Indian Spiced Chickpea and Fire Roasted Tomato Soup

So, it's clearly soup season around here! This soup is simple, warm, delicious, and healthy, and (because this is the true test of a great soup) even better the next day. This is straight from Rachael Ray. She says it serves 4 as a first course, but I think that making the whole recipe is easily 4 full meals, if not a bit more. Of course, these days we like to eat it over rice, which makes it go a bit further...

Ingredients:
1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cans chickpeas, drained
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
2 t ground cumin
1/2 t ground cardamom
1/2 t turmeric
salt and pepper
2 c chicken of vegetable stock
1 (28-oz) can fire roasted tomatoes*
1 cup plain yogurt
Warm pita, any flavor or variety, toasted

*note about the tomatoes: on the show, Rachael used crushed fire roasted tomatoes, but at my store they only sell diced fire roasted tomatoes (which are actually a new addition to the tomato aisle, thank goodness). I just popped them in the food processor for a couple seconds once I was done with the chickpeas and it comes out splendidly.

1. Heat a medium pot with the extra-virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook 2 to 3 minutes.

2. Grind the chickpeas and onion in food processor. Add to pot and cook 5 minutes to sweeten onion.

3. Season the chickpeas with cumin, cardamom, turmeric, salt and pepper. Stir in stock, then tomatoes.

4. Simmer soup 5-10 minutes to combine flavors. Serve with a dollop of yogurt and warm pita for dipping.

Caramelized Butternut Squash with Kerchief Pasta

Mmm, mmm, mmm. I planted sage specifically for this recipe, and I have seriously made it as often as Jason will let me this winter! This is from last fall's Williams Sonoma catalog. Also I don't believe in making my own pasta, so I just use good quality bowtie pasta. And, seriously, make the whole box, because it is even better leftover.

Ingredients:
9 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 kabocha or butternut squash, 2 1/2 to 3 lb., peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch dice
2 Tbs. sugar
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 Tbs. finely diced shallots
1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1 Tbs. minced fresh sage
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbs. minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 lb. fresh pasta sheets, cut into 2-inch squares (see related recipe at left)
1 oz. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated

Directions:
In a braiser over medium-high heat, melt 3 Tbs. of the butter. Add the squash in a single layer and cook, without stirring, until browned underneath, about 6 minutes. Stir the squash and cook until browned on all sides, about 4 minutes more. Add the sugar, broth, salt and pepper, cover and cook until the squash is tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the liquid evaporates and the squash is dark brown and glazed, 2 to 3 minutes more. Transfer the squash mixture to a bowl.

In the same pan over medium-high heat, melt the remaining 6 Tbs. butter until light brown spots appear, about 2 minutes. Add the shallots, nutmeg and sage and cook, stirring constantly, until the shallots begin to soften, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and parsley. Season with salt and pepper, then stir in the squash.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 3 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Add the pasta and the reserved cooking water to the squash mixture and toss to combine. Transfer the pasta to a warmed large, shallow bowl and sprinkle with some of the cheese. Serve immediately and pass the remaining cheese alongside. Serves 4 to 6.

Split Pea Soup

This is my new favorite thing to make, especially since the weather is so frightful right now! If the idea of split pea soup makes you nervous, you probably haven't tasted it yet. I am a bonefide garden pea hater, and I love pea soup. So tasty and filling and bacony. Give it a try!

I got this recipe from the Williams-Sonoma "Soup" cookbook. It serves 4, so be prepared to double it if you want lots of leftovers--the first time we had it, we only ended up with a half-serving for lunch the next day.

1 T olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely diced
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
2 small carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 c dried green or yellow split peas, picked over, rinsed, and drained
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
6 sliced bacon
2 T finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 t finely chopped fresh marjoram or 1/4 t dried marjoram
1/2 t finely chopped fresh thyme or 1/4 t dried thyme
salt and freshly ground pepper

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the onion and saute until softened, 3-5 minutes. Add the celery and carrots and saute until just slightly softened, 3 minutes.

2. Add the split peas, stock, 2 slices of bacon, parsley, marjoram, and thyme. Reduce the heat to medium-low and bring to a simmer. Cover partially and cook until peas are tender, 50-60 minutes. Discard the bacon.

3. Meanwhile, in a frying pan over medium heat, fry the remaining 4 slices bacon until crisp, about 10 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to draim. When cool, crumble and set aside.

4. Coarsely puree 2 cups of the soup in a food processor and return to the saucepan. Season with salt and pepper to taste, return the soup to medium heat, and simmer for 5 minutes longer. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

5. Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and garnish with the crumbled bacon. Serve immediately.

Manicotti with Cheese and Spinach

I got this recipe from Kara West when I babysat her kids in college. It's very simple and really good! It's one of the first recipes I made for Adam too and he has always liked it. It's a meatless dish but I've added italian sausage to the cheese mixture or used a meat sauce on occasion... you know how guys like meat!

14 pieces of uncooked Manicotti or a box of jumbo shells

1 15oz container part-skim ricotta cheese

2 c. shredded mozarella

1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese

1 pkg. frozen spinach, thawed

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

3 c. spaghetti sauce (any flavor but I like garlic parmesan)

-Cook pasta in boiling water for 6-8 minutes, drain well and cool on wax paper.

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

-In large bowl, stir together cheeses, spinach, salt, and pepper.

-Spoon mixture into cooled pasta tubes or shells.

-Spready thin layer of sauce on bottom of 13x9x2 baking dish and arrange pasta in single layer over sauce. Pour remaining sauce over pasta and cover pan with foil.

-Bake for 40 min; remove foil and bake for 15 more min. or until hot and bubbly.

Blackberry Olive Oil Pancakes

So, my camera has been in the kitchen all week, thus all the posts! These pancakes are my new favorite breakfast food. They taste almost like having blackberry pie for breakfast, they are that good. We had them this morning with blackberries some friends in July. Even though there was snow on the ground, it tasted like summer. Jason’s suggestion would be to use buttermilk, since the tang really does make a difference. Of course, we don’t generally keep buttermilk on hand, so I’ve made these with regular milk more often.

I got this recipe from a great food blog, www.ohsweetbasil.com.

Blackberry Olive Oil Pancakes

Adapted from José Andrés on Delish

1 ¾ c flour (tasty with whole wheat flour)

2 T sugar

2 t baking powder

½ t baking soda

¼ t salt

1 ½ c buttermilk (regular milk will do in a pinch)

¼ c extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for cooking

1 egg

½ c fresh blackberries

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a mixing bowl.

Whisk in the egg, buttermilk, and olive oil until you have a smooth batter, then stir. Be sure to not over stir–it’ll make the pancakes tough and flat rather than being light and fluffy.

Carefully fold blackberries in to the batter.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium-low heat. Ladle 1/4 cup of the pancake mixture into the pan and cook until golden brown. Flip the pancake with spatula and cook until golden brown on the second side. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more olive oil to the pan as needed.

http://ohsweetbasil.blogspot.com/2009/09/blackberry-olive-pancakes.html

Balsamic Glazed Salmon

I stumbled across this recipe in the South Beach Diet Quick and Easy Cookbook while searching for a salmon recipe with sauce so that Jason could stomach eating fish once a week. It is tasty, and the sauce is sweet, and good. I don't usually love balsamic vinegar, and whoa nelly, the fumes while reducing it are enough to send you over the roof (keep a safe distance when sniffing). But by the time you sit down to eat it, it is just all goodness. And really good with rice to soak up the extra sauce.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes

4 (6 oz) salmon fillets
1 cup balsamic vinegar
2 t extra-virgin olive oil
1 t fresh lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat oven to 450 F.

Season salmon with salt and pepper; place in an ovenproof baking dish and bake until opaque throughout, 10-12 minutes.

While fish is cooking, place vinegar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until reduced to 1/3 cup, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat, whisk in oil and lemon juic, and season with salt and pepper. Place salmon on serving plates and drizzle with glaze.

Makes 4 servings

Pan Roasted Chicken

This recipe is unbelievably easy and always turns out fantastic! It looks and tastes nice and fancy, but it's a piece of cake and about 20 minutes from start to finish. You just need a pan that you can move from cooktop to oven.

I got this out of the Martha Stewart's Cooking School book.

1 pint grape tomatoes
16 large black olives, such as kalamata, pitted and halved
3 T capers (nonpareil), drained and rinsed
3 T olive oil
4 boneless chicken breast halves (the recipe calls for skin-on, but I have always used skinless)
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper.

Prepare sauce: Heat oven to 475 F. Toss tomatoes, olives, capers, and 2 T oil together in a bowl.

Sear chicken: Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over high heat until shimmering, about 1 minute. Add remaining tablespoon oil and heat until hot but not smoking. Place chicken in skillet, skin side down, and cook until deep golden brown, about 4 minutes. Use tongs to flip chicken, then add tomato mixture to skillet.

Roast: Transfer skillet to oven and roast chicken until cooked through and tomatoes have softened, 15-18 minutes.

Serve: Transfer everything to a platter, or divide chicken among plates and spoon some tomato mixture over the top.