I could eat soup, all day everyday. And that's pretty much what I've been doing for the last few weeks. Sodium consumption is at an all time high, but oh well, I must survive through this Chicago winter somehow. My favorite soups that I have made this season are Split Pea, Minestrone and Japanese Ramen. Enjoy the recipes!
Split Pea and Ham Hock Soup (Food Network/Emeril Lagasse)
Ingredients
4 ounces bacon (or more if you love bacon like I do), diced small
1 cup small diced onions
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1/2 cup carrots diced small
1/2 cup celery diced small
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 quarts chicken stock or broth
1 pound spilt peas
1 ham hock (6 ounces)
Heavy cream (you can skip this if you want it to be "healthy"
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup cooked split peas
Fresh black pepper
In a stock pot cook bacon then remove the bacon leaving the fat. Saute the onions, shallots, carrots, celery and garlic, for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the stock, peas and ham hock. Bring to a fast boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 1 hour or until the peas are tender. Remove the ham hock and dice the meat. Set aside. Whisk in small amounts of the heavy cream to prevent from breaking and simmer for 2 minutes. With a hand held blender puree the soup until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Add the diced ham hocks and garnish with the whole split peas and fresh black pepper.
Hearty Minestrone Soup (Food & Wine Magazine) and Rosemary Focaccia
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups dried white beans (8 ounces), soaked overnight and drained
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 ounces pancetta, finely diced
2 medium shallots, minced
2 large celery ribs, finely diced
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 large carrot, finely diced
1/2 fennel bulb, cored and diced (I left this out because I am not a fan of fennel)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons tomato paste
One 14-ounce can plum tomatoes, chopped, juices reserved
1 quart low-sodium chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup baby arugula
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
In a pot, cover the beans with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat until tender, about 2 hours; add water to keep the beans covered. Drain the beans and reserve the cooking liquid. Meanwhile, in another pot, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the pancetta and cook over moderate heat until crisp, 4 minutes. Add the shallots, celery, onion, carrot and fennel, and cook until softened. Add the garlic, crushed pepper and bay leaves and cook, stirring, until fragrant. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and broth; bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Add the beans and enough cooking liquid to thin out the soup. Discard the bay leaves; season with salt and pepper. In a bowl, toss the arugula and parsley with the lemon juice and remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the soup in bowls; top with the salad.
Rosemary Focaccia
Ingredients
(I use my hands because I don't have a dough paddle on my mixer)
1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast
5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus additional for kneading
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Stir together 1 2/3 cups lukewarm (105 to 115°F) water and yeast in bowl of mixer and let stand until creamy, about 5 minutes. Add 5 cups flour, 1/4 cup oil, and 2 1/2 teaspoons table salt and beat with paddle attachment at medium speed until a dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead in 1 to 2 tablespoons more flour. Knead dough 1 minute (it will still be slightly sticky), then transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and turn dough to coat with oil. Let rise, covered with plastic wrap, at warm room temperature, until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Press dough evenly into a generously oiled 15- by 10- by 1-inch baking pan. Let dough rise, covered completely with a kitchen towel, until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 425°F.
Stir together rosemary and remaining 3 tablespoons oil. Make shallow indentations all over dough with your fingertips, then brush with rosemary oil, letting it pool in indentations. Sprinkle sea salt evenly over focaccia and bake in middle of oven until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Immediately invert a rack over pan and flip focaccia onto rack, then turn right side up. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Ramen Hodge Podge (Abridged Momofuku recipe)
Ingredients
Ramen Noodles
Ramen Broth
Pork Belly (see below for cooking instructions)
Pork Shoulder (see below for cooking instructions)
Poached Egg
Kamaboko (Fish cake)
Cabbage
Green Onion
Salt (listed last, use sparingly!)
Pork Belly
8 oz Pork Belly
1/8 cup sugar
1/8 cup kosher salt
Mix the sugar and salt and spread it all over the pork belly (if it comes with skin, remove it first). Let it rest in the refrigerator overnight. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Rinse well, pat dry, place in a roasting dish. Roast for 1 hour, basting several times. Drop oven temp to 250 degrees and roast for 1 more hour, basting as needed. Let cool then wrap in plastic and refrigerate. When the belly is totally cool, slice in thin slices.
Pork Belly
8 oz Pork Shoulder
1/8 cup sugar
1/8 cup kosher salt
Mix the sugar and salt and spread it all over the shoulder. Let it rest in the refrigerator overnight. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Rinse well, pat dry, place in a roasting dish. Roast for 1 hour, basting several times. Drop oven temp to 250 degrees and roast for several more hours, basting as needed until the shoulder is falling apart. Let rest then shred into pieces using two forks. Reserve until needed.
After you have cooked the meat, cook your ramen, poach your eggs and put together in a pretty little aesthetic package. And slurrrrp!
Elizabeth Taylor and Chicago. I read an article this morning in the Chicago Sun Times that highlights the legends' presence in our city in an article titled Elizabeth Taylor tied to Chicago Through Love, Death and Perfume. Here are the highlights:
