Sweet Potato, Peas, & White Bean Soup

It was the night before I was leaving to visit my family over Thanksgiving, & I had one lone sweet potato left in the produce basket.  And that sweet potato inspired me to invent my own recipe. 

It's quick & uses mostly things you're likely to have on hand.

Sweet Potato, Peas, & White Bean Soup

olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

~ 4 cups veggie stock

1 sweet potato, peeled & chopped into small cubes

~ 1 cup frozen peas

1 can white beans

1 tablespoon dried rosemary

salt & pepper, to taste

1.  Heat olive oil in soup pot over medium-high heat.  Lightly cook garlic for about 3 minutes.

 
2.  Add sweet potato & stock, & bring to boil.  Simmer until sweet potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

3.  Add peas, white beans, rosemary, salt, & pepper.  Cook another 5-10 minutes until peas & beans are heated through.

 
4.  Serve with good bread for dipping.

Makes 2-3 servings.

Roasted Acorn Squash Soup

Soup weather is totally upon us, & the grocery store has been practically bursting with all kinds of squash.  My first adventure with acorn squash  tasted even better as lunch the next day.

Roasted Acorn Squash Soup

adapted from an Emeril recipe I found here

 

2 acorn squash, halved & seeds removed

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 carrots, peeled & chopped

1 green apple, peeled, cored, & chopped

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon allspice

4 cups vegetable stock

1.  Preheat oven to 400F.  Lightly rub squash with olive oil, & place cut side down in baking dish.  Add a little water to the bottom of the baking dish.  Roast squash approximately 45 minutes.  Let cool.

2.  Heat olive oil in in soup pot over medium high heat.  Add onions, & cook until beginning to brown.  Add carrots & apple, & cook another 10 minutes. 

3.  Add vegetable stock to soup pot.  Season with ginger, allspice, salt, & pepper.  Scoop roasted squash into soup pot.  Simmer at least 20 minutes.

4.  Remove from heat, & puree until smooth.  Return soup to pot to reheat, if necessary.

Serve with fresh bread.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Roasted Pepper Rigatoni

The last CSA share had a huge bag of peppers that I'm finally at the end of, & now, I'm definitely missing the weekly bag of fresh vegetables.  I've realized that I have to stop at the grocery store more often these days.  But here's what we made with those last peppers.  The original recipe calls for only red bell peppers, but I had some small red peppers, a green pepper, some Hungarian wax peppers (which can be a little on the hot side), and a poblano pepper.  Using all of those, the dish had a spicier taste than when I've made it before.  Either way, it's one of David's favorite meals.

Roasted Pepper Rigatoni

Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis' Everyday Pasta.

1/2 lb rigatoni (I'm sure you could substitute another short hollow pasta, but rigatoni is best)

2 cups fresh bread crumbs 

1/4 cup almonds, chopped

peppers (enough to get about 2 cups of peppers after slicing)

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1.  Heat oven to 400°F.  Lightly coat whole peppers with olive oil, & place on baking sheet.  When oven is heated, roast peppers until skin is slightly blackened.  Cool, remove seeds, & slice long-wise.

2.  Spread almonds on baking sheet, & toast in oven until fragrant & golden brown, approximately 5-10 minutes.  (Keep your eye on these; they can burn fast when you're not watching.)

3.  Bring a large pot of salted water to boil, & cook pasta until tender, approximately 8-10 minutes.  Drain, & return to pot.

4.  While cooking pasta, place toasted almonds in food processor, & pulse until they are finally chopped with the texture of bread crumbs.  

5.  Add 3/4 cup olive oil to cooked pasta along with the bread crumbs, toasted almonds, & roasted, sliced peppers.  Toss to combine.

Add fresh Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Serves 4.

White Bean Soup with Greens

I'm a little behind with posting recipes because I went to Switzerland for 10 days.  There we ate mostly bread, cheese, & chocolate.  Not a bad life.

Anyway, this is a quick soup that I made many times last winter & cooked up for the first time this year with some Swiss chard from the CSA share.  You can use any green, really, so I just use whatever is handy.  Highly recommended to be eaten with fresh bread.

White Bean Soup with Greens

I think that I originally got this recipe from a Mark Bittman something, but by now, I just have it memorized.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 small onion, chopped
1 large can whole tomatoes, with the juice

2 cups stock (I used veggie; chicken stock would also be fine or water if you have to)

1 can white beans (I like cannellini beans the best)

large bunch of leafy greens (Swiss chard, spinach, kale, mustard greens, etc), stems removed & roughly chopped

salt & pepper, to taste

1.  Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large pot.  Add garlic & onion, & saute until just starting to turn golden.

2.  Add tomatoes, stock, & beans.  Bring to boil; then, reduce heat & let simmer about 20 minutes.

3.  Add chopped greens & cook until wilted.

Serve with some toasted fresh bread brushed with olive oil.

Serves 3-4.

Hot, Sweet, & Sour Chickpeas with Eggplant

Tuesday night's dinner requirements...quick (it was a long day), with protein (David's request because we had just worked out), & uses eggplants (I had some from last week's CSA share).  A perusal of the legumes chapter in Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian led to a 45 minute eggplant & chickpeas dish.  I served it on top of quinoa (for added protein), & it even made enough for Wednesday's lunch.

Hot, Sweet, & Sour Chickpeas with Eggplant

Mark Bittman calls for 3 cups of freshly cooked chickpeas 2 cups of their cooking liquid.  All I had was a 14oz. can of chickpeas, & I don't really think it made a difference.

3 tablespoons neutral cooking oil

2 fist-sized eggplants, chopped into bite-size pieces

2 serrano peppers, seeded & chopped

1 Hungarian wax pepper, seeded & chopped 

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled & minced

1 can chickpeas, with liquid

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 teaspoon tumeric

juice from 1/4 of a lemon

salt & pepper to taste

1.  Heat oil over medium-high heat in large skillet.  When hot, add eggplant & cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes (or until eggplant is lightly browned).

2.  Add all peppers & ginger, & cook one minute.

3.  Add chickpeas with their liquid, brown sugar, curry, tumeric, & lemon juice.  Sprinkle generously with salt & pepper, & bring liquid to boil.  Simmer gently for about 10 minutes or until eggplant is tender & sauce has thickened.

I served this over quinoa, but it would also be good with rice or some kind of flatbread.

Makes 3-4 servings.