A Beautiful Bowl of Soup (9 page)

Makes 12 cups (10 to 12 servings)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup finely chopped onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

5 cups vegetable stock

1 28-ounce can plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped, with juice

4 small red-skinned potatoes (about 10 ounces total), scrubbed and cut into ½-inch dice (about 2 cups)

2 cups chopped green beans in 2-inch lengths (about 8 ounces)

2 carrots, cut into ¼-inch slices

1 zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into ¼-inch slices

2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano, or 2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (see Tip)

3 ounces spaghetti (¾-inch bundle), broken into 2-inch pieces

1 6-ounce can tomato paste

¼ cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil, or 2 teaspoons dried basil

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste

˜ salt to taste

˜ thinly shaved Parmesan cheese for garnish

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and half of the minced garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the vegetable stock, tomatoes with juice, potatoes, green beans, carrots, zucchini, and oregano. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are almost tender, about 25 minutes.

Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Stir in the cannellini beans and spaghetti. Reduce the heat; cover and cook until the spaghetti is tender, about 12 minutes.

Stir together the tomato paste, parsley, basil, pepper, and the remaining minced garlic; whisk into the soup. Add about ½ cup of the soup liquid and stir until smooth. Gently stir this mixture into the soup. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Ladle into large soup bowls and garnish with Parmesan.

Prepare this soup up to the step of adding the cannellini beans and spaghetti; refrigerate in a covered container for up to 3 days. Just before serving, bring the soup to a boil, add the cannellini beans and spaghetti, and complete according to the recipe. Add more vegetable stock or water to thin as desired.

Substitute other beans, such as kidney beans, pinto beans, or navy beans, for the cannellini beans.

TIP

Cannellini beans are large white Italian kidney beans. In most supermarkets, they can be found either with the canned beans or with the Italian products.

At the table one never grows old.

—Italian proverb

Vegan recipe if cheese garnish is omitted; also depending on ingredients in bread (check package label)

Ribollita, a famous Tuscan dish whose name literally means “reboiled,” was originally made from leftover minestrone and day-old bread. Traditionally, the leftover soup is layered with thin slices of stale bread (or toasted bread rubbed with garlic), then simmered on the stove top or baked in the oven. This is truly comfort food, so thick you’ll want to eat it with a fork, and it makes a great no-fuss family dinner on a busy night.

Makes 7 cups (6 to 8 servings)

1 pound savoy (see Tip), black, or other cabbage, or a combination

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 onions, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced, plus 2 cloves for rubbing

3 plum tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped

3 celery stalks, finely chopped

3 carrots, finely chopped

6 cups vegetable stock

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme, or ¾ teaspoon dried thyme

1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

˜ salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

6
³
/
₈
-inch slices coarse salt-free Tuscan or other country bread (trim the crust only if it is very thick)

˜ extra-virgin olive oil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

The Italians use salt-free Tuscan bread, which is available at some artisan bakeries. Most important is to use a bread that actually goes stale, rather than one with preservatives. Don’t store the bread in plastic, where it may mold, but slice it, place it on a plate, and let it dry if necessary. Or toast it in the oven.

Recipes for ribollita vary from region to region, household to household. My friend Cynthia Myntti adapted this version from a recipe she learned while living in Siena. She recommends using more than one type of cabbage, including the traditional black cabbage, if available.

For a quicker variation of Tuscan bread soup, simply place 1 slice of stale or toasted bread in individual soup bowls and top with ladlefuls of Minestrone with White Beans.

Remove the hard stalks from the cabbage and discard. Coarsely slice the leaves; set aside.

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and minced garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cabbage, tomatoes, celery, and carrots; cover and cook until the vegetables are crisp-tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in 2 cups of the stock, the tomato paste, and thyme. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce
the heat; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Stir in the remaining 4 cups stock and the beans; cover and continue to cook for 1 hour. Season to taste.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350° F. Place the bread slices on a baking sheet. Lightly toast for about 5 minutes per side, or until dry throughout. While the bread is warm, rub one side of each slice with a garlic clove.

Place the bread slices, garlic-side up, in the bottom of a large bowl. Pour the soup over the toasts; let stand until completely cool.

Before serving, return the soup and toasted bread to the Dutch oven. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring as the bread breaks apart.

Spoon the soup into soup plates. Sprinkle each serving with pepper, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with cheese.

Prepare this soup, without adding the bread, and refrigerate in a covered container for up to 3 days. When reheating, add the bread and stir until it breaks apart. Add more vegetable stock or water to thin as desired.

TIP

Savoy cabbage’s crinkly, flexible green leaves grow in a loosely packed head. More tender than green cabbage and milder in flavor, its leaves are sweet, while the stems are slightly bitter. Savoy may be used interchangeably with green and red cabbage.

Food is never just something to eat.

—Margaret Visser

Vegan recipe if pumpkin is brushed with olive oil, not butter

Here’s the perfect excuse to bring together a group of friends. Begin a fall day with a trip to the farmers’ market, then prepare the bounty of the season and present the creation with style. Cornbread and red wine complete the fresh palette of brilliant colors and earthy flavors. If you like, garnish servings of the stew with roasted pumpkin seeds.

Makes 8 cups and pumpkin (6 to 8 servings)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1½ cups coarsely chopped onions

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 large tomatoes, cut into ½-inch dice

1 red bell pepper, seeded, deribbed, and coarsely chopped

1 russet potato (about 10 ounces), peeled and cut into ½-inch dice (about 2 cups)

1 orange-fleshed sweet potato (about 12 ounces), peeled and cut into ½-inch dice (about 2 cups)

1 cup dried apple slices

2 cups vegetable stock, plus more as needed

1 sugar (pie) pumpkin (8 to 10 pounds)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

˜ salt for sprinkling, plus ½ teaspoon

˜ freshly ground pepper for sprinkling, plus ½ teaspoon

1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

¼ cup dry sherry

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, bell pepper, potatoes, apples, and 2 cups vegetable stock. Increase the heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325° F. Lightly oil a shallow baking pan large enough to accommodate the pumpkin. Slice off the top of the pumpkin, leaving about a 6-inch opening, and discard. Scoop out the seeds and stringy membranes, leaving the pumpkin flesh intact; brush the inside and top edge with the melted butter and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Place the shell in the prepared baking pan.

Stir the stew and add the black beans, sherry, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Pour the mixture into the pumpkin shell. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the pumpkin flesh is fork tender. (Thicker pumpkins will take longer, up to 1½ hours.)

Carefully transfer the pumpkin to a large bowl. (Take special care, because the shell may be soft in places.) If the stew has become too thick to suit you, gently stir in some hot vegetable stock.

For each serving, use a large spoon to scoop out a wedge of cooked pumpkin; place in the bottom of a soup bowl. Top with the stew.

Cook this stew on the stove early the day it is to be served; refrigerate in a covered container. Bake it in the pumpkin just before serving. Refrigerate the leftover soup and baked pumpkin flesh scooped from the shell in separate covered containers for up to 5 days; discard the pumpkin shell.

TIPS

What is labeled a “yam” at the supermarket most likely is an orange sweet potato. These have a dark, uniformly colored brown skin, a shape that tapers on both ends, a bright orange flesh, and a sweet flavor when cooked. White sweet potatoes have a lighter, thinner skin, pale yellow flesh, and a less-sweet flavor. Store sweet potatoes in a cool, dry, dark, and well-ventilated place for up to 2 weeks; do not refrigerate.

The best cooking pumpkins are sugar, or pie, pumpkins, which were developed for pie making. Avoid field, or jack-o’-lantern, pumpkins for cooking; they are usually fibrous and flavorless. Fresh pumpkins are available in the fall and early winter; they will keep at room temperature for up to 1 month or in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

Vegan recipe

From the coastal areas of southern India, this aromatic and comforting stew is a family favorite of my friend and fellow cookbook author Raghavan Iyer. The dish represents the distinctive flavors of his homeland with plenty of coriander, cumin, and hot chilies.

Makes 6 cups (4 to 6 servings)

1 cup basmati rice

1½ cups water

˜ salt to taste

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 cup finely chopped onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 russet potato (about 10 ounces), peeled and cut into ½-inch dice (about 2 cups)

½ red bell pepper, seeded, deribbed, and coarsely chopped

1 14-ounce can “lite” coconut milk

1 cup water

1 15-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed

10 cups (about 10 ounces) stemmed and coarsely chopped fresh spinach

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

2 fresh serrano chilies, minced (about 4 teaspoons), or to taste

½ teaspoon salt, or to taste

˜ green onion curls for garnish

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Bring to a boil over high heat; stir once. Reduce the heat; cover and simmer until the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes, or according to package instructions. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for about 10 minutes.

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the coriander and cumin; stir for about 30 seconds. Add the potato and bell pepper; continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the coconut milk, water, chickpeas, and spinach. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat; cover and simmer until the potato is tender, about 5 minutes.

Stir in all the cilantro and chilies; cover and continue to simmer for 5 to 7 minutes to blend flavors. Season to taste.

To serve, fluff the rice with a fork. Spread a layer of rice in the bottom of shallow soup plates and top with the stew. Garnish with green onion curls.

Refrigerate this stew and the rice in separate covered containers for up to 3 days.

TIPS

True basmati rice, the famous aged aromatic rice, is grown in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains; less aromatic varieties are grown in the United States, primarily in the Southwest and California. In both brown and white forms, it has a nutlike fragrance and a delicate, almost-buttery flavor. Lower in starch than other long-grain rices, basmati rice grains cook up fluffy and separate. Store basmati rice in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 1 year.

Do not confuse canned unsweetened coconut milk with “cream of coconut,” used mainly for desserts and mixed drinks. Low-fat, or “lite,” coconut milk, available in Asian markets and some supermarkets, contains about half the calories and fat of regular coconut milk. To reduce the fat when using regular coconut milk, combine it with an equal amount of water. In both low-fat and regular products, the coconut fat naturally separates from the coconut milk; shake well before using.

To make green onion curls, slice the green parts of green onions very thinly lengthwise. Drop into a bowl of ice water; curls will form in 10 to 15 minutes.

No treasure is equal to rice.

—Indian proverb