Minestrone di Riccobono

We are pleased to introduce our good friend Jennifer Riccobono as our guest blogger this week. Her husband Pete makes excellent minestrone and they were generous enough to share it with the world! Read on...

“My family has dinner on Sundays. Do you want to come to my parents’ house and join us this week?”

“I’d love to. Do you know what they’re having so I can bring something?”

“Oh, you don’t have to bring anything. And we have red sauce every Sunday.”

“Red sauce?”

“Mm, hmm.”

“What’s red sauce?”

…Blank stare. And then, “Red sauce. You know, with pasta. Probably sausages and stuff.”

“Do you mean like, spaghetti sauce? Tomato sauce?”

“Yeah, red sauce…”

So there it was; my introduction into Italian family life. Seven and a half years later, after a marriage and a move to our nation’s Capital, I barely remember calling red sauce by any other name and I’d argue to the death that the best place to buy a cannoli is in Brooklyn, NY.

Those Sunday dinners at my husband’s parents’ house taught me a few things about Italian American tradition and family dynamics. I am a foodie by nature and perhaps it’s no mistake that I married a chef, as my sister once noted. The culinary lines run deep in my husband’s family and Italian influence in many of the home cooked meals is a good thing. Preparations for many of the dishes are an all day event. They fill your home with the sublime smells of comfort and warmth giving your walls and chairs and tables a sense of dignity and a collective transition from house to home.

When we moved to this great city, I was fortunate enough to befriend some incredible people.Two of them are the proprietors of the Gracious Bowl, and they invited us to the first annual DC soup swap last month. As soup is one of my favorite treats I am a big fan of the Gracious Bowl blog, but had one problem.What soup are we (read: my darling husband Pete) going to make?

Since we would be sharing the soup with friends it seemed only natural to pick a soup that symbolized family warmth and casual comfort. Italian Minestrone was an obvious choice. The word Minestrone means “to dish up” or “to serve”. Traditionally filled with all the things in your kitchen you didn’t finish using for something else it exudes casual comfort. Bits and pieces of other meals created lovingly to serve to family and friends would have to have carried with them the positive energy of the dishes they were originally intended for.

So serve up this Minestrone di Riccobono (That’s right…Riccobono! Where you expecting Minestrone di Smith?) with some nice parmesan cheese and raise your wine glass to good family and good friends. Salute!

Minestrone di Riccobono
Serves 4

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped

6 cups low-salt chicken broth

1 – 3” Parmigiano Reggiano rind
2 carrots, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
2 celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 yellow squash, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 small eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 15-ounce can cannellini (white kidney beans), drained
2 tomatoes, peeled, crushed
2 cups green cabbage, chopped into 1 inch pieces

1 cup ditallini or other spoon sized pasta
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and sauté until soft, about 4 minutes.

2. Add broth and next 9 ingredients. Increase heat to high and bring soup to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, about 10 minutes.

3. Return to a boil and stir in pasta; boil until pasta is al dente, about 6-10 minutes longer.

4. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper and remove remains of Parmigiano rind. Ladle soup into 6 bowls; Serve, passing cheese separately.

Photo of the lovely Riccobonos by Joe Foley.

Chocolate Rose-Petal Soup

I know some of you are probably still figuring out an original way to mix together those two sweetheart staples for Valentine's: chocolate and roses. Normally, I'd say you've got the wrong site; quick make a mad dash to Kingsbury Chocolates or Artfully Chocolate.

But not this time. You could also be a daredevil and try our Chocolate Rose-Petal Soup!

I know chocolate and soup are two words you just don't see mingling well together. You must keep in mind that this is more of a "soup" in quotes, followed by a really big wink. It falls somewhere between rich hot cocoa and romanticized chocolate sauce.

After doing a little research, the recipe I decided to test was James Peterson's version of chocolate broth which I'd found leafing through his extensive book Splendid Soups.Unfortunately, it was just too rich for me. He uses heavy cream and a full 8 ounces of bittersweet chocolate. Even a small, watered down dose of the broth was overkill. If your special someone enjoys super-ultra-uber rich chocolate, then by all means go for it.

Personally, I wanted to rework this one to suit my own palate. So I went with a combination of "milder" chocolates. I used two varieties from the El Rey brand found at Whole Foods. You'll notice these have unusual percentages of cacao. Don't worry, we're not getting all Martha Stewart on you. If you're a strict recipe follower, just find chocolate that has the closest percentages. Otherwise, please use whatever chocolate or combinations you like. You know how people always tell you to cook with the wine you normally drink, well that's the same principle here. Basically, you want to use that really good chocolate you normally hide from the kids in your desk drawer.

Peterson topped his broth with poundcake croutons which, in my opinion, was the best part of his recipe. You basically cube a few slices of all-butter poundcake and saute the squares in 3 Tbsp of melted butter, tossing them until they're toasted and crispy. They're a fun and buttery indulgence on their own. I ate a small plate of these after I'd tossed out the uber-chocolate broth. Then I started over and began making chocolate soup again, only this time I went for something a little lighter and a little more romantic.

Did you know basically all roses are edible? Yep! Just be sure to follow a few guidelines when selecting your flora. You don't want your honey chewing on flowers treated with pesticides or chemicals. And, hey, roses aren't the requirement. If you just met your "gentleman-caller" last week and red rose petals are just too suggestive at this point, use white instead (like I did) or go with another edible flower all together. Whatever you choose, take this opportunity to experiment with flowers you can eat! Just like your sweetie, they're beautiful, fun, and unique.

So, if you still haven't figured out what's for dessert tonight or tomorrow, why not give this a swirl.

Chocolate Rose-Petal Soup
Makes 2 servings

4 oz "dark" milk chocolate (41% cocoa)
4 oz dark chocolate (58.5% cocoa)
--or whatever combination you see fit
1 cup light cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 organic, pesticide-free, edible roses or the equivalent amount in rose-petals
1/2 cup fresh strawberries
4-6 fresh mint leaves

1. Chop up chocolate into small slivers, set aside.

2. In a pan, stirring occasionally, bring light cream to a simmer. Remove pan from burner and add chocolate. Let the chocolate sit about 5 minutes while the hot cream dissolves it. After 5 minutes, stir in what hasn't dissolved.

3. Add 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Stir. Taste. Remember it should be smooth and a little on the thicker side. If the chocolate soup is too rich or too thick for your taste, feel free to add a little more cream or water until it reaches the taste/consistency you prefer.

4. Ladle about 1/2 cup of the soup preferably into small, flat bowls.

5. Remove rose petals from stems. Arrange the individual petals into the shape of a flower on top of the chocolate soup. Do 1-2 overlapping layers to give dimension.

6. Slice strawberries into small wedges. Top the center of the rose petals with a cluster of strawberries. Garnish with a sprinkling of mint leaves. Feel free accent with hazelnuts or pound cake croutons if you have them. Serve!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Cream of Sherried Mushroom Soup

Listen up, folks! This ain't that cream of mushroom soup from the white can with the red label around it. This is a really rich and creamy version, made for adults with good dry sherry. It takes less than an hour to make and it works well on its own as an entree or a really rich starter. You can also use it to spruce up any other recipe where you'd normally reach for that old Campbell's can. Your mom's green bean casserole never tasted so... sophisticated.

Cream of Sherried Mushroom Soup
Makes 4-6 cups and serves 3-6 people

2 strips bacon, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
--or 1 tsp olive oil for the vegetarians
1/2 c shallots (or onions), minced
2 lbs sliced crimini (baby portabella) mushrooms
1 clove garlic, minced
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup dry sherry
3 Tbsp flour
6 oz Parmigiano Reggiano with rind
1 1/2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 to 1 cup light cream
salt and pepper to taste
chopped chives or scallions

1. Heat heavy-bottomed soup pot on medium heat and saute bacon until crispy. Leaving the grease, remove bacon and set aside. Vegetarians skip to Step 2.

2. Saute shallots in grease (or olive oil) until translucent. Add garlic, mushrooms, herbs, salt and pepper, and saute for about 20 minutes or until very soft. Add sherry and continue to cook for another 10-15 minutes, until all liquid is cooked off. Mushrooms should be fairly dry.

3. Sprinkle flour over the mushrooms and quickly stir to avoid clumping. Slowly add stock and whisk until flour is completely dissolved. Add Parmigiano Reggiano rind and set remaining cheese to the side for later. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for another 20 minutes.

4. Just before serving, remove the bay leaf, thyme stalks and Parmigiano Reggiano rind. Scoop out a few ladles of mushrooms, then puree the rest of the soup with an immersion blender until smooth. Add 1/2 to 1 cup of cream (to your preference--or not at all) and add reserved mushrooms back into the soup.

5. Serve with crispy bacon, chives and a sprinkling of Parmigiano Reggiano crumbles.**

**One last thing: you'll notice that I've specifically used Parmigiano Reggiano. I highly recommend using this traditional Italian cheese instead of taking the lazy way out and shaking something processed out of a green can. And if you don't like crumbles, then get out your vegetable peeler and make shavings! There's no substitute for the bursts of flavor and texture you get from the real thing.