Category Archives: Soup

Soup, Vegetarian

Escarole and Beans

February 8, 2023 robiulo Leave a comment

Escarole and Beans

Escarole and Beans is cheap, easy to make and healthy. My doctor always tells me to eat more greens and beans so this recipe is perfect. Escarole, scarola in Italian, looks like lettuce but with wider, wavy leaves. It’s in the chicory family, and like endive and radicchio it has a slightly bitter taste when eaten raw.

Ingredients:

– 1/4 cup olive oil

– 2 heads of escarole – washed and sliced into 1-inch pieces

– 4 cloves of garlic – thinly sliced

– Salt, black pepper, and red pepper – according to your taste

– 1/2 cup chicken stock

– 1 can (15 ounces) of cannellini beans – drained and rinsed

Heat the oil in a large pot with salt, black and red pepper. Sauté the garlic on low heat until it’s soft but not brown.

Wash (drain but leave it wet) the escarole and cut it into one-inch slices removing the base and add it to the garlic and oil. It may seem like too much, but it will wilt and reduce in about ten minutes. Cover the pot until the escarole begins to wilt and toss it to coat it with the oil.

Add a half cup of stock (or water) and the rinsed beans. Add some hot water if you’d like it thinner. Simmer ten minutes and serve.

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Soup, Vegetarian

Roman Grain and Greens Soup

April 8, 2022 robiulo Leave a comment

Roman Grain and Greens Soup

Every so often I make a recipe with my doctor in mind. She always tells me, “Less meat and more grain and greens.” Roman Grain and Greens soup is just what the doctor ordered. In addition to barley, lentils, split-peas, and chickpeas there are 5 kinds of greens.

Roman Grain and Greens Soup

Ingredients:

1⁄2 cup pearled barley
1 cup yellow split peas
1 cup lentils
10 cups water or more
1 14 oz. chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1⁄2 teaspoon ground fennel seed
2 Tablespoons coloratura de alici
1 large or 2 smaller leeks, white part and 3 inches of green part, split, rinsed and chopped
3 cups coarsely chopped Savoy cabbage, packed
1⁄4 cup chopped parsley, packed
1⁄4 cup chopped fresh dill, packed
1⁄4 cup chopped fennel leaves, packed
1⁄2 cup olive oil

Place barley, peas and lentils in a heavy pot. Rinse and drain. Add water and bring to a boil. Skim off foam. Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are becoming tender. Add water if too thick.

Meanwhile, prepare leeks, cabbage and greens. In a frying pan, cook them gently in olive oil until wilted.

Add the chickpeas, salt, oregano, oregano, ground fennel and coloratura de alici to the soup. Simmer 5 minutes.

Stir the greens into soup. Simmer, stirring frequently, just until cabbage is tender, about 10 minutes.

Taste, and add salt as needed.

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Soup

Lentil Soup

December 16, 2021 robiulo Leave a comment

Lentil Soup

Here’s a simple lentil soup recipe. My doctor goes over my diet each time I see her for an annual physical. She inevitably tells me that I eat too much meat and not enough vegetables. Well, this should make her happy. And if you replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock it would be vegan. According to Medical News Today lentils really are pretty healthy.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp. olive oil
salt and black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup Italian trinity (carrot/onion/celery)
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 cups dried rinsed lentils
14 oz crushed tomato
1/2 tsp. coriander powder – optional
1 ½ tsp. paprika
2 dried bay leaves

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes. Add the trinity and cook for 10 minutes until it begins to dry.

Add all remaining ingredients and stir. Bring it to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer. Cover the pot and cook for 45-50 minutes or until lentils are soft.

Remove bay leaves and take a cup of the soup and put it into a blender. Blend until it’s smooth and put it back into the pot.

Taste for seasoning. If the soup is too thick add some water.

For a variation you can stir in some cooked white rice when the lentil soup is almost done.

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Soup

Corn Chowder

October 29, 2021 robiulo Leave a comment

Corn Chowder

Chowder comes from the Latin word calderia, which meant ‘cooking pot.’ or ‘cauldron.’ Vegetables or fish stewed in a cauldron became known as chowder.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
½ red bell pepper, finely diced
Fresh kernels from 3 – 4 ears of corn
1 tsp. sweet paprika
2 – 3 cups diced potatoes
4 cups chicken broth
¼ cup finely chopped parsley
1 ½ cups whole milk
Salt and black pepper
Chopped scallions, for garnish (optional)

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook until its soft, then add the red bell pepper and cook for another five minutes.

Remove the kernels from the corn and add to the pot. Add the paprika and diced potatoes and blend. Cook for five minutes. Then add the chicken broth and parsley.Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 – 20 minutes. Put one cup of the soup into a blender and blend until creamy then return it to the pot and stir. Pour in the milk and simmer for five minutes.

Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve with a sprinkling of chopped scallions.

Two variations –

Replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth for a vegetarian dish.
Replace two cups of the chicken broth with clam broth and add canned or fresh clams for corn clam chowder. Also add a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and a teaspoon of Tobassco.

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Soup

Buffalo, Beans and Greens Soup

January 29, 2021 robiulo 2 Comments

Buffalo, Beans and Greens Soup

A friend recently drove cross-country from Portland to New York. She told me about a diner she stopped at in Wyoming expecting to order a burger deluxe or a BLT. Her waitress suggested their specialty, something they called Buffalo, Beans and Greens, Soup. She tried it and liked it enough to get the recipe. If you can’t get buffalo/bison, it would work with ground beef too. You can substitute spinach or mustard greens for the collards.

Ingredients:

Olive oil for browning
Salt and black pepper
1 diced parsnip
1 diced carrot
1 diced onion
1 tbsp. tomato paste
2 minced garlic cloves
½ tsp. red pepper flakes (or to taste)
Salt and Pepper to taste
12 oz. ground buffalo
1 qt. chicken stock
1 – 15 oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 bunch collard greens
½ cup chopped parsley

Heat some oil, salt and black pepper in a pot, brown the meat and remove it. Add the onion, carrot and parsnip to the pot and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. While that’s cooking, wash the collards, discard the thicker stems and chop the leaves into bite sized pieces.

When the vegetables are done add the tomato paste, garlic, and red pepper. Mix thoroughly and then return the browned meat to the pot.

Add the stock and beans and simmer for 25 minutes. If you want a thicker soup, mash some of the beans and vegetables with the back of a spoon. If you want it thinner, add some stock or water

Check for seasoning and add the greens and cover. Cook for 10-15 minutes until greens are soft.

The greens will fill the pot when you first put them in, but they’ll wilt in a few minutes.Just before serving stir in the chopped parsley. Serve with hot sauce.

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Pasta, Soup, Vegetarian

Pasta Fazoole

April 24, 2020 robiulo 4 Comments

Pasta Fazool

In Italian its pasta e fagioli – that means “pasta and beans.” Some people call it pasta fazool. Both pronunciations are correct. In the Neapolitan dialect its pasta e fasule, often spelled pasta fazool in America.

Ingredients:

Olive oil
1 cup trinity
1 lb. beans (whatever kind you like)
Salt and black pepper
Sm. can cherry tomatoes – optional
1 lb. small pasta
1 cup arugula or spinach – optional

Pick through and rinse the beans.

In a large pot, cook the trinity in oil. When the vegetables are soft, add the beans and 8 cups of water. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer, covered for 2 hours.

Add salt and pepper, the cherry tomatoes, 2 more cups of water, and the pasta. If necessary, add more water as the pasta cooks. When the pasta is almost done, throw in a couple of hands full of arugula or spinach. I’m using a mix of both. When the greens whilt, it’s ready to serve.

I think it’s tastier reheated the next day. Just add some water to the pot and stir over a low flame.

A pound of beans and a pound of pasta can rally grow as they cook. You might to cut those 2 ingredients in half.

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Soup

Escarole and Potato Soup

March 8, 2020 robiulo Leave a comment

Escarole and Potato Soup

Escarole and potato soup – sometimes my mother made it with soprasade and other times with beans. You can try it with both. That one clove of garlic was my idea, not my mother’s.

Ingredients:

Olive oil for frying
½ lb. soprasade cut into thin slices
1 chopped onion
1 minced garlic clove
2 pealed potatoes cut into ½ inch pieces
6 cups coarsely chopped escarole
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 diced plum tomatoes
Salt and black pepper to taste

Put the soprasade in a pot with some oil and cook for a few minutes – don’t brown. Add the chopped onion and cook until translucent and soft. Add the garlic and potatoes. Add oil if yuou need it. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the washed escarole. It may seem to overflow the pot but add ½ cup of water, cover and simmer for 5 to 8 minutes until it wilts. Stir until all ingredients are well mixed.

Add the tomatoes, the stock, and vinegar. Mix thoroughly and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour. Check for seasoning and serve with a drizzle of olive oil and grated Parmesan cheese.

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Seafood, Soup, Vegetarian

Shrimp and Bean Soup

March 6, 2020 robiulo Leave a comment

Shrimp and Bean Soup

My doctor says everyone should eat more beans and greens and less red meat. I’m trying, so here’s another bean and something recipe – Shrimp and Bean Soup. This one is from Evelyn. She adapted it from an old family recipe. You can use any kind of dried beans you like. I’m using Goya’s habichuelas blancas (small white beans).

Ingredients:

1 lb. beans (not canned)
Olive oil for frying
2 cups Italian coarsely chopped trinity
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Salt and black pepper
1 lb. medium shrimp

To start – Pick through the beans and rinse them. Put them in a pot with 4 cups of water and bring to a boil and turn off heat. Let them sit for one hour. Or you can let them stand in 4 cups of cold water overnight.

In the meantime – Hear some oil in a large pot. Cook the trinity until it’s soft, about 10 minutes. Add 6 cups of water, the beans, and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours or until the beans are tender.

Remove a cup of beans and puree them in a blender or food processor and return them to the pot to thicken the soup. Add the Worcestershire sauce. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper. If the soup is too thick, add water. Put the shrimp in the pot, stir and cook for 5 – 8 minutes until done. Serve in individual bowls with a sprinkling of olive oil.

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Soup

Chicken Farro Soup

January 10, 2020 robiulo Leave a comment

Chicken Farro Soup

Farro’s been cultivated since before recorded history. Many of the grains we’re familiar with today are descended from farro. It was regularly eaten on the Italian peninsula when Rome ruled the Mediterranean. It is still common throughout Italy today. Here’s an old Salerno recipe.

Remove the bones and skin and cut thigh meat into small bite-sized pieces. Season with salt and black pepper and brown the chicken in the oil and remove. If there’s too much fat left from browning the chicken, drain the excess.

Sauté celery low heat until soft then add oregano and sliced garlic and cook briefly. Add stock from drained, cooked farro, bring to a boil and deglaze the pot. Add the cooked farro, return chicken and bring to a boil. Add hot water to keep a soupy consistency. Simmer for another 10 minutes covered. Check for seasoning.

More farro recipes here.

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Seafood, Soup, Vegetarian

Mrs. Fisher’s Fish Chowder

September 27, 2019 robiulo Leave a comment

What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking – on Amazon

Mrs. Fisher’s Fish Chowder

I came across this recipe for fish chowder while browsing through an old cookbook on line. The book’s title is What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking. It was published in 1881 and written by Mrs. Abby Fisher. Mrs. Fisher was a former slave and her cookbook is believed to be the first ever written by an African-American.

The fish chowder recipe appealed to me. I decided to try to make it although Mrs. Fisher doesn’t give very precise instructions, ingredient amounts, or cooking times. Onion, butter, cayenne, and salt were easy but I had to Google ‘sea cracker’ and eventually found a modern equivalent. She doesn’t say what kind of fish so my choice was hake, an inexpensive white fish For ‘Irish potatoes’ I used Idaho and instead of ‘salt pork’ my substitute was pancetta. I added some olive oil and paprika. I think Mrs. Fisher wrote this book for people who knew how to cook. so she was able to make some assumptions. This recipe worked for me and I’ll definitely make it again.

Ingredients:

1/4 lb. pancetta cut in one inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 & 1/2 lbs. fish cut into one inch pieces
1 large, peeled and cubed Idaho potatoes
3 ground Pilot Bread Crackers
3 pats of butter
1/4 tsp . cayenne
1/2 tsp. sweet paprika
salt to taste

Cook the pancetta on a low heat until it ‘s brown and the fat rendered. Then remove it from the pot.

Also on low heat, in the same pot, lightly brown the onions and removed them.

As Mrs. Fisher says, “Having all now prepared,” add 1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil to prevent sticking to the rendered pancetta fat if the pot appears to be too dry, then put in the fish. Next add the pancetta. Then a layer of potatoes and then the onions with the sprinkled cracker crumbs. Dot the butter on top of that, sprinkle the cayenne and paprika and that’s it. Cayenne is pretty spicy so be careful how much you use.

Add 2 cups of water, cover the pot and simmer for one hour on a low heat – don’t stir it and disturb the layers. Check it occasionally and add water if it starts to dry out. Use a ladle when you serve it and be sure to get each layer.

Pilot Bread substitute for sea crackers

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Escarole and Beans

Ingredients:

Heat the oil in a large pot with salt, black and red pepper. Sauté the garlic on low heat until it’s soft but not brown.

Wash (drain but leave it wet) the escarole and cut it into one-inch slices removing the base and add it to the garlic and oil. It may seem like too much, but it will wilt and reduce in about ten minutes. Cover the pot until the escarole begins to wilt and toss it to coat it with the oil.

Add a half cup of stock (or water) and the rinsed beans. Add some hot water if you’d like it thinner. Simmer ten minutes and serve.

Roman Grain and Greens Soup

Roman Grain and Greens Soup

Ingredients:

Place barley, peas and lentils in a heavy pot. Rinse and drain. Add water and bring to a boil. Skim off foam. Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are becoming tender. Add water if too thick.

Meanwhile, prepare leeks, cabbage and greens. In a frying pan, cook them gently in olive oil until wilted.

Add the chickpeas, salt, oregano, oregano, ground fennel and coloratura de alici to the soup. Simmer 5 minutes.

Stir the greens into soup. Simmer, stirring frequently, just until cabbage is tender, about 10 minutes.

Taste, and add salt as needed.

Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes. Add the trinity and cook for 10 minutes until it begins to dry.

Add all remaining ingredients and stir. Bring it to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer. Cover the pot and cook for 45-50 minutes or until lentils are soft.

Remove bay leaves and take a cup of the soup and put it into a blender. Blend until it’s smooth and put it back into the pot.

Taste for seasoning. If the soup is too thick add some water.

For a variation you can stir in some cooked white rice when the lentil soup is almost done.

Corn Chowder

Chowder comes from the Latin word calderia, which meant ‘cooking pot.’ or ‘cauldron.’ Vegetables or fish stewed in a cauldron became known as chowder.

Ingredients:

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook until its soft, then add the red bell pepper and cook for another five minutes.

Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve with a sprinkling of chopped scallions.

Two variations –

Replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth for a vegetarian dish.

Replace two cups of the chicken broth with clam broth and add canned or fresh clams for corn clam chowder. Also add a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and a teaspoon of Tobassco.

Buffalo, Beans and Greens Soup

Ingredients:

Heat some oil, salt and black pepper in a pot, brown the meat and remove it. Add the onion, carrot and parsnip to the pot and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. While that’s cooking, wash the collards, discard the thicker stems and chop the leaves into bite sized pieces.

When the vegetables are done add the tomato paste, garlic, and red pepper. Mix thoroughly and then return the browned meat to the pot.

Add the stock and beans and simmer for 25 minutes. If you want a thicker soup, mash some of the beans and vegetables with the back of a spoon. If you want it thinner, add some stock or water

Check for seasoning and add the greens and cover. Cook for 10-15 minutes until greens are soft.

The greens will fill the pot when you first put them in, but they’ll wilt in a few minutes.Just before serving stir in the chopped parsley. Serve with hot sauce.

Pasta Fazool

In Italian its pasta e fagioli – that means “pasta and beans.” Some people call it pasta fazool. Both pronunciations are correct. In the Neapolitan dialect its pasta e fasule, often spelled pasta fazool in America.

Ingredients:

Pick through and rinse the beans.

In a large pot, cook the trinity in oil. When the vegetables are soft, add the beans and 8 cups of water. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer, covered for 2 hours.

Add salt and pepper, the cherry tomatoes, 2 more cups of water, and the pasta. If necessary, add more water as the pasta cooks. When the pasta is almost done, throw in a couple of hands full of arugula or spinach. I’m using a mix of both. When the greens whilt, it’s ready to serve.

I think it’s tastier reheated the next day. Just add some water to the pot and stir over a low flame.

A pound of beans and a pound of pasta can rally grow as they cook. You might to cut those 2 ingredients in half.

Escarole and Potato Soup

Escarole and potato soup – sometimes my mother made it with soprasade and other times with beans. You can try it with both. That one clove of garlic was my idea, not my mother’s.

Ingredients:

Olive oil for frying

½ lb. soprasade cut into thin slices

1 chopped onion

1 minced garlic clove

2 pealed potatoes cut into ½ inch pieces

6 cups coarsely chopped escarole

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

3 diced plum tomatoes

Salt and black pepper to taste

Put the soprasade in a pot with some oil and cook for a few minutes – don’t brown. Add the chopped onion and cook until translucent and soft. Add the garlic and potatoes. Add oil if yuou need it. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the washed escarole. It may seem to overflow the pot but add ½ cup of water, cover and simmer for 5 to 8 minutes until it wilts. Stir until all ingredients are well mixed.

Add the tomatoes, the stock, and vinegar. Mix thoroughly and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour. Check for seasoning and serve with a drizzle of olive oil and grated Parmesan cheese.

Shrimp and Bean Soup

Ingredients:

To start – Pick through the beans and rinse them. Put them in a pot with 4 cups of water and bring to a boil and turn off heat. Let them sit for one hour. Or you can let them stand in 4 cups of cold water overnight.

In the meantime – Hear some oil in a large pot. Cook the trinity until it’s soft, about 10 minutes. Add 6 cups of water, the beans, and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours or until the beans are tender.

Chicken Farro Soup

Farro’s been cultivated since before recorded history. Many of the grains we’re familiar with today are descended from farro. It was regularly eaten on the Italian peninsula when Rome ruled the Mediterranean. It is still common throughout Italy today. Here’s an old Salerno recipe.

Remove the bones and skin and cut thigh meat into small bite-sized pieces. Season with salt and black pepper and brown the chicken in the oil and remove. If there’s too much fat left from browning the chicken, drain the excess.

Mrs. Fisher’s Fish Chowder

Pilot Bread substitute for sea crackers

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