
4 oz fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch lengths
3 T chopped Italian parsley

Cut the leeks in half lengthwise, and rinse well (leeks trap mud like crazy). Soak for 15 minutes in a bowl with water to cover, to which you have added the cider vinegar.

Once the leeks are soaking, start the chicken poaching in the stock and wine - bring to a boil, turn way down and barely simmer for about 15 minutes, or until just done. Remove the chicken when done to let it cool.

Chop the leeks, the carrot, and the celery. Melt the butter in a large stockpot, and gently saute the veggies for about 10 minutes, then season with the salt and pepper. Add the stock in which you poached the chicken, the mushrooms, and the green beans. Let simmer for 5 minutes, then add the egg noodles. Cook for another 5 - 10 minutes, or until the noodles and the veggies are done to your liking.

Shred the chicken and add to the pot with the parsley. Heat through, add salt and pepper if needed, and serve.