There is a superlative reason why French Onion Soup is one of the most exalted and ordered starters in the world – it’s wicked good and decadently extravagant. For onion lovers it’s what dreams are made of. Let’s face it, who doesn’t love creamy, luscious flavored onions that have been long simmering in a rich broth with melty, stringy Swiss on top? It’s an “off the charts soup” and you almost wish it came in a bottomless bowl. Even for…
Please read my post on French Onion soup 101 and delve into the why’s and how to’s of this French bistro classic. The pan is important; I use a 6-quart, deep sauté pan from Le Creuset. Also ensure you have some type of Country crock bowls, stalwart enough to take the broiler heat. If you’ve invested in a kitchen blow torch, kudos to you – that is the best way to melt the cheese. Build some fortifications around your soupe…
Typical posole doesn’t include potatoes, but I had this version made by of my friends in California and it was such a show stopper I had to steal her recipe. Originally from Mexico City, Marucha knows Posole doesn’t call for potatoes, but her family has made it this way for generations. The chicken, potatoes and hominy here are a triumvirate dream. 1 ½ medium onions 4 garlic cloves – rough chopped ½ TSP of anise seeds 1 TSP cumin…
Posole is not the “fix it and forget it type of soup”. If you have delved into my blog, you’ll know that I am not a tremendous supporter of the crockpot, as I use it rarely. There is preparation involved in posole, but the adventurous journey is well worth the effort. The broth has tremendous complexity and depth, as this soup is definitely large and in charge, with a bit of a kick which can be made as spicy as…
Posole is typically served on Christmas eve, but literally buckets of posole are consumed in Mexico on Thursday and Saturdays – don’t ask me why, it’s just the custom. When we feel poorly and bedridden with an oppressing and debilitating cold, we crave the magical comfort of Chicken Noddle soup (known as Jewish Penicillin) and Posole is the prominent Mexican remedy for flu and equally as effective for the common hangover. However, the vast consumption of posole isn’t necessarily for…
If you are occupying idyllic thoughts of a bride and groom delicately sampling this soup to give them “vigor” for their upcoming wedding night, cast them aside. Nothing remotely close am afraid. The term “minestra maritata” delves around the marriage of flavors attained when all the ingredients really get to know each other as they cook. There are plenty of classic Italian flavors recognized throughout this satisfying, yet light tasting soup, which appears at almost every Italian restaurant in the…
Alcatraz may be one of the many legendary and attention-grabbing attractions making San Francisco a colorful destination, but Ciopinno is positively an icon there. With a name like Cioppino, it has a heavy Italian influence permeating from the Genoese settlers in the 1800’s. It is a sought after culinary sensation, offered at almost every restaurant in the Golden City, with countless chefs giving it their own spin. This is a savory and superlative brothy soup, which is very adaptable…
For most folks, soups are the soul food consumed piping hot to ward off the chill throughout the bone-numbing temperatures during the interminable winter months. However, cold soups are the perfect complement for dog days of summer as they are the ultimate solstice cooler when there’s a cornucopia of fresh veggies and we crave something refreshing. Requiring no introduction, this classic from the Iberian Peninsula, specifically Andalusia, Gazpacho demands no stove preparation and it has many variations, typically red or…
Pasta e Fagioli (Fagiol) another brilliant dish hailing from the incomparable Emilia-Romana region of Italy. The beans here are Great Northern, Cannellini or Borlotti and they are accompanied by small round pasta called Ditalini. No matter the different ways of pronunciation, Fasola, Fagiol or Fazool, it’s so swanky a dish, even Dean Martin’s “That’s Amore” has lyrics in its favor: “When the stars make you drool, just like Pasta Fazool, that’s Amore”. And drool is exactly what happens when inhaling…
“I live on good soup, not on fine words”. Moliére There’s no doubt it – soup’s approachable topic of discussion. Who doesn’t crave or give unswerving devotion to a bowl of steamy, sexy, stick-to-your-ribs soup? Hailing as far back as far back as 20,000 BC, give or take a few years, soup’s been a companion to early man and deeply embedded in the history of cooking. In French the word is “soupe” and in Latin “suppa” means “bread soaked in…
Countless Tuscan dishes have peasant origins and this recipe is no exception. Ribollita means “re-boiled” and in the old days, the previous day’s Minestrone was invigorated and given some additional girth with the addition of old bread. The classic ingredients are cannellini or Great Northern Beans, vegetables and bread, although there are countless variations – however, without the bread it is just veggie soup and not genuine. One of the secrets to an authentic Ribollita is to puree some of…
Split pea is a simple soup with irreproachable character. It’s tremendously comforting, downright amazing, and you either love it or remove yourself completely. This is a soup that graces many a table in the British Isles, because the flavors are outstanding and it freezes superbly well. Mrs. Padmore served it upstairs and downstairs at Downton. This may not be her exact recipe, but I am sharing mine with you! 2 leeks, washed thoroughly and sliced thinly 1 medium…