Ash Reshteh – Persian for “OMFG, this is good!”

This is my take on a classic Persian soup that in a fantastic way to use up a ton of greens and herbs that may be coming out of your garden or CSA bag. I honestly had some low expectations the first time I made this. It sounded like a pretty boring soup: healthfood masquerading as something fun. But rather than being uninspired glop, this turned out to be a hugely satisfying and incredibly delicious recipe—in part because of the use of a variety of wonderful garnishes. Being wrong has never been as deliciously pleasant.

Serve with a crap ton of garnishes and flatbread, if available.

Prep time: 3 cocktails

1 bunch Italian flat leaf parsley, stems removed
1-2 bunches cilantro, stems removed
1 cup fresh dill, stems removed
1 cup fresh basil, stems removed
Olive oil
1 ½ yellow onions, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic
½ tsp turmeric
1 TBSP zaatar
Ground black pepper
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
¼-1/2 cup French green lentils
3 quarts vegetable stock, homemade or store-bought
1 pound frozen spinach or chard, chopped
6-8 ounces whole wheat linguini
1-2 pinches saffron
Lemon wedges

Garnishes should include at least a few of the following:
Fresh mint
Plain yogurt or sour cream
Fried scallions (you can make them yourself or buy a bag at an Asian grocer)
The greens of a bunch of scallions, chopped

Combine herbs in a food processor and pulse until you get to the point of having them coarsely chopped – maybe 6-8 pulses. You want the average piece to be a little smaller than your pinky fingernail. Set aside.

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Once shimmering, add onions and sauté, stirring well, until they turn a little golden brown, about 15 minutes. Add garlic and sauté one more minute, stirring a few times. Add turmeric, zaatar, and a lot of fresh ground black pepper and stir until everything is well-integrated and fragrant, about 30-60 seconds.

Add garbanzo beans and lentils. Stir well for 30 seconds and add your veggie stock, frozen spinach or chard, and the herb mixture from the food processor. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, covered for 60 minutes. Adding water if needed.

Now break your dried linguini in half and break each half again so that you end p with quarter-length noodles. Stir into the soup and stir frequently. Boil uncovered until the noodles are done and the lentils are soft – about 20-30 more minutes, adding more water if necessary.

When noodles are just about done, boil a very small amount of water. Crush up the saffron threads between your fingers and place in a small bowl. Pour a couple tablespoons of the boiling water over the threads and allow to steep for 2 minutes. Then add the saffron/water to the soup and stir well. Cook everything a couple more minutes and adjust taste, as necessary.

Serve with lemon wedges and garnishes.

Divine Intervention Sapporo Ramen

Last night, we had a religious experience. My wife's eyes rolled back in her head and she started speaking in tongues. I started weeping out of a profound, unexpected joy. Even the dog made odd noises. Of course, we didn't find Jesus; I just made the most amazing ramen ever. The wife's expression happened to be "domo arigato gozimus" and my profound weeping was because I nailed the broth perfectly. And the dog turned out to just be gassy. So even though we didn't find eternal salvation, it turned out to be a pretty remarkable night, nevertheless.

This is a slight revision to Sapporo-style ramen. That ramen uses butter to add a richness to the broth. However, as a not-huge fan of butter, I opted for coconut milk instead. Also, since the broth is traditionally cooked with various animal bits to add umami, I make a few vegetarian-friendly tricks, like incorporating mushrooms, browning the miso, and adding some fermented black beans. The result is a perfect, harmonious balance of savory, rich, satisfying bowl of noodles and vegetables with just a touch of sweetness.

Note that you can get the needed Japanese ingredients at any Asian grocer, including kombu, wakame, hijiki, mirin, bonito flakes, fermented black bean paste, and buckwheat noodles.

Prep time: 3 cocktails

Egg marinade:
2 eggs
2-3 TBSP soy sauce
2-3 TBSP mirin (Japanese cooking wine)
1/2 cup water

Broth base:
2-inch square kombu or 3 TBSP wakame or hijiki
5 good-sized shiitake mushrooms
6 cups water
1 cup bonito flakes
1 tsp anchovy paste (optional)

Seasoning mix:
1 TBSP sesame seeds
2 tsp untoasted sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1" piece ginger, grated with microplane or finest side of a box grater
3 scallions, chopped
2 TBSP miso paste
2 TBSP fermented black bean paste
1/4 cup mirin or sake
2 TBSP soy sauce
1 cup coconut milk

Soup elements:
8 ounces dried buckwheat noodles
1/2-1 cup mung bean sprouts
1 bunch spinach, stems removed
1/2-1 cup frozen sweet corn
1 block tofu, chopped into 3/4" cubes (can be firm or silken/soft, depending on preference), optional

Optional garnishes: 
Bonito flakes, chopped scallions, and/or a drizzle of toasted sesame oil

A couple hours before you start the soup, you'll need to make the eggs, since the need to marinate. You want to medium-boil your eggs by gently dropping them in boiling water and reducing heat to a very low boil. Boil them for 7-8 minutes. Remove and place under cool running water and remove shells. Then combine the peeled eggs with the rest or the marinade ingredients in a small Tupperware container or zip-lock bag and put in the refrigerator.

Now make the broth by combining all the broth ingredients in a pressure cooker. With the lid off, bring to a boil but remove the kombu right before you boil or it will become slimy (if using hijiki or wakame, no need to remove). Once boiling, put the lid on it and bring up to normal pressure for your altitude for 10 minutes. Then remove from heat and let pressure drop completely. Remove lid and strain out mushrooms and any remaining seaweed.

While your broth is cooking, you can pre-prep the some of your soup elements. Cook the noodles according to the directions on package and cool them under running water and set aside. Bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch the bean sprouts for 1 minute and strain them out. In the same water, you can then blanch the spinach for 3-4 minutes and strain out. Let cool and then squeeze all the moisture out and chop it up coarsely. Finally, add the corn to the boiling water for a couple minutes, then drain and set aside (you can obviously make all these veggies in separate pots of water, if you would prefer).

Next, start on the seasoning mix. Heat a small frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add sesame seeds and toast for a couple minutes, stirring pretty frequently. When they are lightly toasted, transfer to an electric spice grinder and grind into a powder. Set aside.

Now in a large pot or dutch oven, heat the untoasted sesame oil over medium heat. Add garlic, ginger, and scallions and saute for 1-2 minutes. Now add miso and bean paste and stir constantly for a couple minutes. You want some of the paste to get browned stuck to the pan, but don't let anything fully burn. Next, deglaze the paste by adding the mirin/sake and sesame seed powder. Once everything is incorporated and the bits that were stuck to the pan are unstuck, add the soy sauce and coconut milk. Stir everything well and add the broth from the pressure cooker (after removing mushrooms and seaweed). Adjust seasoning if necessary by adding salt or soy sauce to taste. Add tofu cubes and bring to a low boil for a couple minutes. Then it's ready to serve!

In a bowl, combine your noodles, corn, spinach, sprouts, and tofu. Pour the broth over the top and slice your marinated eggs in half lengthwise and add a half an egg. Top with any of the additional garnishes of your choice and serve!

Ribollita Makes Being A Medieval Peasant Look Good

This is a classic Tuscan peasant stew made with old bread, white beans, and greens (usually kale). The name ribollita means “re-boiled,” because this soup was typically made by combining leftover vegetable soup in a clay pot and re-cooking it with additional vegetables and olive oil.  So feel free to mix it up with whatever herbs, vegetables, and beans you have lying around. I’ve had success adding rosemary, eggplant, leek, oregano, savoy cabbage, chard, parsnip, and dried mushrooms. Common additions can also include sausage or prosciutto. No matter what you add, it will make for a hearty, delicious winter soup. In fact, it's so good, it makes you wonder if being a poor medieval Italian peasant was actually all that bad after all. 

Prep time: 2 cocktails

¼ cup top-quality, extra virgin olive oil (plus extra for serving)

4 cloves garlic, minced… plus 1 additional clove, whole

1 medium red onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

6 cups veggie stock

2 cups water

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

2 bay leaves

A touch of fresh herbs (8 cut basil or sage leaves, or a thyme sprig are all great)

2 potatoes, chopped into 3/4” cubes

2-3 bunches kale
1 tsp salt (or more to taste)
1 tsp fresh ground pepper

2 14-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained

6 slices stale bread (or enough to make 6 cups once you cut it into 1”cubes)

Fresh-grated, top-quality Parmesan cheese (optional)

Start by cutting the kale. Remove leaves from the stems and coarsely shred the leaves. Then take the stems and cut them up fairly well—into about 1/4-inch pieces. Transfer all your kale bits to a big bowl.

In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Toss in minced garlic, onion, carrot, and celery. Sauté for a few minutes, until the veggies begin to soften up. Then stir in the stock, water, tomatoes, bay leaves, fresh herbs, potatoes, kale, salt, and pepper. After that, take a fork and mash the beans up in their cans a nice bit then add those as well. Increase to medium high heat and bring to boil, stirring frequently. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 75 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you like a less-thick soup, add a couple extra cups of water.

As the soup finishes up, toast the bread to medium darkness in the oven. Once toasted, take your last remaining garlic clove, peel, and slice it width-wise. Rub the garlic, cut-side-down, on each slice to give it a wonderful garlic infusion. Cut the bread into bite-sized cubes and stir half of it into the soup. Remove soup from heat and let sit 15 minutes before serving.

When you dish the soup, throw a few cubes of the remaining bread in the bottom of each bowl and ladle the soup over the top. Finish with a generous additional drizzle of olive oil and Parmesan, if using.

Make Your Summer Radical With Salmorejo

It may be winter for you Northerners, but here in Mexico, tomatoes are at peak ripeness and in our town of San Miguel de Allende, great local olive oil and fantastic fresh sourdough are in strong supply. That means one thing: salmorejo! Salmorejo is a chilled tomato puree that originates from the south of Spain that is similar to gazpacho, but is thicker and more rustic so it can be eaten either as a dip or as a soup. It's amazing on a hot summer (or Mexican winter) afternoon!

I know it's obnoxious when food bloggers or TV chefs pine on about how important it is for you to use highest-quality ingredients. I know it sounds obnoxious--if not downright impractical--for you, dear reader, to blow half a paycheck at Whole Foods springing for all the top-shelf dinner ingredients. But because salmorejo is such a simple dish, if you skimp, it'll be very noticeable in the final product. So for this reason, I have to be obnoxious and implore you to use only use top-quality tomatoes (ideally from your garden or the farmers’ market), olive oil (extra virgin, cold-pressed), and bread (good European-style bread, no shitty sandwich bread!). Using top-quality ingredients will make all the difference for this puree.

Typically, this soup is served with slivered Prosciutto or Serrano ham, minced hard-boiled eggs, and crostini. You could also serve it with any high-quality baguette bread and even some good hard cheese—such as Parmesan Reggiano—on the side. Since the consistency is almost more like a dip, you can dunk your bread or other accompaniments in it as you eat.

1 Kg (2.2 pounds) fresh tomatoes, tops removed and quartered

1 cup olive oil, divided

½ cup red wine vinegar

2 slices bread, chopped up a bit

3 cloves garlic, halved

1 tsp salt

For dipping: hard cheese, crostini, hard-boiled eggs, Proscuiutto or Serrano ham, etc. 

Soak the tomatoes, ½ cup of olive oil, garlic, vinegar and bread overnight in a big bowl.

The next day, blend the bread/tomato mixture and salt in blender or food processor, adding the remaining ½ cup olive oil very slowly as it mixes.

Depending on the consistency you like, you can blend in some water too at this point, but I like to keep it fairly thick, so I don’t add any.

Serve cold with any of the garnishes listed above, or anything else that you think would go well.

Vegetarian Gumbo Done Right!

To many Louisianans, gumbo without shrimp or meat is as sacrilegious as getting ticketed for an open container violation or tolerating somebody shit-talking the Saints. Unthinkable. However, by subbing in some saffron and liquid smoke (along with a healthy dose of other seasonings), this recipe might not just compete with traditional gumbo, this might beat it outright. Just be prepared for the startled compliments you will receive from your stunned Southern friends when you serve this. 

Most gumbos start with a roux, but I choose not to. That said, you can certainly add 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup flower to start a roux which you'd add the sautéed veggies and stock to once they're combined and the roux is ready. You can also go the traditional route and include okra--I'm just not a huge fan, so I leave it out.

Also, don't skip the saffron. I know it's expensive. But it's critical in creating a rich gumbo flavor, so get over it. 

Goes great with red beans and dirty rice.

Prep time: 1 cocktail

4 TBSP olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

5 stalks celery, chopped

10 cloves garlic, minced

8 ounces tempeh, crumbled

2-3 cups veggie stock, store-bought or homemade

2 bunches kale, stems removed and shredded

1 1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning

1 pinch saffron threads

1 TBSP Tabasco sauce

cayenne to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

1 28-ounce can tomatoes, chopped

1 TBSP Thyme

6 bay leaves

10 drops liquid smoke (or a bit more to taste)

Black eyed peas, drained and rinsed (optional)

Heat the oil over medium-high heat and add onion, pepper, celery, garlic, and tempeh. Saute until veggies soften up and onion is translucent, about 6 minutes. Continue cooking another minute beyond this and then add all other ingredients. Bring back to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer like this for at least 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Adjust water/stock, if you want it brothier.

Groundnut Stew

In Africa, groundnut stew can range from thin and soupy to a very thick porridge-like consistency. In this recipe, I designed it to be eaten with injera, so I opted for a very thick consistency, as you’ll be scooping it up and eating with your hands. But if you will be eating it with utensils, adding additional water to stretch the soup farther and serving over rice is perfectly fine.

This recipe is more a basic suggestion than a firm recipe. Optional additions to this recipe also include chicken (for you meat eaters), sweet potatoes that have been baked and cubed, and hard-boiled eggs that are peeled and cut in half then added to the finished stew. You can also serve over rice or with another starch, like kenkey if you don't want to go the injera route. It's all good. 

Prep time: 1/2 cocktail

2 TBSP oil

½ cup onion, very finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 bunch collard greens (beet greens, chard, spinach, or other greens), shredded (optional)

2 tsp red chili flakes (or more if you like it hot)

¾ cup water

1-2 tomatoes, chopped

¼ cup peanut butter (use only all natural peanut butter with no added sugar or oils)

¾ tsp salt (more or less to taste—depending on how much your PB has)

Salt and pepper to taste

Handful of coarsely chopped peanuts

In wok or large frying pan heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic and a good bit of fresh ground black pepper, sauté until onions become a bit transparent, about 3-5 minutes. Add greens, chili flakes, and water, stir occasionally until greens begin to become tender. Stir in tomatoes and peanut butter. Reduce heat to medium-low. Continue stirring a couple minutes until everything is well mixed, add salt to taste. Adding a handful of peanuts to add some extra texture to this dish is also optional at this point.