Bean and Escarole Soup

Oh. My. Gawd.

I just polished off two bowls of this stuff, and I would go back for more if it wasn't so heavy and rich. This soup is like an umami bomb in my mouth, creamy from the beans, crunchy from the escarole ribs, fragrant from the garlic, oregano and lemon, and deeply rich and salty from the anchovy. (That's right, this soup isn't vegetarian. I do allow myself the occasional pescetarian meal, because I just love seafood so much.)

This is adapted from Chef John's recipe. If you don't want to use anchovy, it'll be difficult to replace. You could leave it out and either use a higher sodium broth or add salt in the end; perhaps some chopped capers or a spoonful of miso would work; or if you don't have qualms about anchovies but just don't have any, some Worcester sauce may work. Escarole worked wonderfully in this dish, but I can imagine replacing it with basically any green: if using a hardier one like kale or collards, add much earlier.

olive oil
4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
4 cups low-sodium broth (I use vegetarian 'chicken' broth)
2 cans white cannellini beans, around 30 oz., drained but not rinsed
pinch chili flakes
1 anchovy fillet
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp dried oregano (or 2 tsp chopped fresh oregano)
1 head escarole (also known as curly endive)

Heat around 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat; add garlic. Swirl for around 20 seconds; add broth. Boil and let reduce by about half (I wasn't too concerned about the amount -- I don't even think I did that much, maybe a third). Add beans. When reduced to around when the beans a just below the surface, add the chill flakes, anchovy fillet (I broke it up a bit), lemon zest and oregano. While it's cooking some more, chop the escarole into strips, around 1/2 to 1 inch thick. Discard any ugly leaves. Rinse off the strips in cold water, drain and dry. Add the chopped escarole to the soup, lower heat to simmer, and stir until escarole is wilted, around a minute or less.

Season with fresh ground pepper in bowls. Serve with bread -- next time I'm going to make it thicker and top fresh polenta with it.

Brown Lentil Soup

So, I was craving a simple red lentil soup. I've had a bad week and just wanted to throw some onions, garlic, spices and lentils in a pot, cover it with water, and come back half an hour later. Alas! The Metro doesn't carry red lentils. (Really. I'm actually quite surprised!) But they did have brown lentils... which I know take a bit longer to cook, and don't get quite as mushy as red lentils. And as many people close to me know, I like mushy foods: legumes, puddings, soft fruits, risotto, mashed potatoes... and would making a brown lentil soup be as satisfying for me? No way to know other than trying.

And I would say this is a success. After a few quick purées with my immersion blender, I had just enough mushy goodness to counterbalance the lentils that held their shape.

This is adapted from Dima Sharif's brown lentil soup.

BROWN LENTIL SOUP

1 cup brown lentils, rinsed

1 medium onion, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

6 cups water or broth

1 tsp cumin seeds

4 green cardamom pods

4-6 black peppercorns

3 cloves

1 bay leaf

1 cinnamon stick

salt and pepper to taste

chopped cilantro (optional: I didn't have any, but I'd imagine it would go very well)

Heat oil in a medium to large pot (enough for at least 8 cups). Sauté onions and garlic over medium-high until yellow, but not brown. Add washed lentils and stir to mix. Add water or broth; stir, scraping bottom. Add tea ball stuffed with cardamom, peppercorns and cloves; add cumin seeds (which don't need to go in tea ball), bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Heat until boiling; cover and simmer over low heat 45 minutes or until lentils are cooked to desired texture. Remove from heat; remove tea ball, bay leaf and cinnamon stick. With an immersion blender, give a few whirls to blend around a third of the soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add cilantro. Yum.

This would go well with any sort of bread.