A SUPER HEALTHY SOUP

Posted in Soups, Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by sallybr

It seems that every year, right when I get all excited that the cold weather is gone for good, a few chilly nights pop up to say hello. Chilly as 50F! For a Brazilian, it’s the dreadful boundary between life and death. So, faced with such adverse circumstances, I made soup. Complete improvisation from a few ingredients I had laying around in the fridge and the pantry. I felt incredibly energized after dinner, and even won a wrestling match with Oscar! It must have been the spinach. 😉

ZUCCHINI SPINACH SOUP
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

1 Tbs olive oil
1 stalk of leek, finely sliced (white part only)
3 zucchinis, medium size, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/4 to 1/3 cup of canned white beans
4 cups vegetable stock or water (plus more if needed)
1 to 2 cups baby spinach leaves
salt and pepper
freshly squeezed lemon juice
low fat yogurt to taste for serving

Heat the olive oil and saute the sliced leeks, allow them to get golden. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Add the zucchini, cook the slices for a few minutes, stirring every once in a while, until they get a bit of color in some spots. Add the white beans, cook for a couple of minutes, add the vegetable stock (or water), bring the whole thing to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook, covered, until the zucchini is tender (20 minutes).

Add the spinach, cook until the leaves are just wilted. Puree the soup in a food processor, blender, or with an immersion blender until the consistency you like. If too thick, add more water or vegetable broth. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, sprinkle lemon juice, and keep warm until serving.

Pour some into a bowl, and add a dollop of yogurt seasoned with a pinch of salt and pepper.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

All amounts for this soup are quite flexible. The spinach, added at the very end, gives it a nice bright green color, and a strong herbal flavor, so add as little or as much as your palate appreciates. I used an immersion blender because I like my soup to be a bit chunky and find that with other methods it’s harder to control the texture. But, if you prefer a smoother soup, use a blender. The beans made it creamy without the addition of any fat, and also turned it into a more substantial soup. A thick slice of rustic bread was all we needed.

A final note: if you are in a daring mood, add a splash of Sriracha to the yogurt. Takes the soup to a whole other level… 😉

ONE YEAR AGO: Cinco de Mayo Dinner Celebration

TWO YEARS AGO: Thom Leonard’s Country French Bread

13Apr2012

SPRINGTIME SPINACH RISOTTO

Posted in Rice and Grains by sallybr

Because there’s no such thing as too many risotto recipes, I share with you this version, made more special because I used spinach freshly harvested by our friends and neighbors (the ones with the green thumb). I took one small shortcut by using a frozen bag of peas and carrots. We always have those in the freezer because they are handy additions to rice, pasta, and soups. And I wanted a bit of orange color to add contrast to the dish.

SPRINGTIME SPINACH RISOTTO
(inspired by Martha Stewart‘s Everyday Food)

.
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
salt and ground pepper
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
10 ounces of spinach, finely chopped
8 ounces frozen carrots and peas, thawed
1 tablespoon butter

Combine chicken broth and water in a saucepan, bring to a boil and keep at a low simmer (you may not need to use the full amount of liquid). In a medium saucepan, preferably wide and with round edges, heat the olive oil and add the minced shallot. Season with salt and pepper, cook until soft and translucent. Add the rice, and cook until it starts to get a little color, about 4 minutes, stirring constantly so the grains don’t stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. Add wine; cook, stirring, until absorbed, about 2 minutes. Add 2 big ladles of hot chicken broth, and cook until absorbed, stirring occasionally. Continue adding broth mixture, 1 cup at a time, waiting for liquid to be absorbed before adding more, stirring occasionally, until rice is just tender and creamy with a little liquid remaining in the pan, about 25 minutes. Stir in the spinach, peas, carrots, and finish with the butter. Adjust seasoning if needed.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

This risotto could be a meal in itself, but we enjoyed it with grilled boneless chicken breasts. We do like some meat with our dinner, even if risotto-purists disagree. I thought about making risotto cakes with the leftovers, but ran out of gas and simply re-warmed it in the microwave. Not a real risotto anymore, but still a pretty tasty side dish! 😉

I used frozen peas and carrots for this recipe, but would not use frozen spinach – you need the texture of the fresh leaves that get barely cooked in the final moments of the preparation. A squeeze of lemon juice, and a dusting with lemon zest would not hurt it either…

ONE YEAR AGO: The end of green bean cruelty

TWO YEARS AGO: Torta di Limone e Mandorle

3Nov2011

A SOUP WITH MEMORIES OF LOS ANGELES

Posted in Pasta & Noodles, Soups by sallybr

During our sabbatical year at UCLA, we often went to a restaurant in our street, Beverly Glen Blvd, right at its junction with Mulholland Drive. It was a small Italian restaurant called Fabrocini’s, almost hidden in a little corner, but always packed with folks from the neighborhood. The restaurant is affordable (for L.A. standards, that is), has an extensive menu, and the moment you sit at the table the waiter greets you with a small bowl of their focaccia. Interestingly, each time we went there, the focaccia was just a little different, as if the baker loved to improvise. We were obviously hooked!

One evening I was not very hungry and ordered a small bowl of their stracciatella soup for my dinner. From the first spoonful, I was equally hooked. Their version had spinach and a little pasta added to the basic egg-drop preparation, in a light and delicious broth. I loved it so much that before we left L.A. I wrote an email asking for the recipe, but they never even replied to it… 😦 Undeterred, I went on my own quest to make it at home, and finally found a good version on a Food and Wine magazine.

SPINACH STRACCIATELLA SOUP
(adapted from Food and Wine magazine)

1 cup tubetti, ditalini or other small pasta
1 quart chicken stock, preferably home made (recipe follows)
1 garlic clove, cut in 4 pieces
3- 4 ounces baby spinach
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Cook the pasta in a pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain well.

In a saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a simmer with the garlic; simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the garlic using a slotted spoon, add the pasta and spinach and cook over medium heat until the spinach wilts. Season with salt and pepper. Gently stir in the eggs, breaking them into long strands. Simmer the soup until the eggs are just firm, about 1 minute. Stir in the Parmigiano cheese. Ladle the soup into bowls, and serve with additional cheese grated on top.

to print the recipe, click here

ONE HOUR CHICKEN STOCK
(adapted from Mark Bittman, and other sources)

8 – 10 chicken wings
10 cups water
1 onion, cut in half
4 whole cloves
6 black peppercorns
4 green onions, cut in half
1 piece of ginger (1/2 inch thick)
1 bay leaf

Stuck 2 cloves into each onion half, add all ingredients to a large stock pot, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and cook, uncovered for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove the layer of foam that eventually floats to the surface during the initial stage of cooking, using a slotted spoon.

Drain the stock, discard all vegetables and meat. Let it cool slightly, refrigerate, and remove the congealed fat from the surface before using. Freeze 1 or 2 cup aliquots. Season with salt and appropriate spices when using for soups, risottos, or sauces.

to print this recipe, click here

The beginning…..

Almost at the end of cooking….

The reward… Liquid culinary gold!

I am no food snob, in the sense that I use store-bought chicken stock on a regular basis. However, for this soup to be really special, I went the extra mile and made my own. I’ve made many types of chicken stock in the past, using chicken bones, or a whole chicken. But once I found this shortcut version at Bittman’s book “From Simple to Spectacular,” I adapted it to my taste and it’s been my method of choice because it is fast and produces incredibly rich and dense stock. Usually I make my first batch when the weather turns cold, and save a few cups in the freezer.

This simple soup, with very few ingredients, definitely benefits from a home made stock, but in a pinch, I’d still use a good quality store-bought version. Do what suits you best, but make this soup, it’s a winner… 😉

ONE YEAR AGO: Sabu’s Spicy Coconut Chicken

TWO YEARS AGO: Poolish Baguettes

24Sep2011

OVEN-BROILED SALMON OVER SAUCY SPINACH

Posted in Seafood by sallybr

A lightning-fast dinner to prepare, your best friend on a busy weeknight! At first, I wanted to call it “Healthy Salmon Dinner” or something along those lines, but I am a bit tired of the constant labeling of recipes as “healthy” or “good for you.” Anything can be good for you if approached the right way. A slice of apple pie? No problem. A slice of apple pie with two scoops of vanilla ice cream drenched in caramel sauce, after a dinner of fried chicken with biscuits and gravy? Well, not your best option, but if you do it only once in a blue moon, even that is not a crime! Eat sensibly and enjoy your food… 😉

For this dish, I combined two different recipes, one from Fine Cooking, another from Food and Wine. As you may have noticed, I cook often from both publications, love them! Joining salmon, spinach, kalamatas, and raisins might seem like a stretch, but we were both swooning over our plates. Since a little starch never hurt anyone, I made some orzo perfumed with lemon zest as a side dish. Awesome dinner!

FIVE-SPICE GLAZED SALMON WITH WILTED SPINACH
(adapted from Fine Cooking & Food and Wine magazines)

4 salmon filets, skin on
1/4 cup honey
4 tsp soy sauce
1 + 1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder
3 bunches of spinach (16 to 18 oz)
1 shallot, diced
1/3 cup Kalamata olives, halved or diced
1/4 cup golden raisins
squeeze of lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Combine the honey, soy, and five-spice powder in a small bowl, mixing it all well. Put the pieces of salmon, skin side down, on a plate or baking dish just large enough to hold them side by side. Pour the honey mixture over the salmon, flip them over, so that the skin is now up. Let them sit in this honey glaze for 15 minutes as you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Meanwhile, turn your oven broiler on.

Place a colander over a bowl or plate near your stove top. Pour a little water on a large non-stick skillet set on medium-high heat. When the water is very hot, add half of the spinach leaves, and move them around quickly using tongs until they start to wilt. Transfer them to the colander, and wilt the rest of the spinach leaves the same way. Add them to the colander, and wipe the skillet dry.

Start broiling the salmon. Place the pieces skin side down on a baking dish lined with foil and slightly coated with a spray of olive oil to prevent sticking. Brush the top of the salmon with a little of the honey glaze, saving the rest in a small bowl. Total broiling time will be 5 to 6 minutes, depending on how thick your filets are, and how you like them cooked.

Heat 2 Tbs olive oil in the skillet, when the oil is very hot add the shallots and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the kalamata olives, the raisins, stir them all together for a minute or so. Add the spinach, toss around to warm up, squeeze a little lemon juice all over, and season with salt and pepper. Remove the spinach mixture to a serving platter, add another squeeze of lemon juice to the honey glaze in the small bowl, add to the skillet over medium heat, until it bubbles and heats through. Place the broiled salmon over the bed of spinach, drizzle with the honey marinade, and serve.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: You know those bags of baby spinach that sell in the grocery store for 4 bucks (or more), and you must cook at least two bags to feed you and your partner? You don’t need those. 😉 Recently, a remark by Rachael Ray in one of her shows perked my interest. She said that those humble looking spinach bundles, tied together with a nasty metal string, will work nicely in many preparations.

I got three of those – each for $1.30 – and was very pleased by how they wilted but kept some structure and a more intense taste than their organic baby cousins. Simply use a large knife and cut them above the string very close to the leaves, to get rid of all the stem part (compost those, if you can). Drop the leaves in a large bowl (or sink) full of water, swirl them around a few times, and dry in a salad spinner. They are ready to use.

The salmon – my first time oven-broiling it, by the way – cooked to perfection, the honey in the marinade giving it that irresistible copper tone, and the spinach combined with the olives and raisins, raised the bar of this meal quite a bit. If you are watching your carbs intake, you can always omit the orzo.

ONE YEAR AGO: Butterscotch Brownies

TWO YEARS AGO: Vegetable Autumn Soup

10May2010

FLIRTING WITH ORZO

Posted in Pasta & Noodles, Side dishes, Vegetarian-friendly by sallybr

My Brazilian nature often predisposes me towards rice, but the more I cook orzo, the more I like it. It might be more versatile than rice, it cooks faster, and it’s absolutely fool proof, all of which adds to its charm. The inspiration for this recipe came from an old Fine Cooking magazine, but I simplified it quite a bit because the original seemed a tad too busy: too many flavors fighting for attention. This pared-down version was a winner!

ORZO WITH SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS AND SPINACH
(very loosely adapted from Fine Cooking magazine)

1 cup orzo
2 Tbs olive oil
1 shallot, finely diced
8 oz spinach leaves, stemmed, and coarsely chopped
4 oz fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced (or dried, reconstituted with hot water)
1/2 lemon, juice and zest
salt and pepper
parmiggiano-reggiano (optional)

Start cooking the orzo on a large pot with salted water (it should take around 9 minutes).
Heat the olive oil on a large skillet and saute the shallots, lightly seasoned with salt and pepper. Add the sliced shiitake mushrooms, saute until they start to get golden brown. Add the chopped spinach, cook until it begins to wilt. At this point, if the orzo is not cooked yet, turn the heat off and reserve.

When the orzo is almost cooked, remove 1/4 cup of the cooking water and reserve it. Turn the heat back to medium on the skillet with the spinach mix, squirt lemon juice and zest, season with salt and pepper. Drain the orzo and add it to the skillet, mixing well. Add some of the pasta water if necessary. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. If desired, sprinkle parmiggiano-reggiano on top.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: For years I’ve made quick pan sauces for pasta with the cooking water and some sauteed veggies. Spinach is a constant player in such dishes, but this was the first time I chopped the leaves before sauteeing. Voila‘: it was much better! Somehow, even with baby spinach, the whole leaves had a tendency to clump instead of reaching a nice distribution. Live and learn. 😉

This was a quick dish to put together! It will drop into my regular rotation of meals for busy weeknights, keeping the orzo/spinach/lemon foundation and playing with other options: black olives, sundried tomatoes, roasted red bell pepper, artichoke hearts….