Hearty Minestrone Soup

According to the news reports, snow is creeping into our neighborhoods, ready to surprise unsuspecting Minnesotans who thought we'd beat this year's winter. I have a pretty good memory when it comes to late-occurring winters though, since my birthday is in March! I recall a few times growing up when my birthday parties happened in snowy weather, so I know there's always the possibility for more winter. Because our Minnesota winter might be just around the corner, I thought I would post a recipe for a hearty Minestrone soup. It's tasty and flavorful -- perfect for a surprise blast of winter!

Minestrone Soup
serves 4

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 medium yellow onion, minced fine

2 celery stalks, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 15-oz can white beans

2 carrots, peeled & diced

1 cup green beans, trimmed and chopped into one-inch pieces

1 15-oz can chopped tomatoes

1 15-oz can kidney beans

1 quart of vegetable stock

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 parmesan rind (available at most markets)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 cup short pasta (I used elbow macaroni)

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the onion, celery, and garlic, and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the can of white beans and using a potato masher, mash up most of the beans. This will thicken the base of the soup.

Add the carrots, green beans, tomatoes, kidney beans, stock, oregano, parmesan rind, salt & pepper, and veggie stock. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat, cover, and let simmer for 20 minutes. Uncover and add in the dried pasta. Once the pasta has cooked, remove from heat and serve. Top each bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and freshly cut basil. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili

It's been unseasonably warm in Minnesota, so much so that it felt like I was vacationing over the holidays!  Well...that's a bit of a stretch...but I did drive around with the windows down and went on a nice post-Christmas run with my friend Leigh where I was able to break out my spring running jacket again.  But all of this nice weather put a dent in my cooking plans because who wants to make chili when it's really nice out?  I sure didn't.  Today it finally started to cool down and I figured the time was right for me to cook up a big pot of chili and get ready for the inevitable Minnesota chill. 

Inspired by a delicious lunch this summer from one of the food trucks, I thought a lovely sweet potato and black bean chili would be a nice combination.  I also was able to use some of my delicious Red Gold canned tomatoes!  I loved the "chili ready" tomatoes because they were chopped into a larger dice than ordinary diced tomatoes, making them perfect for a hearty chili.  Kudos Red Gold for that inspired version of canned tomatoes!

This recipe requires very little prep work, so it's easy to throw together after work or when you're trapped inside because of a snow storm.  (It's going to happen people....)  But don't be fooled by the simplicity of the recipe.  It's hearty and healthy, plus the canned tomatoes and sweet potatoes add some softness to the relatively spicy chili.  Work with these ingredients and add more or less seasonings to suit your taste.  If you have a favorite chili recipe of your own, consider adding in some sweet potatoes and black beans to change it up a bit! 

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili

serves about 4 portions

Ingredients

2 tbls vegetable or canola oil

1/2  of a yellow onion, finely chopped

6-8 cloves of garlic, minced

2 medium sweet potatoes, diced into 1/4-inch cubes

2 tbls chili powder

1 tbls cumin

1 1/2 cups vegetable stock

1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained

1 15-ounce can black beans, drained

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

In a large pot or dutch oven, heat two tablespoons of vegetable or canola oil over medium heat.  Add the chopped onions and saute until translucent, about 5-7 minutes.  Then add the garlic and sweet potatoes, and saute for another 5 minutes. 

Add in the chili powder and cumin and stir to coat the vegetables in the spices.  Pour in the vegetable stock and using a spoon, scrape the bottom of the pan to get all of the spices off the bottom.  Add the two cans of tomatoes and stir.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and allow to simmer covered for 10 minutes. 

Add the beans to the pot, and check for seasonings.  Add salt & pepper at the time if you need it.  Cover and let simmer for another 10 minutes.  Recheck for seasonings and serve. 

I topped my chili with about a tablespoon of freshly chopped cilantro for a bit of freshness.  You can also serve with sour cream or slices of avocado.  It's delicious.  DELICIOUS!

Food for St. Patrick!

Ah St. Patrick's Day.  The time of year when all great things collide: March Madness, spring, the ability to wear all green without looking stupid, and drinking beer during the day without being judged.  I'm not Irish -- far from it actually.  I'm German, French, and some crazy mix of Scandinavian heritage.  All of those backgrounds come with some pretty excellent food traditions, but I wanted to try out some Irish recipes on this St. Paddy's day.  It was hard to find veggie friendly recipes -- the Irish love their beef stews and lamb.  Who can blame them, really?  So I settled on two comfort foods: Potato & Leek Soup and Irish Soda Bread.  Both of these recipes are from Cooks Illustrated with slight adaptations based on my own cooking experience (failures). 

Potato & Leek Soup
This soup turned out great -- thick and creamy without being overly heavy.  The bread addition to the recipe is key for making that happen.  And while I think the first step of making a "leek stock" really added a lot to the soup, it could probably be omitted for time and energy's sake and you'd still have a really great and tasty potato leek soup!

Ingredients:
4 medium leeks, white & light green parts halved lengthwise, washed, and sliced thin; dark green parts halved, washed, and cut into 2-inch pieces (keep them separate and wash the dark green parts very well)
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
4 tbls unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
1 medium onion, chopped (about a cup of onion total -- I used a half of an onion)
1 small russet potato peeled, halved, and cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh thyme or tarragon
1 large slice sandwich bread, lightly toasted and torn into 1/2 in pieces
Salt & pepper

Instructions
Bring dark green leek pieces, stock, and water to boil in large saucepan.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes.  Strain through a fine mesh strainer, press on the leek pieces to get all of the stock out of the veggies.  Discard the leek pieces and set the broth aside.  Rinse out the pan.

Melt the butter in the now-empty sauce pan over medium low heat.  When butter foams, stir in white/light green leek pieces, onion, and 1 tsp salt.  Reduce heat to low, stir frequently and cook until veggies are softened -- about 10 minutes.  Increase heat to high, stir in reserved broth, potato, bay leaf, and herb sprig and bring to boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.  Add toasted bread pieces and simmer until bread is saturated and starts to break down -- about another 5 minutes.

Remove and discard bay leaf and herb sprig (the leaves should have fallen off).  Transfer soup to blender in batches and process until smooth and creamy.  If necessary, strain soup through a fine mesh strainer to get any veggies that did not break down during cooking. 

Season with salt and pepper to taste, top with croutons or bacon if you prefer, and enjoy!
Makes 4 servings.

Irish Soda Bread
This bread is rustic and hearty -- a perfect complement to the potato and leek soup.  It's crunchy on the outside but ridiculously soft on the inside.  It's crazy easy to make and it also keeps for a while.  Wrap the leftovers in plastic and enjoy at your leisure.

Ingredients
3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup cake or pastry flour (you can use 4 cups of all purpose I'm sure -- it will just be a little heavier)
2 tbls sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 tbls unsalted butter (2 tbls softened and 1 tbls melted -- keep separate)
1 1/2 cups buttermilk*

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Whisk flours, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt in large bowl.  Work softened butter into mixture with fork or fingertips until mixture looks like crumbs, or until you can't see any big chunks of butter.

Add buttermilk and stir with fork until dough just comes together.  Turn out onto flour-coated surface.  Knead dough until it becomes cohesive and bumpy.  Don't knead until it becomes smooth -- you'll have a tough bread!  Just work it until most of the flour is incorporated into the dough.

Pat dough into a 6 inch round.  Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or sprayed with non-stick spray.  (Bake in a cast-iron skillet for a crunchier bread.)  Cut a big "X" into the top of the bread.  Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until a knife in the center comes out clean.  Brush with melted butter and let the bread rest for 20 minutes.  Eat and enjoy.

*Food Tip: If you don't have buttermilk you can just "clobber" regular milk with an acid such as lemon juice or vinegar.  For every cup of milk, add 1 tbls of the acid.  I had to do that with this recipe because Whole Foods doesn't sell buttermilk.  (What?!)  So for the 1 1/2 cups of milk, I added 1 1/2 tbls of vinegar and let it sit for about 10 minutes before adding it to the dry ingredients.  It will curdle the milk a bit, which is fine, and you'll get the same outcome as regular buttermilk.  It'll be slightly less creamy, but it works in a pinch!

Ruby says "Happy St. Patrick's Day!"

Blizzard Food

Minnesota weather is notoriously unpredictable. People joke that, "you know you're Minnesotan if you turn on the air conditioning and the heat in the same day." I'm completely guilty of doing just that. But this weekend went from 50s and beautiful to an epic snowstorm. So tonight I thought I'd embrace the snowy weather and the warnings to stay inside by making my favorite go-to soup recipe. I have no idea where I first got this recipe, but I love it mostly because it's incredibly versatile and foolproof. Add your favorite veggies in any amount, herbs, meat if you're so inclined, and curl up with an episode of Friends. Yum.

Ingredients:
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 parsnip, peeled and diced
1 leek, light green & white parts, washed, halved and sliced thin*
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot (or just small onion if you don't have shallots)
three big handfuls of frozen egg noodles
1 quart vegetable stock
salt & pepper
fresh basil, chopped
2 tbls olive oil

Instructions:
In a medium stock pot, heat up the olive oil and saute the garlic and shallots for two-three minutes.
Add the carrots, celery, and parsnips (and any other veggies you want) and saute until tender. Add in the leeks and saute for another minute. Add some salt and pepper at this point to flavor the vegetables. Add the frozen noodles, saute for a few minutes.
Pour the veggie stock over the vegetables and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for about 10 minutes or until the noodles have thickened up. If the soup is losing too much water, add more stock.

Garnish with basil and serve! I usually get four big bowls out of this recipe. The soup freezes really well, so make a big batch.

* Food Tip: Leeks are very sandy, so after splitting and slicing, put the chopped leeks into a big bowl of water and swish it around. Let the leeks sit for a while in the water (I usually do this part first and then by the time the carrots are done sauteing the leeks are done soaking). The sand and grit will sink to the bottom of the bowl, and you can scoop up the leeks and put them right into the pan.