Transfer to a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the chicken stock and salt, and stir. Cover partially and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the soup is slightly thickened, about 30 to 40 minutes. Add the roasted chicken strips and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
Dice the avocados into bite-size pieces.
To serve, ladle the soup into warmed bowls. Into each portion, sprinkle 2 tablespoons of roasted chicken strips, a handful of cheese, 4 to 5 pieces of avocado, a sprinkle of cilantro, and the baked tortilla chips. Serve with a lime wedge.
POZOLE
6 TO 8 SERVINGS
For a rich, deep flavor, make this soup with the bones from a roasted chicken. I had my first bowl of pozole a little over a year ago when I went to small café and ordered the soup of the day because it smelled so good. From the first bite, I thought that this was a dish that I just had to have in my repertoire! I never used pork to make soup before, and I was intrigued with the hominy and how it added flavor and texture. I asked for the recipe, but the owner would not give it up, so of course I took it upon myself to come up with a recipe. I think I nailed it.
3 cups chicken stock, homemade (Roasted Chicken Stock), or store-bought organic chicken broth
4 tablespoons canola oil
1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into ½-inch pieces
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed through a garlic press or finely minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 (28-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can white hominy, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon chopped jalapeño
1 cup diced roasted chicken breast
1 avocado, sliced (optional)
2 scallions, chopped
¼ cup cilantro
1 lime, sliced
12 corn tortillas
Make the chicken stock first.
Heat a large stockpot until hot. Add the canola oil, pork, and salt, and sauté until the pork is opaque on all sides, about 5 to 8 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the meat to a bowl and set aside.
Add the onion to the pot, and sauté until it has softened and started to caramelize, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, and cumin, and cook for 1 minute, stirring to blend all the spices evenly. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes, hominy, jalapeño, and sautéed pork. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer slowly for 90 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning by adding more salt if necessary.
Just before you are ready to serve, preheat the oven to 400°F. Wrap the tortillas in aluminum foil and bake for 6 to 8 minutes.
Add the diced chicken breast to the simmering soup and heat through until hot. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with avocado slices (if you are using), scallions, and cilantro. Serve with a slice of lime and warm tortillas.
GAZPACHO
4 TO 6 SERVINGS
This recipe for gazpacho is full of rich flavor; it’s the perfect soup to serve on a hot summer day or evening. I make this soup only in the summer to take advantage of the sweet summer tomatoes, cucumbers, and fresh herbs that make this dish an absolute favorite in our home. It tastes even better the next day, after all the wonderful flavors have had a chance to sit overnight. I serve it absolutely chilled to perfection with a crunchy baguette and a cold glass of pinot grigio. Enjoy!
3 slices sourdough bread, crust removed, torn into pieces
½ cup water
6 medium ripe tomatoes
1 cup chopped white onion
2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
1 medium red pepper, seeded and chopped into medium-size chunks
1 medium green pepper, seeded and chopped into medium-size chunks
1 medium yellow pepper, seeded and chopped into medium-size chunks
2 cucumbers, peeled and seeded, one chopped into small chunks, the other diced into small pieces, covered, and refrigerated until ready to use as garnish
1 small garlic clove, peeled and smashed
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for drizzling
2 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar
2 tablespoons lime juice
4 scallions, 2 coarsely chopped,
2 finely chopped for garnish
1 tablespoon chopped jalapeño
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt plus additional for sprinkling
Cracked pepper
4 cups tomato juice
¼ cup cilantro, loosely packed and coarsely chopped
2 limes, cut into wedges
Place the sourdough bread in a small bowl, add the water, and soak for 5 minutes. Squeeze all the water out of the bread and place the bread in a large bowl.
Skin the tomatoes by dropping them in boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove the skins under cool running water, cut the tomatoes in half, and remove the core and seeds.
Chop the tomatoes coarsely and add to the bread in a bowl, along with the white and red onion, red, green, and yellow peppers, coarsely chopped cucumber, garlic, 3 tablespoons olive oil, vinegar, lime juice, coarsely chopped scallions, jalapeño, sugar, salt, and pepper to taste, and mix well with your hands. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
When ready to make the soup, remove the smashed garlic from the vegetable mixture and discard.
In a blender, combine the vegetable mixture with 1 cup of tomato juice. Blend until smooth and continue adding and blending vegetable mixture and juice until all the vegetables have been pureed and all of the tomato juice has been added. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Cover and refrigerate overnight or for at least 3 to 4 hours before serving. The soup should be served well chilled.
To serve, ladle into a chilled bowl and garnish with the diced cucumber, finely chopped scallions, cilantro, and lime wedge. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of extra-virgin olive oil over each serving, and sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt and pepper.
CREAMY, VELVETY
TOMATO SOUP,
NO CREAM
4 TO 6 SERVINGS
Anytime you can make a sauce or soup with fresh ingredients, you will have a superior dish. The advantage I have living in California is that I can pretty much get fresh produce and herbs all year round. When tomatoes are in season, I go crazy. For me there’s nothing better than a pasta sauce made with fresh tomatoes; there’s just no comparison. What I particularly like about this recipe is that not only can you use it as a pasta sauce, but it’s also a delicious as a bowl of soup that you can serve hot or cold. If I have sauce left over from dinner, I look forward to the next day when I can add garnishes and enjoy it as a soup for lunch.
2 quarts Fresh Roma Tomato Sauce No. 1 (Pasta With Fresh Roma Tomato Sauce No. 1)
Garnish
1 cup homemade croutons (homemade croutons)
¼ cup prosciutto or bacon bits, chopped (homemade croutons)
6 fresh basil leaves, chopped
Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
1 cup half-and-half, milk, or low-fat milk
Serve Fresh Roma Tomato Sauce No. 1 as a soup, hot or chilled, garnished with homemade croutons, bacon or prosciutto bits, fresh basil, and a drizzle of olive oil. If you want a soup with a supercreamy consistency, add half-and-half, milk, or low-fat milk and heat through.
TUSCAN BREAD SOUP
4 TO 6 SERVINGS
Everything you need to make this soup is probably already in your pantry. This is a time and money saver that turns into a great big delicious bowl of convenience. I don’t have to turn my stale bread into bread crumbs all the time (unless I need them) because I can also use it to make this hearty soup. I serve it with a salad with a light dressing of extra-virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, and a pinch of kosher salt. It’s the perfect finishing touch. Oh yes, and a lovely glass of Chianti!
2 cups chicken stock, homemade (
Roasted Chicken Stock), or store-bought organic chicken broth
cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, sliced thin
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ cup dry white wine
2 (28-ounce) cans of crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon sugar
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
Pepper
2 cups day-old bread such as sourdough baguette, Italian bread, or ciabatta, torn into wide pieces
Garnish
10 fresh basil leaves
¼ teaspoon cracked pepper
Red pepper flakes, for garnish, as much as you can take! (optional)
Freshly grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Make the chicken stock first.
Heat a heavy stockpot on medium-high heat. Add the oil, and heat until hot but not smoking. Add garlic and pepper flakes, and sauté until the garlic starts to turn a golden brown (be careful not to burn it).
Add white wine and cook until the wine is almost all evaporated. Add crushed tomatoes, sugar, salt, pepper, and chicken stock. Bring to a gentle boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
Just before you are ready to serve, add the bread. Mix and heat through, about 5 minutes, to help the bread absorb the soup. Serve in heated bowls. Garnish with basil leaves, cracked pepper, red pepper flakes, and freshly grated cheese. Drizzle olive oil over the top.
HEARTY VEGETABLE
MINESTRONE SOUP
6 TO 8 SERVINGS
This minestrone soup is a meal in a bowl—I can get everything I enjoy in one stop. I get the pasta I crave along with beans for protein and good-for-you veggies together in a thick and hearty bowl of soup. A generous portion of Parmesan or Romano cheese is the perfect finishing touch. Talk about feel-good food! It’s even better the next day.
cup olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
cup of water
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 small zucchini, diced
2 cups broccoli florets, cut small
½ small cabbage, shredded
1 cup cauliflower cut into small pieces
2 teaspoons salt
1 (28-ounce) can of chopped tomatoes
1 quart chicken stock, homemade (Roasted Chicken Stock), or store-bought organic chicken broth
2 (15-ounce) cans white navy beans or cannellini
1 ½ cups uncooked small tube, shell-shaped pasta, orzo, or your favorite small pasta
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
4 sprigs fresh basil
Red pepper flakes
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Reduced Balsamic Syrup (Reduced Balsamic Syrup), for drizzling (optional)
Heat a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and heat until hot. Quickly add the onion, and sauté for 5 minutes, until the onion starts to caramelize. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute; then add the water and stir. Simmer for 2 minutes. Add carrots, celery, zucchini, broccoli florets, cabbage, cauliflower, and salt. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the vegetables start to release their juices.
Add the canned tomatoes and chicken stock. Bring to a gentle boil. Add the beans and stir. Cover and gently simmer on low heat for 45 minutes.
In a blender, in batches, puree three-quarters of the soup until semi-smooth. Pour back into the stockpot and stir well. This will thicken your soup.
Adjust the seasoning (taste for salt; you will probably need to add more—¼ teaspoon at a time, so you don’t oversalt). Bring the soup back up to a gentle boil. Add the pasta and stir well so the pasta doesn’t stick. Cook the pasta for about 5 minutes or until al dente. You don’t want to overcook the pasta. Ladle into heated bowls. Garnish with 2 tablespoons freshly grated cheese per serving, fresh basil, and red pepper flakes to taste. I like to drizzle about a teaspoon of olive oil and balsamic syrup over the top.
PASTA AND
RISOTTO
My first solid food as an infant was pasta—pastina, to be exact. Pastina is teeny, tiny bits of pasta shaped like stars. My mother mixed it in my formula and baby cereal, and evidently there was no looking back! As I grew older, Mom would make the pastina with chicken broth, especially when I was under the weather; this soothing soup would automatically made me feel better.
When I was growing up, Wednesdays and Sundays were pasta nights. I use to wonder who made up that rule. I love the smooth, creamy consistency of pasta with eggs, butter, and Parmesan cheese and with different types of tomato sauce, so I felt that every day should be pasta day. My mom certainly grew up that way, living in Italy. When my grandmother came to live with us, it all changed; we had pasta at least four or five times a week, and sometimes seven, and I was beyond happy!
There are literally dozens of ways to prepare pasta, with endless sauces using canned or fresh tomatoes, vegetables, salad, fish, grilled meats, cheese, and cream.
I’ve included several of my grandmother’s sauces in this chapter; they’ve been handed down from generation to generation, and I’ve tweaked them just a bit to make them my own.
Pasta with Fresh Roma Tomato Sauce No. 1
Pasta with Fresh Roma Tomato Sauce No. 2, My Personal Favorite
Corkscrew Pasta with Silky Marinara Sauce
Pappardelle with Bolognese Sauce
Rigatoni with a Hearty Sirloin Sauce
Fresh Linguine in a Creamy Low-fat Tomato Sauce
Linguine with Clam Sauce
Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe and Sweet Italian Sausage
Angel Hair with Olive Oil and Lemon
Spaghetti Carbonara
Farfalle with Pesto
Pasta with Broccoli
Quick Version of Pasta with Prosciutto and Peas
Risotto
Macaroni and Cheese with Truffle Oil—or Not
PASTA WITH FRESH
ROMA TOMATO SAUCE
NO. 1
4 TO 6 SERVINGS
I make loads of this sauce all year round using Roma tomatoes. I especially love to make it in the summer, when there are so many tomatoes left over from my sister’s garden. Of course, if you know how, canning is a great way to always have fresh tomato sauce, even when tomatoes aren’t in season.
This quick and easy sauce is creamy and light. It is one of my “bonus” sauces—you can use it as a delicious hot or cold soup (Creamy, Velvety Tomato Soup, No Cream).
16 (approximately 2¼ pounds) Roma (Italian plum) tomatoes
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 scallions, chopped
¼ cup white wine
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 ounces of your favorite semolina pasta
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
8 medium to large fresh basil leaves, chiffonade (rolled like a cigarette and sliced thin)
Cut the tomatoes in quarters, and set aside in a bowl.
Heat a large saucepan on medium-high heat until hot. Add the olive oil and scallions, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the wine and continue to cook, reducing by more than half. Add the tomatoes and salt, and cook for 40 minutes at a slow, bubbly simmer. Remove from heat.
In a food processor, puree the tomato mixture in batches, processing each batch for about 1 minute.
Over a separate saucepan, strain the tomatoes through a chinoise or Chinese cap. Do not use a strainer with tightly woven small mesh; the holes are too small and the resulting puree will be too liquid.
Add butter and taste to see if the sauce needs more salt.
Cook 8 ounces of your favorite semolina pasta according to package directions. (I like penne, farfalle, or linguine with this sauce.) Remember to salt the pasta water.
Drain the pasta well
. Pour the drained pasta back into the pot you cooked it in, place the pot back on the stove, and turn the heat to medium-high. Add 1 or 2 ladlefuls of the sauce, and mix to heat through.
Pour the pasta into a serving bowl, and ladle more sauce on top. Sprinkle with plenty of Parmesan cheese and basil.
A chinoise is a strainer that has the perfect-size holes to strain the tomatoes, just the right size to separate out the skins and seeds.
PASTA WITH FRESH
ROMA TOMATO SAUCE
NO. 2, MY PERSONAL
FAVORITE
4 TO 6 SERVINGS
This is my mother’s favorite sauce, and I have to say without a doubt mine too. She would tell stories of how when she was little she would pick fresh ripe tomatoes every day, right off the vine in the garden. Her mother would make all kinds of wonderful dishes, but this slightly sweet, delicate sauce was her favorite. My mother is from the northern region of Italy, where the sauces are lighter than the heartier sauces from the south, which is where my dad’s family is from.
Whenever I serve this sauce to someone for the first time, the reaction is always the same: one of pure discovery and Wow! The aroma is so sweet and fragrant, and the flavor of the sauce so delicate.
16 Roma (Italian plum) tomatoes, quartered
2 medium onions, one peeled and quartered and the other peeled and finely chopped, covered, and set aside in the refrigerator
2 small carrots, cut into four pieces
2 celery ribs, cut into four pieces
cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 scallions, chopped small
Cristina Ferrare's Big Bowl of Love Page 6