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White Bean, Escarole, and Meatball Soup

As the weather continues to cool down, I am more and more in the mood for soup.  I love eating it and making it – it’s a great platform for creativity, too.

Last week, I had some beautiful escarole from my CSA share, so I wanted to do something with it.  White bean and escarole soup – which I have enjoyed many times over the years – immediately came to mind.  Easy to make, light yet filling, plus I had everything I needed on hand.  However, I wanted to up the nutrition in it since I was going to have to make it with water instead of stock (I had no stock on hand and prefer not to use the boxed/canned stuff).  Adding meatballs came to mind!  I enjoy them in Italian Wedding soup, so why not add them to my white bean and escarole soup?  The flavors seemed compatible.

We get this sweet Italian turkey sausage from the CSA that we just love, and I had some on hand and thought it would make for some tasty meatballs.  I actually hadn’t made meatballs before, but thought they couldn’t be too difficult – meat, eggs, some kind of binder.  However, I decided to check in with The Art of Simple Food, Alice Water’s book on cooking basics, just to see if there was more to meatballs than what I imagined.  Good thing I did, because there were a few other ingredients involved . Fortunately, they were easy to find, and they made my meatballs truly amazing!

The meatballs held up in the soup and added a lot of flavor to things.  And like I said, they kept their shape and didn’t fall apart, a scenario that had crossed my mind. And the flavors indeed did go with the escarole and white beans. Total win.

I chose to sprinkle my soup with grated parmesan, which I got some from the Italian deli near my apartment, for some extra flavor, and that was an excellent decision. It’s delicious – savory and nutty without being overly salty.

This soup takes about a half hour to put together once the beans are cooked and the meatballs are done.

White Bean, Escarole, and Meatball Soup

The meatballs could be your own favorite recipe, or this wonderful meatball recipe from The Art of Simple Food. I made a half recipe and ended up with about two dozen leftover meatballs, and used them for the following few days in pasta and just as a snack.

3/4 cup dry white beans, soaked with a little base (I use baking soda), yielding 1 1/2 cups cooked. Alternatively, you could use one 15 oz. can of white beans, rinsed.
1/4 cup diced onion
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 head escarole, washed, cored, and chopped into 1 inch strips
4 c. water or chicken stock
two dozen small meatballs (about the size of a rounded teaspoon)
salt and pepper
grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Rinse the beans, and cook in water until done. Add salt to taste, then drain.

In a large pan, saute the onion in olive oil and a little salt until transluscent. Add the beans and cook in the onion/oil mixture for 5 minutes. Add the escarole and cook until it wilts.

Add water or stock and cook 5 more minutes.

Add the meatballs, and simmer for 15 more minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon into bowls and top with parmesan. Enjoy.

Makes 4 main course servings.

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Farro, Cranberry Bean, and Winter Squash Soup

soup

This recipe started out with the idea of simply combining farro – my current favorite grain – and cranberry beans, as a way to eat up one of my CSA veggies this week.  So I soaked the farro in the morning, with the hope that the dish would simply come to me.  I’m happy to say that it did, and it is a winner!

I often contemplate dinner while I’m commuting home on the train.  I thought about what would go well with farro and cranberry beans, as well as considered what I had on hand at the house.  It occurred to me that these two ingredients would taste good with tomatoes and winter squash, along with thyme, onions, garlic, and white wine.  Something green also would be good, so I opted for watercress, in part because of its health benefits, and because it looked fresh at the produce stand.

I only had to buy the thyme, onion, and watercress, as well as the white wine. At the same time I took the opportunity to replenish our “house wine”, which is Cloudline pinot noir.  Love that stuff!  The wine I used for this soup is a Smoking Loon sauvignon blanc.  Honestly, I wasn’t sure what this $10 bottle would provide, but I have to say, it is very tasty.  I would definitely buy it again.

This soup is quite thick, almost more of a stew; I tend to like my soups thick, though.  The roasted squash breaks down and thickens the soup, and the starch from the farro also contributes to that thickening.  I enjoyed this soup topped with a fried egg and a bit of grated parmesan, but it is delicious on its own.  It’s a great soup for this time of year – cranberry beans are in the markets, and winter squash is starting to be seen.  Thick soups like this are excellent on cold autumn nights, too.

Farro, Cranberry Bean, and Winter Squash Soup

1/2 c. farro, soaked with water and a big splash of (raw) vinegar

1 small acorn squash, or small winter squash
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/8 tsp cumin

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/2 white onion, diced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh thyme
2 cloves garlic minced

1/2 c. white wine
1 pound fresh cranberry beans (1/2 pound shelled)

2 c. stock, water, or a mixture (I used 1 cup stock and 1 cup water)
1 pint crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped watercress
1/4 c. white wine
1/8 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Soak the farro in water and acid (vinegar, in this case) for 8-10 hours.  As you start to prepare this dish, drain and rinse the farro.  Set aside.

Cut the squash in half and remove all seeds and obvious strings. Cut the squash into a total of 6-8 pieces. Brush the flesh with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and cumin. Roast in a 375 degree oven for 40 minutes. When it is done cooking, simply let sit and cool on the pan.

Meanwhile, saute the onion in olive oil and salt in a large pan over medium-high heat until translucent. Add the thyme and garlic and cook for another minute. By this time the onion should start to caramelize.

Add the drained farro and cook about 5 minutes. Add the white wine and cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed.

Add the beans and combine with the onion-farro mixture. Add the stock/water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

As the mixture is simmering, peel and chop the squash into 1 inch pieces. Add it to the soup. Add the chopped tomatoes and the watercress.  Let cook for another 5 minutes.

Finish off with a 1/4 c. white wine, 1/8 tsp of smoked paprika, and 1 tsp of extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4-6.

This post is participating in the Simple Lives Thursday blog hop, hosted by Wardeh at GNOWFGLINS.

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Sprouted Lentil Soup

sprouted lentil soup

So, last week I showed you how to sprout lentils, and also mentioned how they make for a delicious sprouted lentil soup.  I made such a soup last week; it was a perfect dish for a cold winter night, and my household enjoyed it immensely.

The original recipe specifies using lentils du puy, a lovely little french lentil.  To be honest, I’ve never tried sprouting these lentils, but I think it would be worth a shot.  I used brown lentils, which are more common.

My favorite moment when making this soup is toward the beginning of the cooking process.  Onions, leeks, and garlic cook with thyme and cumin, and it smells amazing.  They don’t call them aromatics for nothing!  I feel like I could eat just that sometimes.

onions, carrots, celery

The soup recipe came from an old copy of Food & Wine, in an article about Bobbi Brown, the founder of the cosmetics company bearing her name.  She originally got the recipe from the  Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.

I halved the recipe; a full recipe will make 8 pints of soup!  You can, of course, double what I indicate below, as it would be an excellent way to feed an army of people.  This soup tastes even better the day after.  It also freezes beautifully.  Enjoy with a red wine of your choice (perhaps the same kind you put in the soup).

Sprouted Lentil Soup
adapted from the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

1/2 pound sprouted lentils
a generous glug of olive oil, plus more for serving
1 large onion
2 medium garlic cloves
3 large leeks, whited and tender green parts only, chopped
celtic sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 tablespoon chopped thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 celery ribs, cut into 1/4 inch dice
3 medium carrots, cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 1/2 quarts chicken stock or water
1 pint crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons dry red wine
freshly grated parmesan cheese for serving

Heat the olive oil in a large pot.  Add the onions, garlic, leeks, 1/2 tablespoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper, the thyme and cumin, and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very tender, 15-20 minutes.

Add the celery and carrots and cook until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes.  Ad the stock/water, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and sprouted lentils to the pot.  Increase the heat to high, cover and bring to a boil. Uncover, reduce the heat to moderate and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender, about an hour.

Stir in the red wine and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve hot with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of parmesan.

Makes 8 cups.