Tidings of Comfort and Joy

There's a lot of food going on right now, most of it rich and heavy. Tis the season. And tiz chilly to boot. So twice in less than two weeks, I've made pots of my three favorite comfort foods, all colorful and very tasty soups so thick I can eat them with a fork. Also very healthy, nutritious and easy to make: tributes to the lauded Mediterranean diet. So if you need a time out, and a little something extra for the freezer, here are three recipes for joy to the body and soul.

Greek Island Chickpea and Brown Rice Soup

A rustic soup from Rhodes for 4-6

½ c top quality olive oil

1 lg onion, minced

½ c dry white wine

2 tsp Aleppo pepper*

4 c hearty vegetable or chicken broth

2 cups chickpeas, drained (a 15 oz can is the least you can do)

1 c chopped boxed or canned tomatoes

1 cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

1 tsp dried oregano

1 c short grain brown rice (if you use white rice cook it only 20 minutes)

Salt to your taste

½ c crumbled feta cheese

½ bunch flat leaf parsley minced for garnish

*Ground Aleppo pepper is a moderately hot Syrian chili. Substitutes would be ground chipotle pepper or 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes.

NB: do not use Basmati or any other long grain rice. Short grain rice is for soaking up flavors and you need that here.

In a medium heavy pot, heat olive oil, add onion and sauté over medium heat until soft and translucent, 8-10 minutes. Stir in wine and Aleppo or other hot pepper alternative. Raise heat and cook briskly 45-60 seconds until most liquid is gone.

 Add 2 cups broth, chickpeas, tomatoes, cinnamon stick, bay leaf and oregano. Bring to simmering, cover and cook on low heat 10 minutes. Stir in the rice and 2 cups broth. Cook until rice is tender, about 15 minutes.

 Season with salt. Remove cinnamon stick and bay leaf. Stir in feta, cover, remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes. Serve in bowls garnished with minced parsley. Optionally you can double garnish with pinches of fresh mint.

Turkish Red Lentil Soup 

  Serves 4-6

3 tbsp olive oil

1 lg onion, diced

2 lg garlic cloves, minced

1 fresh red chili, seeded and minced

1/8 tsp ground chili powder

2 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp ground coriander

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 tsp fenugreek

1 tsp celery seeds

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 ¼ cup split red lentils

5 cups vegetable stock and water

½ tsp freshly ground or cracked black pepper

½ tsp salt or more to your taste

for garnish

 1 bunch scallions, finely chopped

 1 bunch flat leaf parsley leaves only, chopped

 juice of ½ fresh lemon (or lemon wedges for each bowl)

In a heavy gauge medium size lidded casserole or other such pan, heat oil over medium. Add onion, garlic, chili, chili powder, cumin seed and ground coriander, stirring to blend. Sauté over medium heat until onion is soft, 3-5 minutes. 

 Add carrot and cook another 2 minutes. Add fenugreek, celery seeds and tomato paste, pepper and salt. Stir in the lentils, blending everything.

 Pour in the stock and water in any combination you prefer. Bring to a boil.

Immediately cut heat to low, partially cover the pot and simmer 35-40 minutes.

The lentils should now be mushy and the soup thick.

 Serve garnished with chopped scallions and parsley and lemon juice or wedges.

Pasta e Fagioli (Macaroni and Beans)

The traditional Tuscan favorite that some say is not a soup at all. I say it's a miracle of Italian cooking to get this much flavor without garlic.  NB: you can speed this up significantly if you use canned white beans, a 15 oz can drained and rinsed will do it. AND you can ratchet the flavor up ten notches by throwing in a Parmesan rind while cooking the dried beans. Just saying....

Serves 6

1 cup dried white beans (Great Northern, Cranberry, Cannellini) 

1 sm yellow onion, diced 

¼ tsp dried rosemary leaves 

1/8 tsp fresh cracked black pepper 

2 sm or 1 lg carrot, peeled and diced 

1 lg celery stalk, diced 

1 tsp dried oregano 

1/2 tsp dried sage leaves 

1 cup chopped tomatoes in their juice (canned or boxed is okay) 

4 cups vegetable or beef broth 

1 tsp salt 

1 tsp black pepper 

pinch of red pepper flakes 

¾ cup tubellini, ditalini, or macaroni (a very small pasta)

handful arugula, chopped 

½ cup freshly minced flat leaf parsley 

Parmesan cheese grated for garnish

Soak the beans either overnight or in boiling water for 90 minutes.

Cover the bottom of a heavy gauge soup pot with olive oil and heat it. Add the onion, rosemary, carrot, celery, oregano and sage. Sauté over medium heat for 5-7 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Add the tomatoes, salt, black pepper and chili flakes. Stir to blend and cook 1 minute. Add the beans, then the broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook 1 hr until beans are tender. (If you are using canned beans, cook the onion mix 12 minutes and now the beans only 3-5.) 

When the beans are soft and ready to eat, bring the soup to a boil and add the pasta. Cook until pasta is done--maybe 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Check seasonings and adjust especially salt. Stir in a handful of arugula and the chopped parsley.  Serve with grated Parmesan for garnish.