Italian Pasta and White Bean Soup

This is a really wonderful hearty soup to have in the winter time. The leftovers only get better with time and it will go for a long time.

Italian Pasta and Bean Soup:

1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrot, diced
3 zucchini, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 16oz cans cannellini/white beans
1 small can tomato pasta (6 oz, I think)
2 cups shell pasta
2 bay leaves
5 cups chicken stock* can substitute vegetable stock
2 cups water
2 tbsp basil/italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a soup pot. Add the onion, garlic, carrot, and celery, and sauté over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the onion is golden. Add the beans, stock and water, zucchini, bay leaves, herbs, and tomato paste. Bring to a simmer, then simmer gently, covered, until the zucchini is just tender, about 10 minutes.

In a separate saucepan, cook the pasta al dente. When the soup is hot, add the cooked pasta and season with salt and pepper. Serve at once.

I like to sprinkle parmesan cheese over sourdough bread slices and broil until the cheese gets browned and then dip these into the soup. Ta~asty!

Serves 6-7

-Jirafa

Doenjang Jjigae

My first time cooking Korean food! Doenjang is fermented soybean paste that is similar to Japanese miso, but I find miso to be softer and saltier while doenjang is pungent and slightly spicy.

I used potato, zucchini, onion, and carrots for the stew, but the recipe suggests using tofu. I want to also experiment with adding noodles.

I could never hope to explain it better than this, so please see K-Popped! for the easy-to-understand recipe!

My only recommendation is for those of us who aren't familiar with Korean food, to use three tablespoons of the doenjang as opposed to four, because it is really strong!

Turkey and Orzo Soup

My roommate came home with a huge bag of leftover turkey, courtesy of his mother, saying something about making soup. I immediately volunteered to make it, having had a box of orzo and dreams of deliciousness stewing in my mind for weeks.



Let’s just say it was just what we needed on a chilly December evening. We had a bowl (or two) of this delicious soup and ran off to put up the Christmas tree and decorate the windows of our apartment. Then spent an hour trying to ward the cats from our tree. Would say more but there’s a 9-page term paper on Robinsonades waiting for me to write it.



Turkey and Orzo Soup

2 cups sliced carrots
2 cups sliced celery
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups shredded turkey meat
6 cups chicken stock (or leftover turkey stock if you made it!)
1 cup orzo pasta, cooked
1 cup pasta water
1 tsp basil
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Cook celery, carrots, onions, and garlic for 2 minutes. Add chicken stock, turkey, basil, bay leaves, cooked orzo, and pasta water. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer over medium heat for a half hour.

Devour.

--Jirafa

Hot and Sour Soup

Hot and Sour Soup



Before I start this entry, I want to inform you that this weekend is going to be post-heavy. I’m having a late birthday dinner party on Saturday and I’ll be posting everything from it on Sunday.

That said, let’s have some soup, shall we? Hot and Sour Soup is popular among Chinese restaurant-goers, myself included. I have my own special place that makes the best Hot and Sour Soup in my opinion. Some nights I dream about it.

Okay, the last bit is a lie. However, I’m not always able to go downtown for some delectable soup so I played around with various recipes and came up with my own.



In truth, the recipe is very simple. You’ll have to make a trip to the International Foods aisle of your grocery store or an Asian market if your city/town has one. Pick up some Pocky while you’re there and make the trip really worthwhile.



And be sure to plate it accordingly. I happen to be incredibly fond of my lacquer bunny trays (admittedly, they are plastic).



This is Daikon-kun. Isn’t she adorable? I want to take her everywhere with me.

I’m not witty today, I know. I’m sorry, it’s been a long week. I want to be doing this:


Hot and Sour Soup:
6 cups chicken stock
1 8oz can of bamboo shoots, drained and sliced thinly
¼ cup rice vinegar
3 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil (this is really strong, be gentle with it)
1 tbsp ginger (optional)
½ tbsp chili garlic sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 ½ tbsp cornstarch mixed with ¼ cup water
10oz firm (extra firm is fine too) tofu, cut into strips
1 egg, beaten
Green onions (optional)

Mix chicken stock, bamboo shoots, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, ginger, chili garlic sauce, and rice vinegar in a medium pot. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. While stirring, add in cornstarch mixture. Continue stirring until soup has thickened, about 3 minutes. Add tofu and cook until heated through. Slowly add beaten egg while stirring. Salt to taste. Garnish with chopped green onions.

Next recipe(s): Pita Goes Greek...Salad!, Slow-cooked Tomato Sauce, Traditional Lasagna, Garlic Bread, Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (Scheduled post: Sunday, November 16, 2008)

First Post! Red Ashe.

Today is a celebration of both my first post AND my birthday! Yay!

Red Ashe (pronounced “osh”) is my favorite soup ever. Mama Pita learned to cook it by watching Papa Pita’s cousins and I learned to cook it from watching her. (Let it be known that the best way to learn to cook is through observation. And demanding taste tests.) There are many variations of Ashe (“soup” in Farsi) and I’ve only tried a few, but loved them all. I hope to one day visit Iran and taste authentic Ashe for myself; until then, this will have to do.

There is much to be said about the herbs in this soup. I like to fill the sink with cold water and soak them; the smell of cilantro, parsley, and green onion mingling is heavenly. It’s enough to pique even my scent-challenged roommate.



Have you ever seen a more beautiful sight?



The real challenge is separating the cilantro and parsley from the stems. If you’re lazy like my father, you can cut the leaves off before you untie the bunches and soak them. I prefer to do it the hard way and separate them by hand because then I can be sure that no stems will sneak into my soup. It’s really a matter of how much stem you can handle.



After you’ve separated the leaves off the cilantro and parsley, throw them into a large soup pot. Chop the green onions and toss those in too, followed by ½ stick of butter, 6 oz tomato paste, 1 cup of rice, and enough water to just cover the vegetables. It will look like quite a lot in the pot, but it will wilt down as it cooks.



While this is going on, it’s time to prep the saffron. You’ll want a pinch of saffron to about one cup of HOT water. Put the saffron into a mug or a measuring cup and pour one cup of boiling water over it. Cover and let it steep for a few minutes. It will turn from a lovely golden color to a deep and beautiful orange color. Be sure to admire it for a few minutes.

Let the soup boil for about 20 minutes., then turn the temperature down to medium and add the black eyed peas. At this time, salt and pepper it. There’s no good measurement for the amount of salt needed since I’m a salt-a-holic and tend to hold a container of Morton’s over the pot while I yawn. So be sure to taste the soup frequently and adjust to your tastes. At this time you can also add in the saffron and lemon juice. Again, lemon juice somewhat to taste. I am also a lemon-a-holic in addition to being a salt-a-holic and Mama Pita would be cross when she found her soup suddenly saltier and sourer than it had been before she’d left the kitchen.

Sweet Potato Lesson #1: Never leave food unattended if I’m around. I firmly believe there is nothing that can’t be improved with copious amounts of lemon juice.

Let the soup cook for another 5-10 minutes, so the beans can heat through and the saffron and lemon juice have time to share their glorious flavorfulness. Yes. Flavorfulness. Learn it, love it, share it.

At this point, feel free to steal one of your roommate’s photogenic Mikasa bowls and plate the simple, delicious soup. Then promptly trip over your fat cat that snuck under your feet when he saw you had hot food that could burn him.

Devour. Well, let it cool a bit. Then devour!




Red Ashe

½ stick butter
1 cup of basmati rice (long-grain)
6oz of tomato paste
2 bunches each of cilantro, parsley, and green onion
3-4 tablespoons lemon juice
*3 tablespoons saffron-infused water
2 cans black-eyed peas, rinsed
Salt and pepper to taste

Rinse the vegetables and separate the leaves from the stems. Chop the green onion and add all herbs to a large soup pot. To this add 1 cup of long-grain rice, a 6oz can of tomato paste, and ½ stick of butter. Fill with water until the vegetables are just covered. Turn onto high and let soup boil for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to mix in the tomato paste. After 20 minutes, turn the heat down to medium and add two cans of rinsed black-eyed peas, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and saffron. Heat through for another 5-10 minutes.

*To make saffron-infused water, add 1 cup of boiling water to 1 pinch of saffron threads. (1 pinch being whatever fits between your thumb and forefinger. If you’re using your knuckles to pick up a gumball-sized amount you’ve gone way too far.)

You can find saffron at most grocery stores now, for the low-low price of $1000 per thread. Trader Joe’s sells Spanish saffron for a reasonable price—Spanish saffron will work just as well, although I prefer Iranian-imported saffron. Your best bet is to find a Middle Eastern or International market. Very few markets will keep saffron out because of how much it’s worth so if you don’t see it, ask the cashier.

This soup is good to make when you’re expecting a few people. If you’re making it for one or two, expect to be eating it for at least three days.

-Pita

Next recipe: Apricot Almond Cake (Scheduled post: Tuesday, November 11)