Tag Archives: soup

Spicy Tomato Soup

Posted on January 19, 2012 by | 13 Comments

Was one of my New Year’s Resolutions to post more frequently?  No–phew-that was Karen.  Because I’m not off to a good start.  And what’s more, I’m posting about something I made w-a-y back last year (which, to be fair, was only a few weeks ago, but why not play it up for dramatic effect).

We were down in DC for Christmas, at my husband’s parents’ house.  My sister-in-law’s copy of Boston restauranteur Barbara Lynch’s cookbook Stir  has taken up semi-permanent residence in their house thanks to her currently reduced kitchen space.  For me this works out well since it means I get a chance to have a good look at it while I am down there.  (Yes, I go to other people’s houses and read their cookbooks.  Is that weird? It’s better than raiding the medicine cabinet).  

My mother-in-law has the typical list on the fridge, except it’s not quite what you’d expect:  rather than writing down the things that need to be picked up on the next trip to the grocery store, it’s a list entitled, things we have too much of.  A “do not buy” list.  You see, my father in law likes to stock up on those staples that don’t go bad, so there are always plenty of dried beans, boxes of pasta, and 28-ounce cans of plum tomatoes.

Canned tomatoes on the do-not-buy list.  Spicy tomato soup in in-law’s cookbook.  In need of a light meal after Christmas excess.  Bingo!

Spicy Tomato Soup (4 of 4)

There are many things that are fantastic about this soup.  First, it’s tremendously pantry-friendly (I suppose that goes without saying) and easy to pull together.  Onions, canned tomatoes, olive oil, and seasonings.  I used dried oregano instead of fresh basil, and in a soup like this it worked just perfectly, as the slow gentle simmer allows the herbs plenty of time to release their flavor into the liquid.

Not only that, it’s a real two-fer.  After you puree and strain the soup, you can save the leftover pulp to make a fiery bruschetta spread for crusty bread or (as Barbara Lynch suggests) even use it to top roasted eggplant.

Spicy Tomato Soup (3 of 4)

It’s a delicious soup that manages to be elegant yet homey at the same time.  And thanks to the red pepper flakes, it’s also peppy. And I was almost surprised by how much I liked it:  sometimes tomato soups can be a little too sweet.  I don’t know if it’s the onions or the hot pepper that tones this down, or both, but the flavors are perfectly calibrated.  It’s a real treat to enjoy vibrant tomato flavor in the middle of winter.  A nice dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream on top doesn’t hurt either.

Spicy Tomato Soup (2 of 4)

And now my father-in-law can buy more canned tomatoes.

Spicy Tomato Soup adapted from Stir: Mixing It Up in the Italian Tradition by Barbara Lynch, original recipe also available on www.chow.com or with a video of Lynch demonstrating here.

Although we did not make the grilled cheese sandwich to go along with the soup, enjoying instead some gruyere and cured meats, you can find the recipe here.  I’ll definitely be trying it soon–the method looks so easy and straightforward.

If you’re wavering on how much red pepper to use, I’ll let you know that I used 1 1/2 teaspoons–and while I loved it, I’ll just say I definitely won’t be adding more in the future.

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 small yellow onion, peeled, halved, and sliced into 1/4-inch-thick slices
  • 1 t dried oregano
  • 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
  • 2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes (preferably Italian plum tomatoes)
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Crème fraîche or sour cream for garnish

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until hot. Add the onions red pepper flakes, and oregano and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft, about 10 minutes.

Pour in the tomatoes, including the juices, and the water.  Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the flavors have melded, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, remove from the heat, and let cool briefly, about 5 minutes.

Balance a fine-mesh strainer over a large, heatproof bowl. In a blender, purée the soup in batches until smooth.  (If using a blender, remove the pour lid from teh center of the lid and cover with a kitchen towel–this will allow steam to escape from the hot soup so the pour lid doesn’t pop off).  Pour the blended soup through the strainer, pressing the liquid out of the pulp.  Reserve this pulp to use to top bread or as a condiment.  Taste the soup and season with additional salt and pepper as needed.

When you strain, a few tips:  it’s easier to do so strain in batches.  Holding the strainer that is increasingly weighed down by pulp gets heavy fast.  You can of course balance it over the bowl, but when that bowl is so full of strained soup that the base of your strainer is immersed in it, it’s time to remove it to another bowl or you’re not going to get anywhere.  Finally, if you stir the soup in the strainer, it helps push the liquid through more quickly, then press the pulp when most of the liquid is through to get out the last bits.

Return the soup to the saucepan and reheat on medium low until hot.  (Beware of reheating purees other than gently–it will look and act like molten lava).  A dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche makes a nice garnish.

Spicy Tomato Soup (1 of 4)

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Roasted Red Pepper & Sundried Tomato Black Bean Soup

Posted on November 30, 2011 by | 13 Comments

Of the eight or nine vegetarian cookbooks on my shelf, each probably has at least one black bean soup recipe.  And yet, I still decided to go it alone on this one.  I just have not been satisfied and while walking through the aisles of Safeway (yes, Safeway, I shop there and it’s not always organic), I just started throwing things in my cart that I thought would be good for soup:

Ingredients:

  • onion
  • roasted red peppers
  • sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
  • 4 cans of black beans
  • vegetable stock

My thought was that all of these had such delicious flavors, they could mold into something tasty without a lot of extra effort.  This is beginning to sound like an intro of “the 5 ingredient cookbook” or even a plug for “Semi-Homemade” but sometimes shortcuts are there for a reason and sometimes you can go overboard overseasoning.

My first thought was to retain all the savory and flavorful oil from the sun-dried tomatoes.  I drained off the liquid and used that to sautee my onions.

It’s still just olive oil after all, and if I needed more to prevent sticking I had plenty of the regular stuff on hand.  I chopped up the tomatoes as well as the roasted red peppers (I drained those off first – disposing of the reddish, less flavorful water).  I let all of that cook for about 5 to 8 minutes, adding some minced garlic too.  I love garlic so I’d estimate it was nearly 6 large cloves.  After draining the cans of beans, those also went in along with the vegetable stock (approximately 4 cups).

I brought it all to a boil and then reduced the heat to a simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes.  That seems to be what most recipes call for, so I thought I’d try that.  Everything is essentially cooked so it’s a matter of letting the flavors get to know each other.  Because I like the creaminess of soups, I decided to blend up about half into a liquid.  This was also a good way to blend the flavors together even more.

There were still a few good bits of tomatoes and black beans, surrounded by the creaminess – just the way I like it.  Sadly, there was little on hand for the “food styling” portion, but you get the idea.

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Potato Leek Soup

Posted on September 23, 2011 by | 10 Comments

Today  is officially the first day of fall.  And for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s undeniable. The weather is turning, the bright scarlets of tomatoes and blushing peaches are winding down and will soon yield to rust-colored leaves and orange pumpkins. That first time I feel the cool in the air is always a bit of a shock and a real reminder of the impending shift in seasons.

I can’t say I don’t mourn the end of summer, but the colder months have their own charms for those of us who like to keep the skillets going and the oven warm. A piping hot stew or a steaming soup is all the more comforting and nourishing it seems, when there’s a nip in the air.

Here’s just such a homey comforting dish: classic leek and potato soup that can take you through fall and into winter.  Don’t let its soothing creamy texture fool you–there’s a heat that builds at the finish, thanks to a generous pinch of cayenne pepper.

Because this is such a simple soup, with only a few ingredients, you’ll want to use the best stock you have — make your own, or try to use a good-quality store-bought alternative.

3-4 medium potatoes

  • 3-4 leeks (light green and white parts only).
  • 2-3T butter
  • 4 cups stock
  • salt and pepper
  • 1/2t cayenne (or to taste)
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • fresh parsley for garnish
Trim the leeks of their dark green parts, then slice down the center lengthwise, almost as if you are cutting each leek in half, but leaving it connected at the root end. Fan the cut ends out and rinse under running water–this will wash off any dirt that has worked its way between the layers. Chop the leeks into 1/2 inch (0.75cm) pieces.

Peel and chop the potatoes into 1/2 inch (0.75cm) pieces.

Melt the butter in a deep soup pot. Add the leeks and saute until they are soft over medium heat. Add the potatoes, stock, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Allow to cook until soft, about 15-20 minutes. (The smaller you cut your leek and potatoes, the more quickly they will reach this state).

Remove from heat and puree in batches in a blender or using an immersion blender or food mill. (If you don’t have any of these tools, it is still delicious to serve as a chunky soup in a flavorful broth).

Add the cayenne and nutmeg. Taste to adjust the seasonings to your liking, and garnish with parsley.

This post originally appeared on Honest Cooking.

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Harira Soup

Posted on March 11, 2010 by | 2 Comments

David Tanis’s A Platter of Figs is one of my favorite cookbooks.  I love the simple but completely original mediterranean-themed food, the organization of the book by seasons, the pre-set menus with each recipe strong enough to stand on its own, and the emphasis on hospitality that runs throughout.  Absolutely one of my favorite cookbooks.

Everything I’ve made so far–from mustard rabbit to ricotta-tomato crostini–has been an unqualified success.  And now, harira soup (made with lamb stew meat picked up at Drumlin Farm).  Delicious.  Also, typical humble food–this recipe stretches a pound of inexpensive meat into a soup that can serve 8-10 people.  (In our case, several lunches and frozen meals for the future).

Sauteeing the meat and spices (saffron, turmeric, ground chile, cinnamon, ginger, pepper).

Simmering the soup, thickened with a slurry of flour and water.

No soup stock needed, just water.  I always worry about a bland soup when no stock is used, but here there is no lack of flavor.  A pound of stewing meat, rounded out by lentils and beans (I used garbanzos rather than the recommended dried favas).  Perfect comfort food, satisfying, flavorful.  I only wish that I’d had some preserved lemons on hand for the finishing touch.

Harira Soup (adapted from David Tanis’ A Platter of Figs)

  • 2T olive oil
  • 1 lb stewing lamb cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 2 large onions, finely chopped
  • 1/2t crumbled saffron
  • 1t ginger
  • 1t cinnamon
  • 1t turmeric
  • 1t pepper
  • 2t powdered hot chile
  • 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1c dried garbanzos, soaked overnight
  • 1c red lentils
  • 12 c water
  • salt
  • one 28 ounce can tomatoes (or 6 fresh)
  • 1/4c dried parsley (1 c fresh)
  • 1/4c dried cilantro (1c fresh)
  • 1/3c all-purpose flour
  • lemon

Heat the oil and brown the meat.  Add the onion and cook until translucent.  Add the saffron, ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, pepper, ground chile, and garlic, and cook for two minutes.  Add the beans, lentils, and 11c of water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for an hour and a half.   Add the drained canned tomatoes, parsley, and cilantro.  Puree half of the soup and return to the pot.  Simmer for another half hour (or longer).  The soup should cook for a minimum of two hours, but is enhanced by longer cooking.  About ten minutes before serving, whisk the flour into the remaining cup of water, and then stir into the soup.  Simmer for another ten minutes to allow the flour-water mixture to thicken the broth.  Serve garnished with lemon and cilantro (if using fresh).

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Pork Liver Part 2: Liver Dumpling Soup

Posted on April 21, 2009 by | 2 Comments

That title is making your mouth water isn’t it?  Just the word liver seems to cast a pallor over the whole recipe (though ‘dumpling’ probably doesn’t sound all that exciting either, at least where it’s clear we’re not talking about the sweet variety).  As I mentioned in my last post, I had a half pound of pork liver left over.  While I was sort of maxed out on liver, courtesy of the pate itself, I also didn’t want to waste the rest of it.  (The liver, by the way, was rather inexpensive, especially for “grass fed” and so forth, but that’s not the point). 

I found a recipe for liver dumpling soup in The New York Times Cookbook and thought that might be a good use of it but decided to look online as well.  I kept coming up with search results giving me pate recipes–but finally found another version of the liver dumpling soup.  Especially since this one had a nice Czech subtitle, (Hovezi Polevka s Nudlemi a Jatrovymi Knedlicky) I figured this was what was ordained for that second half pound of liver.  I have, after all, had this soup plenty of times (though I remember it best from Vienna–but then it’s part of that whole Central European cuisine that has lots of similarities across the once-Habsburg lands).  In afct, this recipe was posted on Saveur which (having bought it from time to time) seems pretty gourmet, not something I’d associate with liver meatballs!

Very easy.  You just puree the liver with the seasonings and drop them by spoonfuls into simmering broth.  I used chicken broth instead of beef (because I had it, and it was about to expire) and made much smaller dumplings than suggested (the recipe only called for six to be made–those would be seriously massive dumplings!)  We also used egg fettucine rather than angel hair pasta, again, because that’s what we had on hand, and it was a really great substitution.  The broth itself turned out to be quite flavorful, thanks to the dumplings lending some richness to the cooking liquid.  I know you don’t want to believe me on this, but the soup is really good.  And inexpensive.  I know, it’s liver, but so is foie gras (and all sorts of other fancy French concoctions, such as, oh I don’t know, pate maison?) and while I suppose some people don’t like the idea of eating fattened duck or goose liver, noone says, “what am I, chopped foie gras?” 

Liver mix, pureed and ready for the soup: mmm!!!!

Liver mix, pureed and ready for the soup: mmm!

Tasty little dumplings! (I'm serious!)

Tasty little dumplings! (I'm serious!)

Keeping with the Central European theme, I also made cucumber yogurt salad with dill.  Perfect way to get some vegetables into the dinner as well.  As a first step, you slice and salt the cucumbers over a colander.  It really is amazing how much water they release.  I think you need to leave it for at least a half hour but longer is certainly better–you’ll see what I mean by observing how much water collects (we set the colander over a plate).  Then you need to rinse the cucumber slices before mixing in yogurt (my recipe called for 1 cup per cucumber but I halved that), dill, and minced garlic.  And you need to rinse them well.  This is where I stumbled–such a seemingly easy instruction to follow as well.  Unless you are looking for something approximating the flavor of a cucumber-infused salt lick, make sure to wash all that salt off.  As you are probably guessing, there were no vegetables served with dinner after all.  Oh well.  At least I used up the liver, right?

Well, at least it looks right.

Well, at least it looks right.

Czech Liver Dumpling Soup (adapted from Saveur)

  • 1/2 lb. pork liver, cut into chunks
  • 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
  • 3/4 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 1/4 tsp. fresh marjoram, finely chopped
  • 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper, plus more to taste
  • 6 cups beef broth
  • 4 oz. angel hair pasta, broken into thirds

Grind pork liver until smooth in a  small food processor, about 10 seconds. Add butter and egg. Pulse to combine. Transfer the pork mixture to a medium bowl. With a rubber spatula, mix in the garlic, bread crumbs, salt, marjoram, and pepper until well combined. Refrigerate the pork mixture for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring the broth to a boil over high heat in a large saucepan. Adjust the heat so that the broth simmers. Using a soup spoon, scoop out 1 heaping portion of liver mixture from the bowl. Using a second spoon, scrape liver mixture into broth, forming an oval-shaped dumpling. Continue to use up all the pork mixture, making 5 more equal-size portions. Cook the pork dumplings in the simmering broth, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add pasta. Continue simmering, stirring occasionally, until the dumplings are cooked through and the pasta is soft, about 15 minutes. Season with more salt and pepper if necessary and ladle soup into 6 small bowls.

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Yellow Eye Bean Soup

Posted on April 5, 2009 by | 1 Comment

A little while ago I placed a big order at Rancho Gordo Beans.  I heard about them by posting on Chow to ask where a good place was to get the more unusual types of beans.  Since then I’ve seen Rancho Gordo everywhere:  the founder has as a new cookbook and has been making the rounds on the media circuit–which is in fact where this recipe comes from, from a feature in the New York Times magazine.

Here’s a close-up of the cooked beans. 

Yellow eye beans

Yellow eye beans

Right now they are not available on the website, but a whole host of new beans are–I have a feeling they probably rotate types of beans pretty often–after all, there are thousands of heirloom varieties!  You can see pretty quickly where the name “yellow eye” came from.  But look also how robust they look:  unlike most dried beans, there’s no mushiness or falling apart.  That’s because they are so fresh, I imagine–funny to think about, but dried beans can have varying levels of freshness too.  Once you do bite in, they seem to pop in your mouth and then its delicious and creamy.  Cooking the beans has a delicious dividend–they make a lovely broth.  You use the cooking liquid as the stock in this recipe and it’s absolutely delicious.  The soup is light but filling and very fresh tasting (and hey Karen–it’s vegan!).  The recipe is nothing too unusual–a basic vegetable base, so it’s really the beans that make this something truly special.  Another reason I love these beans?  Little E is crazy about them!!!  I used up all my beans in this recipe, and I have to make it through several other types of Rancho Gordo beans (tepary, Indian woman, cranberry, Christmas lima, borlotti, etc) before I order more, but I will definitely be getting these guys again.

A tasty soup

A tasty soup

And as a final note:  the most interesting thing I heard coming out of Steve Sando’s media junket was that you can even plant one of the beans and it will grow into a bean plant.  Of course, I knew that in theory, that’s where beans come from, but it’s still pretty fun to think about!

Yellow Eye Bean Soup (adapted from the New York Times)

  • 3 cups yellow eye or yellow Indian woman beans, soaked 4 to 6 hours if possible
  • 1 carrot
  • 2 ribs celery, halved
  • 1 onion, quartered
  • 1 head garlic, halved across the equator
  • Stems from 1 bunch Italian parsley, (tied in a cheesecloth sachet if you have it)
  • 2 tablespoons (kosher) salt
  • 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

For the soup:

  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 3 large carrots, peeled and diced
  • 5 ribs celery, diced
  • 2 leeks, white and light green parts only, diced
  • 1 head garlic, cloves peeled and finely grated
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons red chili flakes, plus more to taste
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary or 2t dried
  • 1 cup canned tomatoes, drained and chopped (if whole)
  • 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley

1. Prepare the beans: Drain the beans and place them in a large pot. Add 3 quarts cold water, the carrot, celery, onion, garlic and parsley stem sachet. Bring to a boil, skimming off any foam that rises to the top. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook until the beans are soft and creamy, but not falling apart. (Start checking after 25 minutes; the fresher the beans and the longer the soak, the shorter the cooking time.) Add the salt, pepper and olive oil. Discard the sachet and vegetables. Let the beans cool in the liquid. 

2. Prepare the soup: Pour the olive oil into a large pot set over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, leeks, garlic, chili and rosemary. Cook until the rawness of the vegetables is just gone and the colors brighten, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook until slightly caramelized, about 3 minutes more. Add the beans and their cooking liquid, bring to a boil and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Just before serving, add the parsley.

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Weekend guests

Posted on February 3, 2009 by | 6 Comments

Our good friends Cate and Eric came up from NY for the weekend.  I immediately thought this would be the perfect occasion to use the turkey stock I had made from Christmas as well as try out some new recipes.  (Despite what they say about how you should never cook something for guests you haven’t made before, I generally see guests as an occasion to try something a little more interesting than normal.  Granted, it’s not as if soup is particularly risky).

At Christmas I decided to make the roast turkey stock (“jus roti”) as described in Mark Bittman’s The Minimalist Cooks at Home.  While this is a pretty compact volume, it was the first time I had ever heard of Mark Bittman (I sort of appropriated it from my husband/then fiance).  I made a lot of recipes out of it during the summer after law school and quickly became a Bittman devotee.  (My favorite thing about Bittman is the way he presents a recipe as a “base” and then explains how you can just tweak it for a totally different result.  I think it really teaches you a lot about cooking and can help you to become more confident in the kitchen).  The idea is you roast the leftover bones and meat from the turkey for a few hours which caramelizes, and then you simmer for an hour to make stock.  I have to say I was a bit uncertain–I feared it would taste burnt rather than “rich” and “complex.”  Because making turkey stock is pretty rare, I decided to try to make a relatively simple recipe.  It started as a hodgepodge of a few recipes, but basically I ended up adding some turkey thigh pieces, fennel, onion, celery, and carrot, and white wine and pasta.  I sauteed the vegetables and the turkey meat and “deglazed” with wine before adding the stock.  (The stock was frozen from Christmas; it was not hanging around in the fridge all that time!)

I am happy to say it turned out really well.  My husband commented on how much the homemade stock really adds, and I agreed.  I have made stock before when we lived in London (a friend of mine commented that the freezer was a morgue after spotting the stash of frozen chicken backs) but I don’t remember it being so markedly better than good quality stock.  Perhaps it was the pre-roasting that Bittman suggests, or perhaps those just didn’t turn out so well (too much water?  who knows).

For dessert, I made a featured recipe from this month’s issue highlighting the Ottolenghi cookbook.  Ottolenghi is an amazing, super-cool, super-elegant ”deli” in London that I really miss–I hesitate to say deli because it has such a sophisticated vibe, but you do order by weight and all the foods are beautifully piled onto massive platters.  The food display actually is what draws you in (at least, it did for me)–gorgeous stacks of giant meringues drizzled with candy colors, cakes, beautiful Mediterranean salads.  I’ll just direct you to the website, but as you can tell I am seriously tempted to buy their new cookbook, despite the fact that I have plenty.

After that intro, I’ll get to the cake:  supposedly one of their most popular (somehow I never had it there!) and rightly so, their orange polenta cake (click to  link to the recipe).  I would normally not be all that attracted to a citrus cake recipe but you won’t be surprised that I made an exception.  Actually it should be called a orange almond polenta cake, as there are 2 cups of ground almonds in the recipe.  (I was unable to find ground almonds so ran some through the food processor.  I think technically it’s supposed to be better to freshly grind nuts anyway, but I wouldn’t have done it if I could have found ground almonds.  That said, it’s not actually that hard.  The food processor does the work after all).  I didn’t really read the recipe before stating and was a bit dismayed to see I had to make caramel to coat the bottom of the pan as a first step.  I have made caramel once before, for a flan I attempted in high school.   I learned that hot caramel is REALLY hot and had some pretty nasty blisters as a souvenir of the experience.  This cake recipe has you melt the sugar in water (which I distinctly recall was not used in my flan recipe, I wonder if that was the problem–I just remember the molten caramel seemed to be jumping out of the saucepan to attack me, but that was a longer time ago than I care to remember).  Once it is a rich amber color you are to quickly pour into the cake pan and swirl to cover the base.  I didn’t do the best job on that last step, but I came away uninjured which is good enough for me.  You then place the sliced skinned oranges on the caramel, and then add the cake batter (which is almost like a paste).  The cake slipped right out of the pan after cooking and here’s the end result.  A great dessert to enjoy with some great friends!

You can see the batter to the left of the cake pan.

Oranges arranged on caramel. You can catch a glimpse of the thick batter-paste to the left.

ready for its close-up.

Orange Polenta Cake: ready for its close-up.

 

Orange Polenta Cake (from Ottolenghi the Cookbook, published in Gourmet)

Serves 6 to 8
 
Caramel Orange Layer
  • 1/2 cup superfine granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits
  • 2 navel oranges 

Cake

  • 1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup superfine granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons orange-flower water
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups ground almonds (7 oz)
  • 2/3 cup quick-cooking polenta

Glaze

  • 1/4 cup orange marmalade
  • 1 tablespoon water

Make Caramel Orange Layer

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Lightly butter a 9-inch round cake pan, then line bottom with a round of parchment paper and side with a strip of parchment.  Bring sugar and water to a boil in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved, then wash down any sugar crystals from side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. Boil, without stirring, swirling pan occasionally so caramel colors evenly, until dark amber.

Remove from heat and add butter, swirling pan until incorporated, then carefully but quickly pour caramel into cake pan, tilting it to coat evenly.  Grate zest from oranges and reserve for cake. Cut remaining peel, including white pith, from both oranges with a paring knife. Cut oranges crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Remove any seeds and arrange slices in 1 layer over caramel.

Make Cake

Beat butter with sugar using an electric mixer until just combined. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in orange-flower water and reserved zest.  Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With mixer at low speed, mix almonds, polenta, and flour mixture into egg mixture until just combined.  Spread batter evenly over oranges (preferably with an offset spatula). Bake until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Cool in pan 5 minutes. Invert cake onto a cake plate and discard parchment.

Glaze Cake

Heat marmalade with water in a small saucepan until melted. Strain through a sieve into a small bowl. Brush top of cake with some of glaze. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Note:  Cake, without glaze, can be made 1 day ahead and kept, wrapped well, at room temperature. Glaze before serving.

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Super Easy Minestrone Soup

Posted on January 25, 2009 by | Leave a comment

So, if you hadn’t noticed already, my posts tend to be more on the generic, Rachel Ray, side whereas some others appear to be from Gourmet.  This recipe is no exception.  I made this minestrone soup this weekend to take to the family with the new addition (paired with brownies, natch!).  I had a hankering for Minestrone — not quite sure why, maybe there were just too many Olive Garden commercials on cable (“when you’re here, you’re family”…).  Also, almost any soup, it’s easy to play with the recipe to make as much or as little as you want.  I like to make big pots of soup on the weekend which I then eat throughout the week during lunch.  This time, I filled the big ol’ pot, split some for the family, and still had plenty to last me for a week.

Ingredients:

2 small onions, chopped

4-6 cloves of garlic, minced

3-4 carrots, chopped

2 zucchinis, chopped

3 cans (14.5 oz each) of diced tomatoes with basil and oregano

1 tsp of basil

pinch of salt

6 cups of vegetable broth

2 cups of frozen green beans

3 cans of white cannelloni beans

2 cups of cooked pasta

So, let’s be brief:

1.  saute the onions and garlic for 4-5 minutes and then add spices, carrots, and zucchini and cook until they are soft, another 4-6 minutes

2.  Add broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes, uncovered. 

3.  Add green beans, allowing them to simmer for about 8 minutes, covered. 

3.  Cook pasta separately, according to directions, drain and add to soup along with drained and rinsed cannelloni beans.   Cook, on a low simmer, another 5 or 6 minutes until it has heated throughout.

Mom, you might recognize this version!

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