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 know I’m not alone. Millions of women are out there just like me, juggling career, children and sanity on a daily basis. Yet, no matter how frenzied the day is, one thing is always true….there MUST be dinner.

In and amongst all the cooking I do, I have a few standby “go-to” recipes for busy evenings. To qualify as “go to”, recipes need to be tasty and pull together very quickly. Here’s one of my favorites: my own version of the Indian inspired Mulligatawny Soup. Simple, quick, slightly exotic and along with some warm bread (try Naan) and fresh fruit, deeply satisfying.

Mulligatawny Soup

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

1 tbsp olive oil

4 large carrots, peeled and sliced

1 large yellow onion, sliced

32 oz low sodium chicken stock

12 oz light coconut milk

1/2 cup long grain fragrant white rice (try Basmati)

1 1/4 cup water

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 tbsp curry powder

1/2 tbsp ground cumin

1/2 tbsp ground coriander

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Salt and Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 F

2. Place chicken in a lightly oiled oven proof dish, sprinkle on salt, pepper and cayenne. Place dish in oven for 30 minutes or until cooked through.

3. In a small pot, or rice cooker, add rice and water and cook until done and tender. Cover and hold until needed.

3. While the chicken and rice are cooking, add oil to a 3-5 quart pot, over medium high heat. Add onion and carrots, reduce heat to medium, cover and allow vegetables to soften slightly.

4. Add curry, coriander and cumin to vegetables and stir until coated.

5. Add chicken stock and coconut milk to vegetables. Increase heat back to medium high.

6. Cut cooked chicken into cubes and add to soup as well as the cooked rice.

7. Add cilantro and stir well. If soup is too thick, extra stock or coconut milk may be added.

8. Adjust flavors to taste with salt, pepper or more of the spices if desired.

Anyone have any “go to” recipes to share?

On any given day I can pratter on endlessly about certain foods: gelato that makes my taste buds pirouette in anticipation, stinky cheeses that stop just short of making me wince or plump, sweet blackberries just plucked from creek fed beds on a hot day.

Today? It’s lentils.

Lentils you say?? Aren’t those a bit uhm….boring in comparison? Allow me to backpedal a bit. I like beans and we eat them fairly frequently in our house in soups, dips and stews. Most of the time, I use the canned varieties for the sake of speed in pulling a meal together. However, I do find that beans cooked from the dried (or fresh) state tend to have better flavor and texture than the canned ones. However, dried beans need to be soaked for a time before using and even the quick soak method can be longer than I want to wait when I’m making dinner on a busy weeknight. (Though if you do happen to have the time check out the dry bean cooking tips over at Kitchen Therapy).

The lentil has something great going for it that beans don’t: they are the Speedy Petes of the legume world. From a nutrition standpoint, much like beans, lentils have a lot going for them. They’re loaded with folic acid and fiber (trust me, your heart LOVES that!)

There are several varieties of lentils, some of which are pictured above (red, French Green and brown). Like beans, lentils themselves have have a very mild flavor. The magic happens when they are cooked with other ingredients, they take on the flavors of the rest of the dish. Since they are small and lens shaped, they also contribute welcome texture to many dishes and in true speedy fashion, there is no soaking required. Just add them during the cooking process as you would pasta and cook until tender. Before using lentils, spread them out on a white dish towel or plate and remove any non-lentil interlopers such as tiny stones or other grains.

During the winter months, I like to keep my freezer stocked with hearty soups and stews to help get dinner on the table quickly during the week. This Lentil Soup is generally camping out somewhere near my Ben and Jerry’s stash. I like to serve this as a dinner entree with fresh fruit or salad and a really good loaf of bread with garlic spiked butter.

Lentil Soup

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

2 carrots, trimmed, peeled and sliced

2 ribs celery, trimmed and sliced

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

2 1/2 cups crushed tomatoes

2 tsp dried thyme

1 cup dry lentils (any kind will work)

4 cups low sodium beef or vegetable stock

1 smoked ham hock (optional)

1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

1. In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium heat and add onions, carrots, celery, garlic and thyme. Cover pot. Stir occasionally and if vegetables begin to turn brown, stir and reduce heat to medium-low.

2. When vegetables are tender, add tomatoes, stock, lentils and ham hock (if using)

3. Stir soup and turn heat up to high until soup is boiling, then reduce heat and simmer until lentils are tender, about 30-40 minutes.

4. Remove soup from heat and extract the ham hock if using. Cut as much meat from the ham hock as possible, cut into bite sized pieces and add back to the soup.

5. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir in Balsamic vinegar.

Makes about 8 cups. Freezes well (use within 3 months).