Celery Root Soup With Chard, Beans And Corn Chicos

5-6 oz. Rattlesnake beans
1/4 cup corn chicos
1 small boneless smoked ham (or a large ham hock)

Place the beans, corn, and ham in a large enameled cast iron pot (Staub 5 quart) and add 4-6 cups water. Place in a 225ºF oven and cook for 1 hour, reduce the heat to 200ºF and continue to cook until the beans are tender but not falling apart, maybe 2 to 3 hours, check every hour. The beans may take longer or shorter to cook, it depends on how old they are. Turn the ham over once or twice during the cooking process. When the beans are done remove the ham and set a side to cool. Reserve the beans, corn, and broth.

Olive oil
1 large leek, split lengthwise and cut crosswise into slices
2 large sprigs fresh rosemary, minced
About 16 sage leaves (2 large sprigs), thinly slivered
9 ounces chard, stems removed and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices, leaves chopped
2 stalks celery, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
2 lb. celery root, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 tablespoon fish sauce
Chicken stock
Tomato paste
Fermented dried Jarales peppers, pulp scraped from the skin, mashed, and reserved (toss the skins)

Warm some olive oil (1-2 Tbsp) in a large pot and sauté the leek until softened. Stir in the rosemary and sage, add the chard stems and celery and continue to cook until slightly softened. Drain the broth from the beans and corn, add the broth to the pot and set aside the beans and corn. Add the celery root and fish sauce to the pot and bring to a simmer. Cook until the celery root is nearly tender but still firm. Meanwhile dilute the tomato paste and pepper pulp in a cup of chicken stock. When the celery root is nearly tender add the chard leaves, beans, and corn to the pot and add the tomato paste mixture and more chicken stock to generously cover all the vegetables. Bring back to a simmer and cook until the chard leaves are wilted and tender. Chop the ham into 1/2-inch or so cubes and add it to the pot, simmer to heat through. Taste for salt and add more if desired.

Serve with a spoonful of your best extra virgin olive oil.

Chicken and Rice Soup with Asian Flavors

This recipe is still a work in progress. I started with a whole 5 pound chicken which produced 2 huge breasts. I poached both breasts to make a broth even though I knew that it would be more meat than what I needed for the soup. But what I really wanted was the flavorful broth and one breast would not make a broth with as much flavor as both breasts. The second breast was perfect for adding to a salad another day so I got at least 2 meals for my effort.

I also ended up with more rice than I thought was appropriate for the soup. Next time I'll start with about 2/3 cup dry rice. On the other hand it's nice to have leftover rice to make a fried rice dish, so perhaps next time I'll make a larger pot of rice and then make chicken fried rice the next day. That sounds like a plan!

2 bone in chicken breasts with the skin attached, from a 5 pound chicken (wings removed)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 whole cinnamon stick
1 whole star anise broken into pieces
6 whole cloves
1 black cardamom pod
a 1-inch piece of fresh ginger cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
5 to 6 cups of water

1 cup brown jasmine rice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups water

Coconut oil, 1 to 2 tablespoons as desired
About 1 cup of 1/4-inch thick celery slices
About 1/2 pound of carrots cut into 1/2-inch dice
About 1 cup of coarsely chopped onion (leek?)
2 to 3 tablespoons fish sauce or to taste

1 large bunch of fresh cilantro
Sesame oil
Hot pepper sauce

Diced daikon radish would be a nice addition to the veggie mix.
Napa cabbage would be good.

First poach the chicken breasts. Place the chicken breasts in a 3 quart or larger saucepan along with the seasonings and enough water to completely submerge the breasts, at least 5 cups. Turn the heat on to medium, cover the pan, and bring the water to a gentle simmer. Do not boil. Turn the heat to low and simmer the breasts until the broth turns clear and then remove the pan from the heat and allow the breasts to at least partially cool in the broth.

Steam the rice while the chicken breasts are cooking. Place the rice, salt, and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to the lowest setting or put the pan on a low burner with a flame tamer, cover the pan and allow the rice to steam until all the liquid is absorbed. Set aside. (This made more rice than necessary, I had at least a cup leftover after adding as much as I wanted to the finished soup.)

Heat the coconut oil in a large soup pot set over medium heat. Add the vegetables, toss to coat with the hot oil, cover the pot and allow the veggies to sweat for a couple of minutes. Uncover the pot and sauté the vegetables until they are slightly softened, a couple more minutes.

Meanwhile, remove the chicken breasts from their pot and set them aside to cool until they can be handled. Strain the broth into the soup pot. Season the soup with a couple more tablespoons of fish sauce and bring the soup to a simmer.

While the soup is simmering, shred the chicken meat to be used in the soup, you will probably only need the meat from one of the breasts if you started with a 5 pound chicken. Remove the chicken meat from the bones, setting the bones and skin aside for another use (they can still be used in a long simmered poultry stock). Shred the meat into bite sized pieces.

Finish the soup when the vegetables are cooked to your liking. Add the cooked rice and shredded chicken. Simmer until the rice and chicken are heated through. Taste the broth and add more fish sauce or salt if needed.

Garnish each bowl of soup with a drizzle of sesame oil and a handful of chopped cilantro leaves. Serve with the hot sauce on the side to allow each diner to season the soup to their own taste.

Lettuce Gazpacho

A surfeit of lettuce and extra warm weather inspired this refreshing mash up. It also proved to be an opportunity to raid my stash of dehydrated vegetables from last year. I've noted the varieties of veggies that I used for my own info only. I'm not sure if it is the lettuce or using dried peppers and tomatoes, but the soup has a nice texture and doesn't need something like bread to give it body.

For the soup:
1 ounce dried sweet red peppers (a mix of varieties)
1 ounce dried tomatoes (Pomme d'Amour)
16 ounces cold water
1 small sweet yellow onion (Yellow Granex), coarsely chopped, about 3.5 ounces after cleaning and chopping
2 anchovy filets
2 tablespoons salt preserved capers, no need to rinse
8+ ounces of fresh crisphead lettuce (Joker), washed but not thoroughly dried, torn into pieces
2 to 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 to 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 to 2 teaspoons sugar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive, a mild one that isn't peppery is good (California Olive Ranch)
1 to 2 cups ice water

For the garnish:
1 small avocado, diced
About 1/2 cup each diced fresh sweet red pepper, tomato, and cucumber
Fresh basil leaves, slivered
Extra virgin olive oil as needed
Small cooked cold shrimp

Soak the dried peppers and tomatoes in 16 ounces of water overnight in the refrigerator.

Drain the peppers and tomatoes, reserving the soaking water. Combine the peppers, tomatoes, onion, anchovy filets, and capers in a large blender (I use a VitaMix). Blend until coarsely chopped, drizzling in the reserved soaking water to help things along. Add the torn lettuce a few pieces at a time and blend until all the lettuce is incorporated. Blend in a couple of tablespoons of red wine vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a teaspoon of sugar. Slowly blend in the olive oil and then a cup of ice water. Taste the soup for seasoning and add more vinegar, salt and sugar to taste (I adjusted to the full amounts noted in the ingredients). Blend at a high speed, but not the highest until the soup is very smooth. Strain through a fine strainer pressing on the solids (shouldn't be much, mostly tomato seeds) to extract most of the liquid. Add more ice water if the soup is too thick. Chill thoroughly.

Mix all of the garnish ingredients except the shrimp adding enough olive oil to moisten the mix. Chill. To serve pour some soup into a chilled bowl or cup, add a few spoonfuls of the garnish and top with a few shrimp.

Makes about 1 3/4 quarts without the garnish.

Stracciatella Soup with Brussels Sprouts

The Brussels Sprouts Challenge continues. Stracciatella is an Italian soup that in its most simple form is hot broth into which you stir a mixture of beaten eggs and parmesan cheese. The eggy mixture form shreds or rags, i.e. stracciatella. I've seen riffs on the soup that add spinach or basil or pasta or white beans, or rice, or bread crumbs, or semolina, even tiny meatballs. You get the drift, it is endlessly adaptable. So why not Brussels Sprouts?

I used the sprouts that I had on hand in the fridge which came out to 7 ounces after shredding them on a mandoline. It was probably about 8 ounces before shredding them because I keep the stems long to use as a handle when slicing them on the mandoline and then the stems go into the compost bucket. My homemade stock tends to be a bit concentrated so I added water. Plenty of Italian recipes I read use bouillon cubes instead of stock. Do whatever works for you. I love the flavor and umami of Vietnamese fish sauce (Red Boat is the best IMO), but it's totally optional here. Lot's of recipes added some lemon zest to the egg mixture as well as nutmeg, I thought a hint of cinnamon might be nice instead and I did like it.

2 tablespoons butter
About 1/3 to 1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots (I didn't actually measure)
7 ounces, more or less, Brussels sprouts sliced 1/8-inch thick on a mandoline
1 quart stock, chicken, meat, or veggie or use instant bouillon
1 cup water
1 tablespoon fish sauce (totally optional but the extra umami is great)
3 large eggs
1 1/2 ounces grated parmesan cheese, plus additional
freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of ground cinnamon, optional
freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute until the shallots are soft. Stir in the Brussels sprouts and add the stock, water, and fish sauce. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to a simmer and cook until the sprouts become tender or are done to your liking. Taste the broth for salt, remember that the parmesan is salty so don't add too much.

Beat the eggs with a whisk and then whisk in the cheese, nutmeg, and cinnamon if using it.

Bring the soup back up to a near boil. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the soup while stirring the soup with a whisk. Continue stirring until the eggs are completely cooked. Serve immediately with grinding of black pepper over each bowl, top with additional cheese if desired.

Makes 4 to 6 portions.

Spiced Parsnip Soup

I wanted something like a curry powder for the seasoning for the soup but didn't want a lot of turmeric and didn't want it to be hot so I made up this spice blend. Just use a tablespoon of curry powder if you prefer.

For the spice mixture:
1/2 teaspoon cumin seed
1/2 teaspoon dried green coriander seed
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seed
1 black cardamom pod
1/2 stick (about 1 1/2 inches) canela cinnamon (Mexican cinnamon)
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

For the soup:
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
Rice bran oil
1 large white onion, diced
Salt to taste
30 oz. parsnips, peeled and cubed
1 quart chicken stock
1/2 cup creme fraiche or heavy cream
about 1/2 cup, more or less, water

Grind the whole spices in a spice mill to a fine powder. Add the ground ginger and turmeric and mix well. Measure out 1 tablespoon of the mixture for the soup.

Pour the oil into a small saucepan to a depth of about 1 inch. Heat the oil to about 350ºF. Fry the shallots until dark brown and crisp. Carefully pour the shallots and oil through a heat proof sieve, reserving the oil. Spread the shallots out on paper toweling to cool.

Heat a few tablespoons of the reserved shallot oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the spice mixture and allow it to sizzle for a minute or so until it is fragrant - don't let it burn. Add the diced onion and a large pinch of salt to the pan, stir, cover the pot and turn the heat down. Allow the onions to sweat, stirring a few times, until they are translucent. Add the parsnips and stock to the pot, cover and cook gently until the parsnips are tender. Use a wand blender to puree the soup or transfer it in batches to a blender and blend until smooth. Blend in the creme fraiche and add water if the soup seems to thick. Taste for salt.

Serve, garnished with some of the fried shallots.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Zucchini Gazpacho - Updated 7/31/17

I've tinkered with the recipe and lightened it up a bit and Dave declared the new version even better than the original.  See my changes below in Variation #1. I'm always tinkering with my recipes, the latest adjustment in July 2017 is listed below.

I think I'm on to something here. There's so much zucchini coming out of the garden that I'm actually thinking up uses for it when I'm laying awake at 1:00 in the morning. I saw a recipe in the paper last weekend for zucchini soup which looked good, but I'm not crazy about hot soup at this time of the year. So I thought about how zucchini might be used in a cold soup. I was thinking about what seasonings I like with zucchini. One of my favorite zucchini dishes features anchovies, garlic, pine nuts, and vinegar. And then gazpacho came to mind. Garlic. Pine Nuts. Vinegar. Gazpacho? Yes, tomato gazpacho's older cousin, white gazpacho.

Tomato gazpacho is well known, but have you heard of (or better yet tasted) its lesser known white cousin? White gazpacho actually came first. The Spanish started making gazpacho long before the tomato hit their shores. It is typically a mixture of garlic, olive oil, bread, water, and vinegar.  Blend in almonds and garnish with grapes and you have Ajo Blanco. There's all sorts of variations on the theme these days, I love to make it with some melon blended into the mix and used as the garnish. Garlic. Pine Nuts. Vinegar. Gazpacho!

Not only do I think about zucchini in the middle of the night, but I also stare at dozens of Meyer lemons every time I look out my kitchen window. Oh yeah, Meyer lemon has got to be good with garlic, pine nuts, and vinegar - oh, and let's not forget the zucchini.

If you've adopted a diet that's low in grains and sugar, and high in healthy fats, such as I have, this soup will fit the bill. The zucchini provides the texture that bread does in the traditional white gazpacho and the nuts and olive oil provide a lot of satisfying richness. Add the avocado garnish and oh my, oh yum.

A note about Meyer lemons. They are sweeter than "regular" lemons, both the peel and the juice. Even the white pith of the skin is sweet. You can thickly peel them for this recipe, don't worry about the white stuff, it's good. If you can't get Meyer lemons, don't substitute thickly peeled regular lemons, they are probably too bitter. Try the zest of a regular lemon or just leave it out. I think a good substitute for the lemon peel would be a lemon flavored olive oil either blended in or drizzled on as a garnish.

And a note about vinegar. I used a Spanish moscatel wine vinegar that is very fruity and not too sharp. If you use white wine vinegar, especially if you are using regular lemons, add it a couple of teaspoons at a time until the soup tastes to your liking.

Zucchini ends up giving the gazpacho texture and a beautiful light green glow, it doesn't really have a distinct flavor. Don't skip the step to chill the steamed zucchini, the chilling in ice water will set the bright green color and shorten the time it takes to thoroughly chill the soup. The flavor in this soup is predominated by the pine nuts and lemon. I think toasted skinless almonds would be a good alternative to pine nuts, perhaps even cashews, maybe even pepitas (although the color probably won't be as pretty). Next time I'm trying almonds, I will be making this again.

1 1/2 pounds zucchini, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices
1/2 cup lightly toasted pine nuts (4-5 min. @ 350ºF), cooled*
2 to 3 cloves very fresh garlic, less if your garlic is old
1/4 (about 2.5 oz.) sweet onion, such as Vidalia, cut in pieces**
1 Meyer lemon, peels removed with a vegetable peeler, and juiced
1 1/2 cups ice water, or more
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, your best fruity oil
1 to 2 tablespoons Spanish moscatel vinegar
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
Avocado
Fresh basil
(tomato, and/or shrimp, and/or roasted sweet peppers might be nice)
Spanish smoked paprika

Steam the zucchini for 5 minutes until crisp tender. Cool immediately in a large bowl of ice water. Drain.

Put the peeled garlic, onion, lemon peels, and pine nuts into a blender and blend until chopped. Add the zucchini and water to the container and start blending. Pour in the olive oil and lemon juice and continue to blend. Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon vinegar, blend until smooth, but don't over blend or the soup may start to get warm (especially a problem in a VitaMix). Add more water if you desire a thinner soup or want to serve it from a drinking glass. Taste for seasonings, add more salt and vinegar if desired. Chill thoroughly. Taste for seasonings again, cold lessens the flavor of the seasonings. Serve in chilled bowls or cups, garnished with chopped avocado, slivered basil, and a dash of paprika.

Makes 5 cups

*next time I think I'll try 1/3 cup pine nuts, the flavor almost started to overwhelm before I finished slurping a bowlful
**maybe a bit more onion next time to balance out the pine nuts

Variation #1, 6/28/13

Substitute 1/3 cup toasted slivered almonds for the pine nuts
Increase sweet onion to 4 oz. (maybe a bit less next time)
Use the skin of only 1/2 of a Meyer lemon
Use 2 measured tablespoons of meyer lemon juice instead of just the juice of one lemon
Increase ice water to 2 cups
Use 2 full tablespoons of moscatel vinegar
Change garnish to a mix of baby shrimp and chopped fresh tomato seasoned with salt, pepper, and meyer lemon juice

Thought for the next variation. I would like to make a tree nut free version so I'm thinking of using toasted coconut or perhaps fresh coconut. First I'll try it with the ususal seasonings, and then I may take it for an Asian spin - fish sauce and lime?

Another Variation - June 29, 2014

Same as Variation #1 but changed the garnish to chopped grilled sweet onions and roasted sweet corn kernels seasoned with moscatel vinegar and slivered basil.

Yet one more variation in July 2017

Instead of peeleing and juicing a Meyer lemon, use one 3 ounce Meyer lemon, washed, sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices, seeds removed. Blend the lemon slices with the onion, garlic, and pine nuts to form a thick puree. Proceed with the rest of the recipe, but substitute 3 tablespoons of Katz Late Harvest Agrodolce Sauvignon Blanc Vinegar for the Moscatel vinegar. Garnish with halved or quartered cherry tomatoes, chilled peeled salad shrimp, chopped sweet red onion, avocado, chopped cucumber, basil, and cilantro.

Tomato Gazpacho

This is my own version of tomato gazpacho that I've come up with after adjusting and refining various versions. Some versions are thickened with bread and I find that I prefer breadless versions. Other recipes make a rather piquant soup with lots of vinegar and I prefer mine more mellow so I use a sweeter vinegar and less of it. I also like less bite from alliums so I use sweet onions and no garlic. This gazpacho is all about the vegetables. I also discovered that it's a great way to use up the tomatoes that I threw into the freezer whole at the end of the season when I was sick and tired of dealing with tomatoes or just didn't have time to deal with them before they went bad. Just run the frozen tomatoes under warm water which will loosen the skins, peel them and cut them into chunks, the frozen tomatoes are surprisingly easy to cut through. Puree the vegetables without thawing out the tomatoes and the soup will be cold enough to eat right away.

1 1/2 lb. fresh tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped (whole frozen tomatoes work well also)
1 large cucumber, about 8 oz., peeled and coarsely chopped
1 large sweet red pepper, about 8 oz., cores and seeds removed, coarsely chopped
1/2 large sweet onion, about 6 oz. coarsely chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tbs moscato or late harvest sauvignon blanc wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
fresh ground black pepper

Garnish:
about 3 oz. each finely chopped cucumber and sweet red and/or green pepper
about 8 ounces finely chopped tomatoes, add some quartered cherry tomatoes to the mix
diced avocado (optional)
fried bread cubes (optional)
extra virgin olive oil for drizzling


Combine the chopped tomatoes, cucumber, sweet pepper, and sweet onion in a large bowl, stir to combine. Blend the chopped vegetables in batches with the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper until quite smooth. Strain into a large bowl and refrigerate.

Mix the finely chopped cucumber, sweet pepper, and tomatoes together and refrigerate.

Taste the chilled soup and adjust the seasonings if needed to your preference. You can mix in the vegetable garnish and serve the soup with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or serve the soup with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil with the garnishes on the side to be added as desired by the diners.

Makes about 4 to 6 servings.

Winter Tarragon Tomato Soup

1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup butter 
1 quart canned tomatoes or 2 pounds peeled frozen tomatoes or 2 pounds peeled fresh tomatoes 
1/2 cup dry white wine 
1 tablespoon sugar 
1 teaspoon dried tarragon 
salt to taste 
sour cream or creme fraiche 

In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute the onion in the butter until it starts to turn gold, about 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes, juice and all, and mash them down with a potato masher. Add the wine, sugar, and tarragon and stir. Cover, turn the heat down and simmer the soup for 45 minutes. Puree the soup and push it through a sieve back into the saucepan. Add salt to taste. Serve with a dollop of sour cream in each bowl.

Serves 4.

Chilled Golden Beet Soup

--2 tablespoons coconut oil
--1 large sweet onion such as Vidalia, about 1 pound, chopped
--4 or 5 cloves garlic, minced
--2+ pounds golden beet chunks which have been peeled
--2 large fresh Makrut lime leaves (Citrus hystrix)
--a pinch of saffron
--1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
--2 tablespoons fish sauce (I like 3 Crabs brand)
--1 1/2 cups 1% buttermilk
--salt to taste


Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat and saute the onions and garlic until they translucent and starting to color. Add the Makrut leaves and the beets to the pan, add water just to cover the beets, cover and bring to a low boil. Turn the heat down to low and cook, covered, until the beets are very tender but not falling apart. I didn't keep track of the time, but it was at least 20 minutes.

In the meantime, lightly toast the saffron threads to dry them out. Then grind them to a powder in a small porcelain mortar and pestle or a small bowl. Add a tablespoon of hot water to dissolve the powder. Set aside.

When the beets are tender, remove the pot from the heat and remove the lime leaves. Add the dissolved saffron, grated ginger, and fish sauce to the cooked beets. Puree the soup in batches in a blender (love my VitaMix) and pass it through a fine sieve into a large heat proof bowl. Set the bowl in an ice-water bath, add the buttermilk and salt to taste to the soup, stirring occasionally until the soup is chilled. Taste the chilled soup and adjust the seasonings to your preference. Keep chilled until served.

Should serve 6 to 8 as an appetizer.

Two Turkey Soups

From memory, a couple of soups made with leftover Thanksgiving turkey.

Turkey Soup with Posole

Chopped onions
Chopped carrots
Chopped celery
1/2 large fennel bulb, chopped
1 poblano pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded, and chopped
Frozen 90% cooked white posole from the freezer
Turkey broth from the carcass
1 lb tomato puree from the freezer
1 tablespoon fish sauce (yes)
Cubed turkey meat


Turkey Soup with Farro

Preheat Black Chamba pot over low heat. Raise heat and saute some chopped salt pork, in some olive oil until the pork is crispy. Add some finely sliced fresh sage and saute briefly. Add 1 chopped young onion, saute until soft. Add chopped carrots and chopped celery, sautee briefly. Add 1 quart hot turkey broth and 1 pound defrosted tomato puree and 2 cups hot water. Add 1 cup presoaked farro. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, on lowest heat until farro is cooked, about 50 minutes. Season with 1 tablespoon fish sauce (yes again). Add cubed turkey meat and heat until warmed through. Serve with a drizzle of best olive oil.

Spiced Romanesco Broccoli Soup

2 tbs unrefined peanut oil
2 curry leaves (one curry leaf has many leaflets), optional
---botanical name is Murraya koenigii
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly smashed
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1 head of Romanesco broccoli (about 1 pound)
---cut into florets, reserve about 24 bite size florets
---peel and dice the stem
3 small white potatoes, peeled and diced
1 quart water
1 13.5 ounce can of coconut milk
1 tablespoon fish sauce (nuoc mam nhi), optional
lime juice to taste
hot sauce to taste (I like Sriracha)
peanut oil
1/4 teaspoon garam masala
croutons for garnish

Heat the peanut oil in a 4 or 5 quart sauce pan over medium heat. Add the curry leaves and let them sizzle a bit, then remove and discard them. Add the onion, garlic, and garam masala to the pot, saute until the onion softens. Add the Romanesco florets (not the reserved ones), the diced stem pieces, the potatoes and water. Bring to a simmer, turn the heat to low, cover and let simmer until the vegetables are tender but not falling apart.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450F. Toss the reserved florets with some peanut oil and the 1/4 teaspoon of garam masala. Arrange the florets on a baking sheet and roast them until the edges start to brown, about 7 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Puree the soup in 2 or 3 batches in a blender until very smooth. Return the pureed soup to the pot and stir in the coconut milk, the fish sauce, lime juice and hot sauce. Taste for salt, the fish sauce is salty so no additional salt may be necessary. Bring back to a simmer before serving in warmed soup bowls. Garnish each bowl with a few roasted florets and some tiny crispy croutons.

Makes about 6 servings.

Bean Soup with Spigariello Broccoli

1/2 pound dried beans, presoaked
1/2 pound Spigariello Broccoli shoots
1 ounce guanciale or bacon, finely diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 very large carrot, peeled and diced
1/2 very large sweet onion, diced
1 tablespoon (about) minced fresh rosemary
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup diced oven roasted cherry tomatoes, or sundried tomatoes
1/2 pound ham, diced
a drizzle of vinegar
fresh ground pepper to taste

Put the presoaked beans into a large pot with 6 cups water. Bring to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer, partly covered.

While the beans are cooking prepare the Spigariello broccoli. Remove the largest bottom leaves from the broccoli shoots, trim off the leaf stems and discard, coarsely chop the leaves. Cut off and discard any tough bottoms from the shoots (if the stalks are large enough you can peel off the tough skin and use the tender inner parts). Cut the shoots crosswise into pieces. Add the chopped broccoli to the beans and continue to simmer, partly covered.

Put the guanciale or bacon in a medium skillet over medium low heat. Saute the guanciale or bacon until crisp. Add the carrot, onion, and rosemary to the skillet, turn the heat up a bit and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables start to brown. Remove the skillet from the heat, stir in the minced garlic and chopped tomatoes and set aside.

When the beans are nearly tender (the amount of time to this stage will vary depending on the age of the beans - the older they are the longer it takes), stir in the sauteed vegetable mixture (sofrito) and diced ham; continue to cook the soup until the beans are fully tender but not falling apart. Taste for salt (I added none because of the saltiness of the guanciale and ham), add a splash of vinegar (amazing how a touch of vinegar can brighten the flavor), and grind in some fresh black pepper.

Serves at least 4.

Bean and Sausage Soup with Portuguese Cabbage

1 1/2 cups dry Runner Cannellini beans, presoaked
1 smoked ham hock
3 Dittmer’s Venison Andouille sausages, about 9 to 10 ounces
2 8-inch stalks of celery
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced in half lengthwise
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered through the root end
2 1/2 quarts cold water (part poultry stock)
3 medium new potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 large leaves portuguese cabbage, stems removed and cut into 1/4-inch by 2-inch shreds, about 6 loose cups
Salt and pepper to taste
Best quality extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

Put the presoaked beans, ham hock, whole sausages, celery, carrots, onion wedges, and water into a stock pot. Bring to a boil and then turn down and simmer, partly covered, for an hour.

Remove the ham hock and sausages and set aside to cool. Remove and discard the vegetables (they are meant to just flavor the broth). Continue to simmer the beans until they are quite tender but not falling apart – this could take up to an hour longer. If you’re in a rush and the beans are still quite crunchy you can transfer them with half of the broth to a pressure cooker and cook under high pressure for 10 minutes and quick release the pressure. Transfer the beans and broth from the pressure cooker back to the stock pot. Remove the meat from the ham hock and cut into 1/2-inch dice. Slice the sausages into 1/4-inch slices.

When the beans are tender, add the cubed potatoes and shredded cabbage to the pot. Simmer about 15 minutes longer, or until the potatoes are tender but not falling apart. Add the ham and sausage to the pot and simmer a few minutes more. Season the soup with salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.

Serve with a generous drizzle of your best extra virgin olive oil in each bowl.

Cavolo Nero and Chickpea Soup

1/2 pound dried chickpeas, presoaked
2 small true bay leaves
2 small branches fresh thyme
2 1/2 ounces guanciale or pancetta or bacon, cut into lardons
olive oil as needed
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 or more cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound fresh tomatoes, peeled and pureed or about 2 cups tomato puree
1 pound Cavolo Nero kale, ribs removed and torn into bite size pieces
1 or more cups of diced roasted chicken (or leftover meat or poultry of your choice)
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil for drizzling

In a 5 quart pressure cooker, add water to cover the presoaked chickpeas by at least 2 inches. Add the bay leaves and whole thyme branches to the pot. Cover and bring up to high pressure, adjust the heat to maintain pressure and cook for 10 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally (let it sit off the heat).

While the chickpeas are cooking, saute the tasty salted pig parts in some olive oil over medium heat until they start to crisp. Add the onion and garlic and continue to cook until the onion is translucent. Add the tomato puree and cook a few minutes more. Add the kale and toss. Remove from the heat and set aside.

The chickpeas should be nearly tender, if not cook some more, under pressure a few more minutes or cover the cooker with the lid not locked in place. If the beans are old it may take much longer. For the next step the beans should be nearly tender but not falling apart.

Add the contents of the saute pan to the cooker, stir it in and add enough water to cover everthing generously but not so much that you can't bring the cooker up to pressure again. (I used at least 2 quarts of water in total but didn't measure so I can't specify). Lock lid in place and bring up to high pressure again, adjust the heat to maintain pressure and cook another 5 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally. The chickpeas should now be falling apart tender and the kale quite tender as well. Use a potato masher to mash the chickpeas to a chunky puree right in the cooker. Stir in the diced chicken. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a generous drizzle of your favorite olive oil (I used McEvoy's Olio Nuovo).

Vegetable Soup with Cranberry Beans and Italian Sausage

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 leek, sliced thin
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 large leaves Cavolo Nero, stems removed, coarsely chopped
8 ounces chard stems, sliced thin
8 ounces summer squash, diced
3 cups poultry broth
3 cups water
10 ounces fully cooked spicy Italian Sausage (Framani), sliced thin
1 pound tomatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups cooked cranberry beans with their cooking liquid
chopped basil
salt to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add the onion, leek, and garlic and sweat them a few minutes to soften. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring almost to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender. Taste for salt. Add chopped basil just before serving.
Makes a big pot!

Garden Vegetable Soup

So the soup started with sweet onions browned in a little pancetta fat (I can't bear to waste any yummy Boccalone stuff) a fresh bay leaf and a couple sprigs of fresh thyme. Then a huge clove of Tochliavri garlic, minced (yikes, I'm running out already). I chopped up the Spigariello and threw it into the pot and then a quart of good home made chicken broth. The tomates and eggplant, and a sweet red pepper picked previously were chopped and added. Added a few cups of water. Everything brought to a boil and then simmered for a bit.

Just before serving I sliced the snow peas and added them to the pot. Then some shredded duck confit and some brown jasmine rice that I had cooked on the side (1/2 cup rice to 1 1/2 cups water) went in. A touch of salt and fresh ground black pepper. To serve, sprinkle with some chopped basil and a drizzle of McEvoy's Olio Nuovo (get it now!). A complete meal in a bowl.