Welcome

Two working guys cooking for their families using cool kitchen tools. Remember he who dies with the most toys wins! Kitchen gadgets are no exception!

Monday, December 6, 2010

Italian Bean & Pasta Soup


As the weather continually gets colder and colder here in the northeast, I'm still all about comfort food (and espcially one pot cooking).  This recipe I found looking through the wonderful Fine Cooking and makes a great hearty meal in itself.  It makes plenty so you can freeze a bunch and just microwave it when you'd like some soup.  The cinnamon stick that's added really gives it a unique flavor.

This was such a simple and very easy meal to cook, just heat and dump everything into a pot, very little prep, and very little cooking (meaning you can just sit and relax and drink wine).  When you need to do something, it's just dumping things into a pot.  Very easy and fast which is nice these days.

Software:
  • 1 lb. pork stew meat, cut in 1/2 inch dice (I used pork shoulder)
  • 5-6 strips of bacon
  • 3 tbs olive oil.
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 6 garlic cloves chopped
  • 1 can chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
  • 1 can white beans (rinsed and drained)
  • 1 fennel bulb (diced)
  • 1 celery rib (diced)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary
  • 1/4 lb small pasta (tubetti, ditali, or other small pasta)
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • Freshly grated \parmigiano Reggiano
  • 8 to 10 cups chicken broth

In a large pot (I used Le Creuset French Oven) heat the olive oil and cook the pork and bacon until lightly browned (about 5 minutes).  For most of these dishes, a lot of the recipes call for browning your meat in bacon fat which gives it extra flavor.  Even if the recipe doesn't call for it, and if you're a fan of bacon, this is the way to go.
Slice and dice!  Can't beat a sharp Knife

Add the onion, garlic, fennel and celery and cook until softened, 12-15 minutes.  I just broke another set of tongs.  Maybe this time i'll spluge and get the Orka 17-Inch Stainless and Silicone Tongs.  Maybe they'll last longer then the $7.99 ones that I've been buying.

Add the chicken broth, bayleaf, and rosemary sprig, season with salt and pepper and let it boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer from around 30 minutes.  Next add the pasta, chickpeas and white beams.  Let that simmer another 12-15 minutes, then you're done!  Remove the rosemary sprig, cinnamon stick and bay leaf.
Serve with sprinkled cheese and some nice crusty bread.  A good red wine goes great with this meal.  Lately we've been drinking this red wine as our daily dinner wine.

No comments:

Post a Comment