White Bean and Greens Soup

Yesterday it was the perfect day for baking, and cooking here in LA. Cold, wet and rainy so I needed to come up with something to warm the cockles of my heart. Soup was on the agenda. A simple soup was the option, one that would be healthy as well as tasty. This simple soup fit the bill and was rounded off with fresh baked bread. (Yesterday I was a regular Julian Child in the kitchen).

In this soup you can use any green you want that is in season and looks good in the produce section. This soup I used mustard greens for their peppery bite, but kale or even beet greens would have worked just as well.

This soup could easily be made vegetarian by substituting a vegetable broth for the chicken broth. It would remain healthy as you are getting your protein from the beans not the broth, and the fiber rich greens are still there to clean out your pipes as my Uncle Al would have said.

White Bean and Greens soup

• 2 cups small white beans
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 medium onion diced
• 3 small carrots sliced
• 1/2 green pepper diced
• 1 T garlic - minced
• Salt to taste
• 1 t ground black pepper
• 1 bunch mustard greens - trimmed and coarse chopped
• bay leaf
• 1 t rosemary
• 1 can (49oz) chicken broth

Cover beans with water and soak over night. Drain and refill stock pot with 8 cups water. Add bay leaf and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 1.5-2 hours until beans are tender. Drain well and put aside.

Saute onion, carrots and green pepper in olive oil until onions are translucent. Add garlic and cook one more minute. Add rosemary and a new bay leaf. Add chicken broth and simmer 30- minutes until carrots are soft. Add greens and cook until wilted but still tender crisp, about 5 minutes.

Pumpkin Chile Soup

Hard to believe 3 days ago it was 106 and very humid here.  This morning it is barely 70 and a light rain falling.  Not exactly cool fall weather according to the rule books for the rest of the country, but what the heck this is LA and I'll take it.

The start of cool fall days means soup and fresh baked bread.  Today I did both.  I cheated on the bread...Pumpernickel in the trusty old bread machine.  The soup is totally from scratch.  Yes, even the pumpkin is from scratch that I canned from last years Jack-o-lanterns and this is the end of the supply.  

Soups are a pretty easy throw together once you have a few recipes under your be.t.  Canned broth is my favorite cheat and it saves some cooking time in the process.  Today I decided I wanted something a little different so I opted for a sweet/savory version of Pumpkin Soup which in itself as a variation of Butternut Squash soup I came up with a while back.  The  green chile part was taken as I didn't have any bell peppers floating around.  It works now the soup has more of a southwesty type flavor.

Pumpkin Chile Soup

• 2 medium yellow onions
  
• 2 T chopped garlic
  
• 1 t thyme
  
• 1 t fresh sage
  
• 1/4 t cayenne pepper
  
• 1/4 t ground cumin
• 1/4 t cinnamon
• 1/4 t nutmeg
• 2T Olive oil
  
• 1T butter
  
• 2 C pumpkin puree
  
• 1 can (7 oz) green chiles
  
• 2 cans (14 oz) low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
  

Dice onion.  In large stock pot heat butter and add onion when the butter begins to sizzle.  Add salt, pepper to taste. Add sage and thyme.  Cook over medium heat stirring often until onions are clear and beginning to caramelize (about 10 minutes).  Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer.

Transfer onions to blender.  Add can of chiles, do not drain.  Blend on high slowing adding chicken stock until only tiny bits of onion remain.  Return to pan, add pumpkin, cayenne pepper, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg and stir in until uniform.  Simmer 20 minutes.  Check salt and pepper before serving. 

Serve with warm bread, green salad and you are in cool weather heaven.  

Using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth will give you a vegetarian soup which is equally tasty.

Couscous and vegie saute'

After this last weekends Battle Bacon I am pretty much overloaded with animal proteins and their associated fats. Don't get me wrong, I'm still an omnivore with heavy carnivore overtones, BUT - I still like lighter vegie only meals to keep the pipes clean and functioning.

One of my favorite summer meals is a simple vegie saute tossed with warm couscous. Nice and filling, full of flavor but it doesn't weigh you down. Couscous also has the advantage of being the easiest pasta on the planet to cook. Had boiling water or stock and walk away. No boiling pot of water adding tons of steam to the kitchen making a hot day worse.

Couscous & Vegie Saute'

• 1 1/c water or stock
• 1 c couscous
• 2 medium zucchini -sliced
• 8 oz button mushrooms
• 1 med red onion
• 1 small green pepper
• 1/4 c basil coarse chopped
• olive oil
• salt
• fresh cracked pepper

Bring water or stock to a boil. Pour over couscous, cover and let sit for 5 minutes.

Heat large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Slice mushrooms in halve, quarter the really big ones. Add to hot oil. Cook approximately 5 minutes until they start to brown.

Add sliced zucchini. Cook about 5 minutes until they start to brown. Chop onion and green pepper and add to pan. Add half of the chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook 5-10 minutes or until onion begins to caramelize.

Fluff couscous with a fork. Add the hot vegies and remaining chopped basil. Toss lightly and serve hot.

This is a pretty versatile dish. You can use it as a side dish or main course.

Best flavor in the couscous comes from using a good stock, beef or chicken. If you are using as a side dish chose a stock that compliments your main (beef for beef for example). If you are looking to go vegetarian use vegetable stock.

Also, if you want your vegies to brown better during the saute process reduce the olive oil by half and substitue in a pat of butter to replace the removed oil. It does add a bit of animal fat to the dish that is otherwise missing, but what the heck...what is a little butter between friends?