I was going to introduce this soup by talking about how I made it during this past cold and snowy weekend, and while Pittsburgh’s crazy climate has become far less wanting of comfort food now that today is a beautiful and springlike 60 degrees F, hot soup can still be worthwhile in warm weather…

Then I realized, For Pete’s sake, all I can manage to talk about today is the weather? Boy have I gotten boring with age.

So, I’ll let the soup speak for itself, and perhaps it will inspire you thanks to the salty richness of pancetta, silky green chard, and a broth that begs for hot Italian bread to be dunked in its depths. Also, the type of beans you use is a matter of taste and/or convenience. Cannellini beans would be truer to the soup’s Tuscan roots, but I used chickpeas this time around (mainly because my pantry seems to have a never-ending supply). Either way, it is delicious and perfect for a light, satisfying dinner. You can even make it a day ahead, since the flavor, unlike some other things around here, becomes deeper and more complex with time. ;)

White Bean, Pancetta, and Swiss Chard Soup
Adapted from Gourmet, January 2004

2 15-oz cans cannellini beans or chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 lb sliced pancetta, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
4 cups chicken stock or broth (one 32 oz carton)
3 cups water
1 3-inch piece of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rind
1 bay leaf
1/2 lb Swiss chard, stems removed and sliced thinly
1 teaspoon salt

lots of freshly ground pepper to taste
Parmigiano-Reggiano or other salty cheese for serving

Cook pancetta in olive oil in a large 6- to 8-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer pancetta with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.

Add onion to remaining oil and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 6 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for a minute. Add beans, chicken broth, water, cheese rind, bay leaf, and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Some people may wish to discard the cheese rind but a friend of mine pointed out that this is unnecessary. Give it to your household cheese fiend to nibble!

Stir in Swiss chard and salt and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until chard is tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with a few bits of crisp pancetta and grated cheese.

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When I was eighteen, I had my first Internet crush, on a pierced, punkish entomology student whose nom de net was CannedFood. I even took a 21-hour Greyhound ride from Pittsburgh in order to see CannedFood, ride around in his sputtery vintage Volvo P1800, drink tea from several pots in his mother’s vast collection, and visit shops in rural Georgia where I was horrified to see Klan and Nazi paraphernalia for sale. That visit was also when I found out that my awkward teenage crush on CannedFood was pretty much one-sided. Ouch! So, to this day I never eat food from a can because I find it to be a foul and deceptive embodiment of the real thing.

Ok, well maybe that last part was a a bit of a lie…but it sounded so nice and dramatic! I do think some canned food has its merits, like tuna, condensed milk, pumpkin, and especially beans. I always use canned beans because I have terribly poor planning when it comes to my daily dinner. If I need to cook for a party, or a special occasion, I will make lists and obsess and know exactly what will be made and when, but the rest of the time, I’m just not that well-organized. I know, I know…beans soaked overnight have superior texture and flavor, and anyone who uses those tinny-tasting canned ones is a both a cretin and a philistine. Now that we’ve gotten that over with, let me tell you about a recipe that can let you use not one but two different canned foods, pumpkin and beans.

This hot and filling Black Bean Pumpkin Stew is excellent for those forage-the-pantry days when the crisper is looking lonely but nobody wants to go shopping. The pumpkin offers up some nice beta carotine benefits, but don’t expect a very strong pumpkiny flavor. Rather, it’s more of a textural handyman, giving the soup a smoother mouthfeel along with a hint of sweetness. A note about the sausage: I sometimes like to make it with chouriço, but have also made it several times as a vegetarian soup with no sausage at all, and it’s delicious either way.

Black Bean and Pumpkin Stew

2 15-oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 to 2 1/2 cups pumpkin or butternut squashed, cooked, cooled, and mashed (or 1 15-oz can)
1/2 lb cooked chouriço or chorizo sausage, chopped (optional)
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups vegetable stock
1 teaspoon ground cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3-4 tablespoons sherry or balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil over a medium flame. Add the onion (and chouriço, if using) and cook until onions are translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two. Add the cumin, coriander, and cayenne, stir for a few seconds, then add the beans, pumpkin, and stock. Cover and cook on medium-low for 30 to 40 minutes. Add the sherry vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Serve with crackers or chips.

Soups & Stews | 8 Comments »

It’s tricky to make a humble stew look pretty enough for a picture. But who ever said comfort food needed jazzing up, anyway? It’s one thing I like about stews; they need not look like much to be tasty and satisfying. My little stew came into this world like so many others before it: as a quick way to use up some wanton, haphazard ingredients. My fridge had been harboring some squash, beans, and bell pepper that were lolling around for just the right sort of autumn day that encourages the eating of stews. A little bit of home-smoked chili powder from some Texan friends infused it with a welcome surge of heat, although I really need to remember not to stick my nose in the container and inhale its lovely scent, because I somehow manage to do this every single time and then have to spend the next 15 minutes sneezing out burning powder.

For those who do not have such incendiary compounds at home, any other kind of smoked chili pepper should do the trick, such as commercial chipotle powder. The warm, smoky flavor is what gives the stew a particularly rich and hearty flavor. If you’re a real fire-breather and the chipotle powder isn’t hot enough, add some cayenne to taste.

This stew also happens to be vegan and gluten-free. It’s great with a side of freshly sautéed greens and some warm tortillas, or even just chips for dipping.

Spicy Butternut, Black Bean, and Hominy Stew

3 cups peeled and chopped butternut squash or pumpkin
1 1/2 cups (or 1 16-oz can) black beans, rinsed
1 1/2 cups (or 1 16-oz can) white hominy, rinsed
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon oregano leaves
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder or other smoked chili pepper
half a medium lime
salt and pepper to taste
chopped cilantro for serving

In a dry skillet, toast cumin seeds until fragrant. Set aside.
On a medium flame, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan or sauté pan. Add garlic and cook for about a minute. Add chopped onions and cook until translucent. Add squash, cumin seeds, chili powder, oregano, and vegetable broth. Cover and cook until squash is tender, about 10-15 minutes. When squash is tender, add bell pepper, black beans and hominy; cook for 10 more minutes. Squeeze juice of half a lime over mixture; taste and adjust salt and spices if necessary. Garnish with chopped cilantro to serve.

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I am completely addicted to that Orange Caramel Sauce that I made to spoon atop molten chocolate cakes. After the cakes were gone, there was still quite a bit left over, so I’ve been pouring it on everything, from sliced blood oranges…

to a topping for fixing up some otherwise somewhat dull, morning-rush frozen buckwheat waffles.

In other orange news, I made this lovely orange-hued Butternut Squash Soup with Cider Cream. You can find the recipe here on Epicurious. I substituted 1 medium onion and four chopped shallots for the leeks and used no celery, since there wasn’t time to go out and get any. I really liked the way it turned out, although the reviews claiming it was a sweet soup had me surprised - to me it wasn’t unusually sweet at all, even with the cider cream. In fact, next time I will try an even sweeter and more apple-y variation with a heavier hand on the cider and chopped apples. As is, though, it’s a tasty and nicely savory fall soup that I’ll definitely make again.

Soups & Stews, Sweet Sauces & Fillings | 2 Comments »

Re-posted from Gastronomicon.org - original post date 10 October 2006

Been busy with some new work and not much time to post lately. Here’s a lovely soup I made recently with butternut squash, which in my opinion is one of the most versatile of squashes. This soup is incredibly easy to make and also freezes well. I like the consistency to be a bit thick, but if you prefer you can thin it with some stock.

Butternut Squash and Chickpea Soup

2 15-oz cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 2-lb butternut squash
2 medium onions
1/4 cup of olive oil
5 cups of vegetable stock
1.5 teaspoons of roasted cumin
2 tablespoons of lemon juice, or more to taste
a few sprigs of fresh cilantro
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Wrap the squash tightly in aluminim foil and bake at 350 F for about 60 minutes, or until soft. Let the squash cool, then scoop out the flesh and put it aside, discarding the seeds and stringy stuff.

Heat the olive oil a heavy-bottomed saucepan. When hot, add onions and cook at medium heat until soft. Add the squash, chickpeas, stock, and cumin. Simmer for 30 minutes, covered. Puree the soup with an immersion blender or in a regular blender until smooth. If it seems too thick, add more water or stock to reach the desired consistency. Return soup to pot, stir in lemon juice, and reheat until warm. Sprinkle with cilantro leaves before serving.

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