Kerry's Kale and Ceci Soup

When we had that little cold, wet, dreary spell early in January, Kerry started making this delicious meal in a bowl soup.  And even though the weather has warmed up, we are still eating it weekly!  Ceci is Italian for chickpeas and they featured in many Italian soups.  Here's a link to one I did a few years back too, Pasta e Ceci.

Kale and Ceci Soup
•    Olive oil
•    3 to 4 strips of bacon
•    1 lb of Italian sausage
•    2 cups finely diced yellow onions
•    1 cup finely diced celery
•    1 cup finely diced carrots
•    4 cloves garlic, sliced
•    Salt and freshly ground black pepper
•    1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
•    2 (14-ounce) can chick peas, drained and rinsed well
•    2 quarts chicken or veg stock, plus extra water if needed
•    2 sprigs rosemary
•    3 sprigs thyme
•    1 sprig oregano
•    Red chili flakes to taste
•    4 cups greens (lightly packed), stems removed and cut into bite size pieces (Lacinta kale, dino kale, Russian kale, beet greens – any combination of)
•    Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated for serving
Directions
In a large soup pot fry the bacon until crisp, remove and leave fat in pot. Add a decent splash of olive oil and heat over medium heat. Saute the onion, celery, carrot and garlic for 5 minutes or until soft.
Meanwhile crumble the sausage and brown in a separate pan.
Season soup pot with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Add the diced tomatoes, then 1-1/2 to 2 cans of the chick peas, and the stock. Using kitchen twine, tie the herbs into a bundle and add to the pot. Season with the red chili flakes. Simmer for 10 minutes, then add the kale. Continue cooking until the kale is tender. Add the cooked sausage and all the drippings from the pan – deglaze the pan with a little wine to get all the good stuff. Simmer gently for a few more minutes, taste check for salt and pepper.
Put a handful of cooked pasta (small shells, elbows or similar) into a soup bowl then ladle soup in. Sprinkle with cheese and finish with a dash of olive oil on top.

Cafe Degas' Infamous La Gratinee d'Oignon

I've been wanting this recipe for a long time, but thinking that something tasting this good would not be easily had, I never asked.  However, as I browsed the newly released Cafe Degas Cookbook, quickly looking through the soup section, there it was, their infamous La Gratinee d'Oignon.  Many nights I've sat at the small bar feasting on this hearty rich soup, savoring those soft delicious onions, chewing on the stringy melted gruyere, never wanting to get to the bottom of the bowl....

And the cookbook itself is really wonderful.  Starting with some of their signature cocktails, to amuse bouche and entrees and dessert, you'll see your favorite recipes accompanied by great photos from Sara Essex Bradley that really capture the essence and character of the place.  The cookbooks are available at the restaurant and they are having a book signing party at Cafe Degas on Wednesday February 16th.  Call Cafe Degas for more details, but in the meantime, make yourself some delicious French Onion Soup!


La Gratinee d'Oignon
from The Cafe Degas Cookbook


2 slices bacon
1 T butter
2 cloves garlic
3 medium onions
1 cup white wine
1 small bouquet garni
1 bay leaf
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup beef stock
1 T thyme
1/2 t black pepper
1/2 t salt
Toasted baguette slices
Grated Gruyere cheese

In a large pot over low heat render bacon in butter allowing fat to coat the bottom of the pot.  Add garlic and simmer lightly.  Add 1/4 of the onions and cook stirring lightly until browned.  Deglaze with white wine. Add remaining onions, bouquet garni, bay leaf, stock and cook stirring occasionally for 1 hour. Add remaining ingredients and cook for 3 hours or until onions are very soft. To serve place one slice of toasted baguette on top of each bowl of soup and the drizzle a generous amount of cheese to cover. If desired broil for one minute to melt and brown cheese.

Cafe Degas

3127 Esplanade Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70119
(504) 945-5635  

www.cafedegas.com/

Pasta e Ceci

A classic Italian soup, I fell in love with this the first time I had a version of it at Ristorante Del Porto in Covington. I've been thinking about it ever since, so I played around with a recipe last week and was very pleased with the outcome. It is rich and creamy even though it has no dairy or cream and was the perfect meal on Ash Wednesday to wind down after a LONG Mardi Gras season!

Like the Holy Trinity of New Orleans cuisine, a "soffritto" is the starting point for many Italian soups, sauces and stews. While locally we use equal parts onion, celery and green peppers, in Italy the base is usually a combination of carrots, onion and celery with the proportions of each depending on what you are cooking.

If I had more time I would have soaked dried chick peas overnight and made a homemade chicken stock. But, it was the day after Mardi Gras and I just couldn't deal with all of that! So here is a relatively quick version of this delicious, hearty, Italian classic!

Ingredients
1/3 C. olive oil
1 med. onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 6" sprig of rosemary, finely chopped
2 cans chickpeas
3 T. tomato paste
3-1/2 cups chicken stock
3-4 ounces small pasta shapes (ditalini are preferred, but I used orecchietti)
1/4 -1/2 tsp peperoncino
grated parmigiano-reggiano
basil chopped
premium olive oil
Salt and pepper to season


Directions
1. Pour the olive oil into a heavy based saucepan and heat gently. Add the rosemary to the pan and fry over a gentle heat till it begins to release its aroma.
2. Add the onions, carrots and celery to the pan and fry over a gentle heat till soft and golden.
3. Add the tomato paste and fry for just a couple of minutes before adding the cooked chickpeas, stock and peperoncino. Simmer for approx 20mins, then remove about half of the soup and process through a food mill (use a blender if you don't have a food mill). Return the pureed soup to the pan.
4. Add the raw pasta then simmer gently, stirring regularly to make sure the pasta doesn't start sticking to the base of the pan. Add a little more water/stock if necessary.
5. Once the pasta is done, let it rest for a few minutes before serving.
6. Sprinkle with cheese, basil, salt and pepper and serve with a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Chicken Soup to Soothe the Soul

Kerry woke up this morning with the cold that is being passed between our group of friends, so I decided to make her a little chicken soup soothe her head and her soul. The food situation at home gets a little dismal during the holiday since we basically live at the shop for the two weeks surrounding Christmas and New Years. After a quick trip to Rouses for organic carrots and celery and some Sanderson natural chicken legs, raiding the pantry, herb garden and frig, I scrounged up enough ingredients to make a pretty delicious soup!

Ingredients:

* 4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
* 2 medium onions, chopped
* 3 medium carrots, cut into 1/4-inch rounds
* 3 celery ribs, chopped
* 4 cloves of garlic sliced thin
* big pinch of peperincino
* big pinch of dried oregano
* 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
* 1 Tablespoon of chopped fresh rosemary
* 4 chicken thighs on the bone, skin removed
* 2 chicken breasts, skin removed
* 2-1/2 quarts water
* 1 quart cold water, or as needed
* 2 Tablespoons "Better than Bouillon" organic chicken base (Wholefoods)
* fresh chives for garnish
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* egg noodles or grains, we used the "Seeds of Change" organic 7 grain blend

Preparation:
Heat 2 T. of the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Brown the chicken thighs and breasts until almost cooked through.

Heat the other 2 T. of oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. First throw in the garlic and quickly heat until they sizzle. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 10 minutes. Throw in a pinch or peperincino, thyme, oregano and rosemary and stir to coat the veggies with the herbs.

Add the chicken pieces and the rest of the oil from the skillet and stir fry together with the veggies for a few minutes. Add the water and bring to a boil over high heat Reduce the heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, until the chicken is very tender and falling off the bone, about 2 hours.

Remove the chicken pieces from the pot and set aside until cool enough to handle. Then pull the meat from bone and put the chicken pieces back in the pot. Stir the meat back into the soup and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add noodles or grains, garnish with chives and serve hot.

Chef Richard Papier's Sweet Potato and Chorizo Soup

Local culinary talent Chef Richard Papier will be heating up the shop on Tuesday with his take on Thanksgiving classics for our monthly tapas night. He'll deliver 5 freshly prepared tapas items that I'll be pairing with my favorite wines for your Thanksgiving meal. One of the courses will feature his deliciously spicy Sweet Potato and Chorizo Soup that I'll be pairing with the Sineann Pinot Gris from Oregon and I've convinced chef to give us the recipe!

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
* 3 to 4 medium sweet potato (about 2 1/4 pounds)
* 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
* 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 3 cups chicken
* 1-2 cups water, as needed
* salt and pepper to taste
* 8 oz Mexican chorizo

Directions
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees
-Oil, salt and pepper sweet potatoes and place on a sheet pan . Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until very tender, on 400 degrees. Set aside to cool. When the sweet potato is completely cool, scoop the flesh from the skin.
-While the sweet potato is baking, cook the onion and the chorizo in a saucepan, over moderately low heat, for 5 to 10 minutes or until the onion is softened, and the chorizo is fully cooked.
- Add the broth and simmer the mixture for 10 minutes, covered. Add the sweet potato pulp to the sauce pan and blend.
-Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor, in batches, and puree until smooth. Add enough water to achieve the desired consistency, and salt and pepper to taste.
-Return the soup to the sauce pan and cook over moderate heat until it is hot.

Slovenian Beef Noodle Soup

One of the things I get most excited about when I come home is my mother’s homemade beef noodle soup, an old recipe handed down for generations in the Slovenian community she grew up in called Bon Air in Cambria County, Pa. My mother knows how much I love it, so there is always a huge pot waiting every time I come home. It is a simple beef and vegetable broth made with tomatoes, carrots, celery and onions and finished off with thin egg noodles. Comforting and delicious, I make it at home often using my grandmother's old soup pot, but somehow it never tastes as good as it does in my mother's kitchen.

Ingredients:
2 1/2lbs beef roast, either English cut or chuck roast
5 1/2 quarts of water
1-28oz. can whole tomatoes crushed by hand, and their juices
4 carrots cut in 1/4" slices
3 stalks of celery cut into 3" pieces
2 medium onions quartered
Thin egg noodles
Salt and pepper to taste

Put the beef in a large soup pot and add water. Bring to a boil, then add tomatoes, carrots, celery and onion. Again bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer for 2 hours.

Remove the beef to a cutting board. The beef should be very tender at this point so you can pull apart bit size chunks and cut away any fatty areas. Strain the broth into another pot and add the meat back in to the second pot as well. Put on the stove at low heat and simmer.

Take the strained vegetables and discard the celery and any overly large chunks of onion, carrot and tomatoes. Pour the rest of the vegetables back in the pot, add salt and pepper to taste and continue to simmer.

Cook your noodles as to the instructions on the package and strain. Keep the noodles separate from the soup until serving as they tend to soak up too much of the broth.

Ladle soup into bowls and add the desired amount of noodles and serve.