Meatless Minestrone

Friday was another meat-free day for the family, and I wasn’t feeling like another fish dish. While I was at the store, I spied a bin of very nice looking zucchini and started formulating a plan for dinner - I was going to make minestrone! I don’t know why I rarely think of making this traditional Italian dish - it's so easy and nutritious and everyone loves it. Minestrone is also very versatile - it can be meaty or meatless or use stock or be completely vegetarian.

Since the ingredients can be so varied depending on taste or by what is in season or available in the store or fridge, I started wondering about what makes minestrone minestrone. All the recipes I researched used beans and tomatoes along with a wide variety of vegetables. Still not satisfied, I pulled out my ever-useful Cook’s Illustrated yearbooks to see what they said.

On pages 6 and 7 of September 1998, I quickly found what I needed: Minestrone Deconstructed. According to CI, the word minestrone literally translates as “big soup,” and indeed is a hearty Italian soup suitable for a main dish especially when pasta or rice is added. It is composed of a balance of starchy veggies and “aromatic vegetables” which brings to mind the question – what exactly qualifies as an aromatic vegetable. I assume it is any pungent vegetable (onion, garlic, leek, celery, etc), but we all know what happened when we dare to assume…so I looked it up.
 

All information relating to “aromatic veggies” consistently pointed me towards a mirepoix of which I’ve written before (diced, sautéed combination of onions, carrots, and celery used predominantly in French cuisine.) I further learned the mirepoix’s Italian counterpart is known as a soffritto (means "sub-fried" or "under-fried" when literally translated - in other words, sautéed). And, unlike the mirepoix which is always onions, carrots and celery (usually of a 2:1:1 ratio), a soffritto varies by region. Northern Italy typically uses an onion, celery, carrot combo while the southern regions use onions and garlic. Also unlike a mirepoix, which is typically sautéed in butter (those French really seem to love their butter), a soffrito uses olive oil, of course.

The Cook’s Illustrated recipes uses leeks, carrots, onions, and celery as the aromatics and potato, zucchini, and spinach as the starches along with tomatoes, cannellini beans, basil pesto and Parmesan rind (for flavor and creaminess).

CI also lists these recommended alternatives: kale, Swiss chard, savoy cabbage or escarole in place of the spinach, fava beans or peas in place of the white beans, and green beans, tasty turnips, cauliflower, or winter squash (such as butternut) in place of zucchini or potato.

Here is how I made my minestrone:

~3 medium carrots diced, 1 small onion (diced fine), 5 cloves garlic (smashed) sautéed in 2T extra virgin olive oil
~Add in order: One 28oz can diced tomatoes and one tomato can of water, 29oz can light red kidney beans and 29oz can garbanzo beans (undrained), small bunch kale (chopped) and medium zucchini (diced), small piece of parmesan rind and salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
~Simmer until veggies are tender.
~Add 4oz dry macaroni and more water as necessary to prevent soup from becoming too thick. Stir every few minutes until pasta is done.
~Serve topped with fresh grated parmesan and enjoy!

The Musical Fruit

Beans, beans the musical fruit

The more you eat, the more you toot

The more you toot the better you feel

So let's eat beans with every meal

No, Benjamin Franklin did not coin that sweet ditty, but he really did say, "Fart proudly," so I felt compelled to include it.

Beans, also known as legumes (because they are of the family Leguminosae or alternately Fabaceae) are, in a word, the bomb.  They are probably the most versatile, nutritious, delicious, cheap, easy to prepare and rather (in my opinion) underestimated and underappreciated (and most joked about) little powerhouse of a food - dried beans, that is.  ("Green beans" are immature beans eaten, usually whole, while the pod is still tender and before the little beans inside have been given a chance to ripen and dry.)

According to the U.S. Dry Bean Council (never knew there was such a thing), the thirteen most popular dried bean varieties grown in the US (mainly in the midwest) are Baby Lima, Large Lima, Black, Blackeye (yes, the black-eye pea is really a bean), Cranberry, Dark Red Kidney, Light Red Kidney, Garbanzo (aka chickpea), Great Northern, Navy, Pink, Pinto and Small Red.  Of course, there are a bazillion other types of beans (including fava beans which I heard are fabulous with a nice Chianti), but these are the most commonly consumed.

So, where was I going with this?  Oh yeah...Beans - nutritious and delicious - aside from having lots of fiber (thus giving them their symphonic side-effect), are packed with a perfect blend of protein (16 grams per cup) and complex carbohydrates along with a fair dose of calcium, potassium, folate and even a dash of iron.

I've already touched on bean soup, so I'd like to share another of my new favorite bean recipes compliments of another of my favorite no-nonsense cooks, Mark Bittman.  This one actually came from my Runner's World magazine (yes, I run - just very slowly) but also is in his cookbook Kitchen Express (of which I have a copy - it's great).  I was hesitant at first to use smoked sausage in a stew but figured it was good enough for my gumbo and finally made the recipe as is.  It was hearty and delicious and loved by all! 

 

Cassoulet with Lots of Vegetables
2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound Italian sausage, bone-in pork chops, duck breasts, or chicken legs, or 1 pound of a combination of meats
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
2 leeks or onions, washed and sliced (I used leeks)
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch lengths
3 celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (I omitted the celery because I didn't have any at the time and I'm not a big fan of cooked celery except in clam chowder)
2 medium zucchinis, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups canned tomatoes (and juice), chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
2 bay leaves
4 cups canned white beans, drained and liquid reserved in case needed (or frozen like I wrote about a few posts ago)
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock (preferrably homemade from your squirreled away stock of stock in the freezer)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add meat and cook, turning until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and drain off all but two tablespoons of fat. Turn heat to medium, add garlic, leeks or onions, carrots, celery, and zucchini; season with salt and pepper. Cook five minutes, or until softened. Add tomatoes and juice, meat, and herbs. Bring to a boil. Add beans and boil again, stirring occasionally; reduce heat so mixture bubbles gently. Cook for 20 minutes, adding stock or bean liquid when mixture gets thick. Fish out meat; remove bones and skin and chop into chunks. Return to pot and add cayenne. Warm through. Serves four.

CALORIES PER SERVING: 580
CARBS: 82 G
PROTEIN: 40 G
FAT: 11 G

(Thanks to http://americanbean.com/ for all the fabulous bean facts.  Check it out - there's tons of information and some great recipes at the site!)

Soup's On!

This time of year I love to make soup.  Maybe it's because it's cold and dreary or maybe it's because many of the "soup veggies" (a.k.a. root cellar veggies) - potatoes, onions, dried beans, carrots, squash, cabbage, greens, parsnips - are in season.

Soup is nutritious and inexpensive and a big ole pot goes a long way (leftovers freeze well or make great lunches).  Consequently, we have soup a few times a week.  A big pot of veggie soup and biscuits is one of my favorites.  I start with V8, tomato juice or homemade stock, dried or fresh herbs (usually parsley, thyme and sage - sorry, no rosemary) and start adding an assortment of veggies - stewed tomatoes, corn, carrots, green beans, cabbage, onions, parsnips - I just keep stuffing whatever I have in the pot (this is a great way to get rid of levtovers too), add salt and pepper to taste, and simmer until tender.   

I often use dried legumes for added protein.  I either soak them overnight or simmer them on low all day.  Sometimes I cook double the lentils or beans and scoop out half, cool and freeze for a later date.  

Earlier this week I made navy bean soup.  It was nutritious, delicious and SUPER cheap!  I estimate I paid less than $3 for the whole pot.  $1 for the 28oz can of stewed tomatoes, $1 for the bag of dried beans, and less than $1 for the 1/4 cup of dehydrated onions, salt and pepper, thyme, and the hambone (stashed in the freezer after Christmas).

We also enjoy a big pot of beef and barely soup.  For this, I simmer about two pounds of beef shanks - usually three rounds of beef - in five quarts of water with three bay leaves and 1/4 cube dehydrated onions for several hours until the meat falls off the bone.  Next I skim off the fat and add the barley and cook until tender.  Lastly I add the shredded meat back in along with a 28oz can of stewed tomatoes, a T of worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper to taste (sometimes I add a couple beef or vegetable bullion cubes for a flavor boost).

Tonight, I experimented a little and came up with a real winner.  I started with some ham stock (left from Christmas) and enough water to equal about three quarts, 1/4 cup dehydrated onions and about three pounds (a dozen small) of peeled potatoes sliced into thin rounds.  I let the potatoes cook just until they began to break apart and added the last bit of the Christmas ham from the freezer - maybe 1/2 pound - chopped into small chunks and a pound of chopped mustard greens.  I simmered the soup until the greens were tender but still green and then stirred in 1/2 cup half and half, sprinkled in a little bit of kosher salt and about a t of white pepper.  It was delicious!

Soup is a great way to warm the belly, lighten the grocery bill and make the house smell great!  I say you start with a pot of water, add a little of this and a little of that and end up with a fabulous meal.  Those stone soup guys had it right (just remember to remove the rocks before serving). 

(P.S. I usually pair my soups with either cornbread made in my cast iron skillet handed down to me by my grandmother or drop biscuits that I like to bake in a muffin tin.)

Lucky dish

On the way back to Virginia from Ohio I decided to stop by my favorite hometown meat market – Mom Wilson’s on US 23 outside Delaware, OH. I read out loud the small red road signs that had been there since my childhood as I drove the last miles to the store – Whole Hog, Country Sausage, Hickory Smoked Ham, Hickory Smoked Bacon, R Bologna, Pan Haas…

I pulled into the “Porkin’ Lot” and walked inside where I was greeted with the same old familiar smells: barrels of pickles, huge wheels of cheese, smoky meats and sauerkraut. The year was drawing to an end and I was there for the sauerkraut – a three pound bag of the stuff. Being of German decent, I grew up knowing eating kraut and pork on New Year’s Day was necessary to bring good fortune and prosperity in the upcoming year.

I don’t eat sauerkraut every year anymore, though. Now that I live in Virginia, I often uphold southern tradition and eat black-eyed peas and collard greens for good luck in the New Year. In fact, that is something I like to cook pretty much year-round – a pot of beans and a pot of greens. A little bit of country ham and a handful of dehydrated onions in each pot is all it takes for a perfectly nutritious and delicious meal the whole family will eat. 

Every culture, it seems, has a traditional New Year’s dish.

I had the pleasure of living in Japan for a few years where New Year’s (o-shogatsu) was one of the most celebrated holidays. On New Year’s Eve, we dined on soba; the long length of the noodles symbolizing longevity. New Year’s Day brought with it a wide variety of delicious treats – called osechi-ryori – each with its own meaning including fertility, prosperity, health and happiness. These artfully prepared foods are typically cooked in advance of New Year’s Day and are intended to be eaten throughout the first few days of the year. This ensures the whole family can visit and relax and not worry about preparing meals. O-zōni is a particular favorite of mine and my Japanese neighbor makes some for me every year. This mild New Year’s soup is made with dashi (fish stock), mochi (glutinous, sweet rice pounded into a paste and molded into small cakes), and vegetables including carrot, bamboo shoot, and daikon.

I am not sure which is the luckiest food, so I’ve decided to err on the side of caution and have a little bit of all the above!


(Photo from http://germanfoodguide.com/ and http://www.bento.com/ )