With the weather turning warmer you may not be thinking soup mode, but it's also a great time for garden vegetables and for seafood! I chose a fun mix of red peppers and crab and put together an easy soup for the spring and summer. And since you know I like things with a little spice to them we are looking to add some jalapenos as well to this lovely little dish. This is actually quite easy, just make sure you pay attention to TPC notes on this one. They are critical! OK Let's Prep....
Here's What You Need:
- 4 Red Bell Peppers
- 1-2 Jalapeno Peppers
- 1 Onion, chopped
- 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 3 cups Chicken Stock (or vegetable stock) bouillon cubes work fine
- 1 Potato cubed (adds a nice thickness)
- 1 Carrot shredded (adds a subtle sweetness)
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 3 Thyme Sprigs
- ½ lb Lump Crab meat (really rinse it)
- Sea Salt and FG Black Pepper, to taste
- Heavy Cream
- 1 Baguette and 1 Garlic Clove (sliced toasted and rubbed with garlic clove)
Roast the peppers directly on your stove top on the open flame. If you have an electric stove you can halve them and put them under your broiler until a nice black char shows. (About 15 minutes) Let cool and then roughly chop the roasted red peppers and set aside.
TPC NOTE: The heat from the jalapenos comes from the seeds and membrane. Adjust the heat you want by either leaving them there or removing them before chopping. ALSO the fumes from the jalapenos can be a little much so be careful and REALLY wash your hands when done handling the jalapenos. I have many a painful tale to tell you about not doing that correctly.
In a large pot, heat a splash of olive oil, add the onion, garlic, thyme, bay leaves some FG pepper then one cup of stock. Bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the onions and garlic begin to soften.
Add the carrots and potatoes and the rest of the stock. Bring to a boil again then lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes begin to soften.
Add the roasted red peppers and return to a boil. Cover and simmer about 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and allow soup to cool slightly. Transfer the soup to a food processor or use an immersion blender or even a regular blender and puree until smooth.
TPC NOTE: When blending the soup be very careful. Do it in two batches and make sure to put a towel on top of the blender cap to hold it down when blending, as the steam will pop the top and splash hot soup all over you....IE not good.
Return to the saucepan to reheat and adjust the seasonings (Salt and pepper). Add the crab meat, and simmer the soup just until the crab is heated through. Serve in shallow soup bowls. Add some crab meat to the middle of the bowl to create a little mound. Drizzle in the heavy cream and garnish with Italian Parsley, or Chives and a little FG Pepper. Place the baguette slices around the bowl. And there you have it!
WINE NOTE: Since we are probably serving this during the warmer days, feel free to serve with a crisp white or even some champagne. Until we do this again....
Enjoy....Have Fun...and Eat Well!
TPC
Kicking off a new segment here at TPC. It's called the "Side Note". In this we hope to explore some quick and easy side dishes that can stand alone (with a glass of wine of course) or compliment many of your favorite main dishes. I'll try to keep the whole section as short as possible (though I DO love to hear myself talk...or write in this case)
This surprising little side dish can be whipped up in about ten minutes and will be sure to inspire your guests to give off a slight, "oh!" as they gobble it down. We turn to the asparagus to be the star of this side. Asparagus, an easily recognizable green high in vitamins, dietary benefits and antioxidants, has a very unique taste and can often take the lead in any dish it is added to. Knowing this we are just going to let it stand on it's own here with some lovely spices to play off it's unique taste. But enough..keeping this short....Let's Prep.
Here's What You Need:
- 1 Bunch fresh Asparagus
- 1-2 Garlic Clove sliced
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Sea Salt and FG Pepper to taste
- Half a Lemon
Heat the olive oil (just a couple of quick swirls from the bottle) in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Throw a pinch of the red pepper flakes and a turn or two of the fg pepper to infuse the oil with some wonderful spice. Add the sliced garlic and asparagus, salt and another fg pepper turn or two; cover and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until asparagus is tender. It should have little hints of dark color letting you know she's ready for plating. Turn off the heat, squeeze a little lemon juice on the asparagus and serve it right up.
Great with beef and pork dishes OR cut up the asparagus, toss with pasta (and a little pasta water) and some freshly grated parmesan cheese and you're golden.
WINE NOTE: As this is somewhat Italian in it's background, let's do an Italian wine with it. You could go with either a Barbera or Primitivo both which compliment really well with a dish that has a little kick to it. Or get fancy and have a Franciacorta, which is a sparkling wine from Lombardy
Until we do this again....
Enjoy....Have Fun...and Eat Well!
TPC,
With a most colorful background as to it's name, this dish is all about the very essence of using what you have on hand. A Mediterranean mouthful with every bit, it will give you an "old world" taste that you would swear was passed down from generation to generation in your family (btw there's nothing better than a good story with a dish). I would leave out the part that the dish is probably only 50-60 years from it's creation. Like many Italian dishes you will find that you can have many variations but the key, as always, is to taste, test, adjust, taste until you find the one that is to your liking. And once you do, you will find this dish as hearty and satisfying as a good pasta meal should be. Of course you can get it in a jar, but then.....really....
OK....let's prep....
What you'll need:
1 pound of pasta (A nice thick Spaghetti is best, but if you only have a Penne around, go for it)
1/2 cup of Pitted Olives halved gives a nice effect (black, Kalamata, Gaeta....got any left over from that Tuscan salad? of course you do)
3-4 Garlic Cloves chopped (as a garlic guy, I'm going 4, but your choice)
Red Pepper Flakes to taste
Olive Oil
6-8 Anchovy Fillets (I've seen tuna used, but in my opinion that's a whole different dish)
1 large can (28 oz.) Whole Plum and Peeled Tomatoes (break the tomatoes with your hand for a nice rustic look and reserve the juices too)
2-3 tbsp of Capers (rinse thoroughly and drain)
Italian Parsley chopped (about a handful)
Wedge of Parmesan Reggiano (to be grated)
Salt and FG to taste (this can be a very salty dish so you may not need a lot here)
I've seen an onion used in this dish as well. However you are dealing with some very strong ingredients and I've found that onions didn't really work for me. BUT you are more than welcome to add 1 onion (sliced for effect) and just add with the anchovies.
TPC NOTE: In this dish, because timing is very important (especially in cooking the garlic), I can't stress enough to have all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go in the pan.
Bring water to boil in a large pot. THEN salt the water. Throw in the pasta and cook until al dente. With the pasta ready, drain return to the pot and pour the reserved liquid from the tomatoes and give a quick toss. I would use just enough to coat.
As soon as the pasta goes in, in a large frying pan on a med flame, combine the oil, anchovy, red pepper flake and then garlic. Stir, stir, stir. IT IS KEY to make sure that you don't brown the garlic so keep it moving. Right about here you are going to get hit with one of life's most wonderful aromas. The garlic will literally welcome you home. Add the plum tomatoes and cook until you get a nice thick consistency.
Now you're ready for the olives, capers and parsley. No need to really cook here as the olives and capers are ready to eat from the can/jar and the parsley will give it's flavor with the mere heat from the sauce.
Combine the Pasta and the Sauce giving a quick toss. (If you're a little dry you can add some of the pasta water or the reserved juice. experiment here, but I'd go with the juice just on this dish.) Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve in warm bowls and grate the Parmesan cheese to taste over each bowl.
WINE NOTE: I think a Zinfandel or even a Pinot Noir would go very nice here. But again....if you're feeling slightly celebratory, open a bottle of bubbly!
Enjoy....Have Fun....and Eat Well!
TPC
