easy-does-it vegetable soup

So here I am with another soup recipe for the winter months. Have you discerned a theme yet? I do eat other foods, really. It's just that soups are extra convenient because they're easy to prepare in large quantities and they keep well. Also, they are, as my Parisian friend would say, sheep ("cheap").

Ingredients

2/3 c dry pasta (small pasta, such as letters of the alphabet, wheels, or shells) and water for cooking
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2/3 c chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tbsp pesto (recipe to follow)
1 c chopped carrots
1 c chopped spinach (buy it chopped)
1 c chopped okra
1 c haricots verts, cut into 1" pieces
1 15-oz can kidney beans, drained
1 15-oz can tomato sauce
1 to 2 c vegetable broth*
1 to 2 c water (depending on the consistency you want and how salty the broth is)*
Pinch of black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
Pinch of dried rosemary
1 bay leaf

Instructions

Cook pasta as you normally would, but remove from heat just before it reaches al dente (if you are using small pasta, this will be about 7 minutes). Drain and set aside.

In a large pot, heat oil and add onion and garlic. Very lightly sautee, adding pesto after about a minute. Stir and sautee for about another minute. Be careful not to sautee all the flavor out of the onion and garlic! Stir in carrots, zucchini, haricots verts, and spinach. Quickly add tomato sauce and broth, continuing to stir. Add water to taste,* and stir in oregano, rosemary, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Stir in pasta, cover, and reduce heat. Let simmer for 30 minutes. Add beans and let simmer for another 15 minutes. Remove from heat and serve.

*I don't think I ever use the same proportions twice when it comes to vegetable broth and water. I usually just taste whatever I'm making and observe the consistency of it to determine how much of what to add. Some broths are really salty, whereas others are too heavy on the carrots or celery. In fact, I didn't use celery in this recipe because I assumed that the broth would have enough celery in it. In short, I am not trying to be evasive here; I just want to account for differences in taste (no pun intended)!

salmon stew

Here is a simple stew recipe that makes great use of sofrito. I used salmon, which is a little atypical. You can use chicken (either dark or white meat), beef, ox tails, or another kind of meat. To achieve a thicker, more starchy texture you can add yuca or potatoes.

Ingredients

3 medium salmon fillets (about ¾ to 1 lb) cut into ¾ inch cubes
3 to 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, depending on how much sofrito you use (Spanish works well with the recipe, but Italian, Greek, or Turkish is always nice)
2 to 3 tbsp sofrito
¼ c chopped onion
¼ cup green bell pepper, sliced
1 ají (small, sweet pepper), sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
10 manzanilla olives with pimentos (sliced)
1 15 oz can tomato sauce (if you use the “no salt added” kind, you will probably want to add salt to taste)
1 ½ cans cold water (just use the tomato sauce can to measure the water)
1/2 tsp oregano
1 bay leaf
Additional water to boil salmon
Lemon

Instructions

Squeeze about ½ tsp lemon juice into a large saucepan of water, stir, add salmon, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and let simmer until salmon is cooked almost thoroughly. Remove salmon (preferably with tongs or a slotted spoon to avoid dragging water and excess fat along with it) and discard water.

Heat olive oil in a large pot (such as a Dutch oven). Add sofrito and stir lightly for about 30 seconds. Add ají, bell pepper, and onion. Stir. Add garlic about a minute later and stir. Cover and let cook for one minute. Add olives, tomato sauce, water, oregano, and bay leaf. Stir. Add salmon and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat. Let simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with rice, beans, and tostones, maduros, and/or yuca.

Oh, I finally made a decent batch of rice. Normally my rice comes out sticky, but this time the grains remained separated and well-defined. After washing the rice, I added a bit of olive oil to it and gave it a good stir to coat all the grains. I suspect that this helped me to achieve a better texture. I added a garlic clove for flavor.

ponle sofrito, mamá

I'm a bit behind because I took the word "holidays" literally, but here I am, keeping my promise. Below is the sofrito recipe I came up with after tinkering with several different ones. Sofrito is commonly used in traditional Puerto Rican recipes for sopas, sancochos, asopaos, and beans. It is what gives these dishes their distinct, "bright" flavor. It also makes this flavor easy to achieve. Preparation of sofrito might take a long time, but once you start cooking with this base, you will find it very easy to create full-bodied soups and stews. I will post a recipe for the stew I made tonight soon.

Be aware that one key sofrito ingredient, recao or recaito (or culantro), can be hard to find in many parts of the U.S., so if you intend to use it, you might need to scour your local Latin American food shops or order it online ahead of time. Alternatively, you can try increasing the amount of cilantro you use. And remember: do not expect sofrito to look or taste good on its own! As mentioned above, it is merely a foundation for other recipes. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 large green bell peppers
2 large red bell peppers
1 1/2 to 2 heads of garlic
3 large onions
1 ½ to 2 bunches of cilantro
2 oz extra virgin olive oil
5 ajíes dulces (small, sweet cooking peppers)
30 leaves recao (or sub 1 tsp ground coriander or extra cilantro)

Preparation:

Chop ingredients to ease use of food processor. Puree all ingredients together in a food processor. Store mixture in refrigerator overnight to let flavors mix. Pour mixture into ice cube trays and freeze. Use 1 or 2 cubes in soups, asopaos, and beans.

N.B. You can set aside a small amount of sofrito at a time to keep in the refrigerator if you plan to use it all within a few weeks (rather than using the mixture straight from the freezer). I find that this enhances the flavor.

Happy New Year!

I just wanted to wish you all the best for 2008. I hope we all have a prosperous year among good company and good food!

I have a sofrito recipe coming, but I need to upload and sort my photos for it. In the meantime, check out this New York Times article on an ingredient that is often taken for granted, heat. Enjoy!

Rumberos

Today I enjoyed the luxury of meeting my friend Elizabeth for a real lunch. We went to Rumberos at 3345 14th Street, NW. I was pleasantly surprised.


The service was very attentive, and we did not have to wait to be seated. I found the restaurant decor vibrant but lacking unity. Perhaps the layout of the building and the shape of the space contributed to this impression. I call this the "stripmall effect."

I guess I would describe the cuisine as Pan-Latin or Latin-fusion. Liz and I both ordered the snapper, which came in a very flavorful tomato-based sauce laced with garlic, red onions (I'm used to yellow ones in this type of dish), and bell peppers. I'm pretty sure I tasted some white wine and cilantro in the background. The fish was served with rice, frijoles negros, and maduros. I also ordered a "tropical" salad, which included pineapple, green apple, chopped walnuts, and a fruity (probably orange-based) vinaigrette, and mofongo with seafood. The mofongo serving was a bit smaller than what I am used to, but maybe Washington Heights and Puerto Rico have thrown my calibration off. Also, the plantains were not completely mashed and formed into even a remotely spherical shape, but they tasted good nonetheless.

Unfortunately, we ran out of time before Liz had to return to work, so we did not order dessert. We'll have to return to try the coconut flan!

not exactly mac and cheese. . .

This is a dish that I make when I can't think of anything else to prepare (i.e., pretty frequently). I've also made it with chopped spinach and haricots verts. It just depends on what I have in the kitchen. This is a good side dish, but if you're as poor as I am, you might enjoy it as a meal.

By the way, I found another recipe for sofrito. Hopefully I'll get to test it before the holidays. If it's any good, I'll share it.





2 c cooked tortellone or tortellini (personally I think tortellini work better, and I like a mix of cheese, mushroom, and/or pesto)
1 1/2 c steamed broccoli florets
1 handful halved grape tomatoes
5 anchovies, blotted and chopped (I would use only 4 if you use the dried tortellini, which tend to be more salty)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp evoo
Fresh lemon juice to taste
Dried rosemary to taste

Sautee the garlic lightly in a teaspoon of evoo. Add pasta and broccoli and toss. Transfer quickly (do not leave the ingredients in the pan for more than 45 seconds--molto importante!) to a large glass bowl. Sprinkle rosemary, 1 tsp evoo, and lemon juice on the mixture and toss. Add tomatoes and anchovies. Toss. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.

hiatus

Exams start next week, so I probably won't be cooking for a while. See you on the other side!

the yellow brick road

I made this festive soup to go with my Thanksgiving dinner, and it turned out to be the best thing I've made in months. It's a delicate balance of sweet and savory that is inviting to all the senses. Best of all, it looks like something that sprang from Van Gogh's palette.





1 lb butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1- to 2-inch cubes (I bought the pre-cut squash at Trader Joe's)
1/2 c shredded carrots (I'll probably add a bit more next time)
3 c vegetable broth (low sodium if you can find it)
1/2 large onion, finely chopped*
1 tbsp grated ginger (I used a fine cheese grater)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
A pinch of nutmeg
I added a teaspoon of sugar, but I think I could have done without it.

Bake squash on oiled baking sheet at 375 for 20 minutes or until soft (but not soggy). Heat unsalted butter or oil in a large pot at medium heat. Add onion. Stir in garlic, then ginger, then cinnamon stick and sugar (if desired). Turn heat to medium-low and cook until onion is tender, which will depend on how finely you chop (or puree) the onion. Add nutmeg, squash, carrots, and broth. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Transfer mixture in batches to a food processor or blender and puree. Return to pot and let simmer. Serve in colorful bowls!

* As this was my first time using my new food processor, I accidentally pureed the onion. This turned out to work quite well, but I will try chopping the onion next time.

beans, beans, the magical fruit

This is a feel-good side dish. It makes me feel good because (1) it's easy to prepare and (2) it leaves me with only a saucepan, a steamer basket, and a spoon to wash. Why waste time washing dishes when I could be . . . learning about wills, trusts, and estates?


Steamed haricots verts
Steamed shredded carrots (cheat by buying pre-shredded carrots!)
Reduced balsamic vinegar (don't reduce it too much, though; just let it thicken a bit) to taste
Extra virgin olive oil to taste
Toss the beans and carrots in the reduction and oil to coat them evenly
Sometimes I add dried rosemary, but I like to keep this pretty simple.