Iceberg to Arugula

At my house, soup isn’t something we generally eat much in the Summer. Especially since the mercury tends to splash the 100 degree mark a bit too casually around here. However, that said, I find it much easier to overlook a steamy bowl on a broiling day when the luscious perfume of basil is flirting with my nose.

This recipe starts as a pretty straightforward vegetable/bean soup, but becomes sublime with the addition of pesto just prior to serving. The heat of the soup helps amplify the spicy fragrance of the basil which adds significantly to the charm of this dish. The soup and pesto are easily made ahead of time, so it can be served quickly as a busy weekday dinner. I serve this soup with thick, chewy French bread, cheese and fresh fruit. A substitution of vegetable stock for the chicken makes this soup suitable for a simple Meatless Monday meal.

Soupe au Pistou

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 cup cannellini beans, rinsed

1/2 c. dry elbow pasta

1-2 tbsp olive oil

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced

1 small fennel bulb, trimmed, cored and diced.

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp Italian Seasoning

1/2 tsp pepper

Salt to taste

1 cup crushed tomatoes

1 recipe Basil Pesto (see below)

1. Add olive oil to a Dutch oven or heavy soup pot. Heat over  medium heat until hot and add carrots, onions, fennel, garlic and Italian seasoning. Stir to coat vegetables in the oil and herbs. Reduce heat to low, cover pot and allow to cook until vegetables are tender and translucent.

2. Add crushed tomatoes, beans, pepper and stock. Increase heat to high, bring soup to a boil and then down to a simmer.

3. Add 3 cups water to another pot, bring to a boil and add the pasta. Cook until al dente texture. Drain pasta and set aside until ready to add to soup.

4.  When vegetables are fork tender, remove soup from heat, gently stir in the pasta. Add salt to taste.

5. Portion soup into bowls and garnish each with 2-3 tsp basil pesto and a few toasted pine nuts if desired.

Makes 4 servings

Basic Basil Pesto

1/4c. Pine nuts, toasted

1/4 c. Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated, lightly packed

1/2 c. Olive oil

2c. Basil leaves, loosely packed

1-2 cloves Garlic (depending on how much you love garlic)

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Salt to taste

1. In a food processor bowl add pine nuts, basil, cheese and garlic. Pulse until coarsely combined.

2. With motor running, add olive oil in a thin stream through top feed spout. Add more oil if the resulting pesto is too thick.

3. Add pepper and salt to taste.

Makes about 1 cup

I love basil. Not in the same way I love my family…but close. Each Spring, I get my plants going either from starts or seeds and then spend the Summer using this gloriously spicy herb in everything from soups, sauces, compound butters, salads and anywhere else I crave it’s delicious pungency. Bright, lemony and peppery all at once, these silky, lush leaves deliver bite sized bursts of Summer wherever they are added.

A mainstay of many Summer herb gardens, basil is easy to find during the warm months. Look for it at your Farmers Market, in CSA boxes or better yet, your own back yard. Basil plants are happy in the ground or in pots if you don’t have much room. They love full hot sun as long as they get ample water in the morning.

If you’re growing your own plants, watch them carefully. In optimal conditions, if they get too happy, they’ll begin developing long stalks with buds that will eventually flower (see picture). Once this happens, that particular branch of the plant will no longer produce leaves, but flowers instead. Frankly, as cute (and edible) as the flowers are, they make crappy pesto.  Pinching off the flower buds as they develop will encourage the plant to make more leaves. Be aware that in the deepest heat of Summer, you may need to pinch back newly formed buds daily.

In historical lore, basil can mean very good things (love and affection) or very bad things (scorpions and evil spirits). My favorite bit of basil lore is the Eastern European tradition of a suitor presenting a sprig of basil to his love as a request for her hand in marriage. (Though as much as I adore basil, if it was my hand being asked for, there had better be a diamond chillin’ out somewhere on that sprig…)

While basil is frequently associated with Italian cooking, it’s actually thought to have originated in Asia where it shows up in many Asian soup and salad dishes (Pho anyone?). The foodie part of me can’t help but wonder if early Italian explorers encountering basil for the first time, tossed aside the silks and spices they were probably there for and broke out into a spontaneous happy dance after their first taste.

Arguably the best known use of basil in the West is in traditional basil pesto. It’s a simple recipe which makes it extremely important to use the very best ingredients you can afford. I prefer to use real Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and the best olive oil I can find. I’m partial to the deep green/gold California varieties (I’m liking Bariani and the UC Davis Silo blend oils the most right now.*)  There are MANY varieties of basil to choose from, but in my opinion, the Sweet or Genovese basil varieties tend to make the best pesto.

Once your pesto is made, it can be used in several delicious ways (see below for suggestions). Be sure to refrigerate and use it up within a week.

Basic Basil Pesto

1/4c. Pine nuts, toasted

1/4 c. Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated, lightly packed

1/2 c. Olive oil

2c. Basil leaves, loosely packed

1-2 cloves Garlic (depending on how much you love garlic)

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Salt to taste

1. In a food processor bowl add pine nuts, basil, cheese and garlic. Pulse until coarsely combined.

2. With motor running, add olive oil in a thin stream through top feed spout. Add more oil if the resulting pesto is too thick.

3. Add pepper and salt to taste.

Makes about 1 cup

Serving suggestions for Basil Pesto:

• Toss with freshly cooked pasta of any type.
• Mix some with mayonnaise or on its own for an incredible sandwich spread.
• Mix with ricotta cheese and add as a layer to lasagna.
• Mix some in with eggs to make a frittata base or unforgettable scrambled eggs.
• Add a dollop to a summer vegetable soup just before serving.
• Add 1 cup white beans, 2 tbsp pesto and 2 tbsp oil packed sundried tomatoes to a food processor and whirl until combined. Spread on bruschetta and top with a drizzle of olive oil, fresh sliced tomatoes and a grinding of fresh pepper.
• Fresh tomatoes and basil are magical together. Try sliced tomatoes slathered with a bit of pesto as a salad.

Pesto can be made ahead and frozen, just be sure to leave out the cheese, oil, salt and pepper until ready to prepare. Be sure to use within 3 months.

*No compensation was received for the mention of these products. I just really like them. Of course it probably helps that I live smack dab in the middle of Bariani olive country and UC Davis is my Alma Mater…….

I’m hungry.

Fortunately, I happen to be in my community garden which tends to inspire me come dinnertime. This evening, surveying the pretty pagoda like pepper plants, I notice some fairly rotund specimens begging to be picked. However, before doing so, I realize I’m faced with a big question.

Green or red?

Many peppers are considered immature and unripe in their green  stage, though we can eat them anyway. If left on the plant, they go on to mature to their final color: glossy red, orange, yellow or even purple. The mature peppers are generally sweeter with a more rounded and balanced flavor than in their green form.

Unfortunately, as I’m contemplating this question I notice I’m starting to salivate uncontrollably at the thought of Peperonata, a tender dish of sautéed or stewed sweet peppers. Since I think this dish is equally as good with green or ripe peppers, I excitedly snap 4 gorgeous specimens from their stems and hightail it home.

In addition to the ubiquitous bell peppers, there are Sweet Italian and Banana Peppers as well as some of the hotter Jalapeno and Thai varieties. The Italian sweets were responsible for bringing the Peperonata to mind. For dinner this evening, I selected a mix of bell peppers and Italian Sweets. The base recipe I use calls for thinly sliced sweet peppers (any color will do, though it looks best when multiple colors are used), thinly sliced sweet onion, olive oil, salt and black pepper. The vegetables are coated in the oil and cooked slowly over medium to medium high heat (without browning) until tender. Once done, peperonata can be used as a pizza topping, a sandwich filler (it’s fabulous in a hoagie roll with grilled sweet or hot turkey sausage) to top polenta or on it’s own as a vegetable accompaniment.

It also makes an incredible addition to eggs as in this recipe for a frittata. Along with a green salad and a wedge of good European style bread, this frittata makes a wonderful light lunch or dinner meal without heating the house up too much during these hot Summer months. 

Peperonata Frittata

2 sweet Italian or 1 bell pepper, sliced into thin (1/4”) strips

1 small sweet onion, sliced into thin (1/4”) strips

4 eggs, beaten slightly

1 tbsp chopped mixed herbs (basil, chives, parsley, marjoram)

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt, Freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp fresh grated parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Add oil to a 8-10 inch nonstick omelet pan or skillet.

2. Heat oil over medium high heat and add peppers and onions. Stir to coat all vegetables with the oil. Cook 10-15 minutes or until vegetables are very tender. Reduce heat if needed to prevent browning.

3. In a small bowl, crack eggs and add garlic, salt and pepper. Whip with a whisk until thoroughly blended.

4. When vegetables are tender, arrange them in an even layer on the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat down to medium and pour the egg mixture evenly over the peppers.

5. Run a heatproof rubber spatula, gently around the sides of the frittata to keep it from sticking to the pan. During cooking, gently pull the edges of the frittata away from the pan and tilt it slightly to allow any liquid egg on top to run underneath where it will cook when it contacts the pan directly. 

6. Briefly (30-60 seconds) cook the other side of the frittata to ensure doneness. You may flip the frittata in the pan or you may slide it onto a plate and transfer back (topside down) to the pan.

7. Slide frittata out of the pan and sprinkle with chopped fresh herbs and cheese if desired. Slice into wedges and serve immediately. 

Makes 2-3 servings.