Soup That Warms

Winter is in full force in Omaha, and I can't manage to stay warm. Last night I went to bed with the space hearter on with four blankets covering me, two pairs of socks, sweatpants and a T-shirt--still shivering. Heading to Dario's for late-night happy hour helped only temporarily to releave the aches and pains of sub-zero temperatures. Dario's is so cozy, and its Belgian beer takes the chill off. Someone said it reminded them of a ski lodge after hours--I just love that comparison.

Monday night after yet another bout of shoveling the driveway, this soup, with my cold hands cupped around the bowl, warmed me up.

Pappa al pomodoro is a chunky tomato soup with soggy pieces of bread in it, lending a creamy quality. This was my first time using tomatoes from San Marzano, which turned out to be really sweet (for tomatoes). The crispy topping was maybe the best part of the soup. The crunchy pancetta with toasted bread and the tomato soup reminisced pepperoni pizza. This whole thing roasted on the stove while I was out in the cold pushing snow and slipping on the ice.

Pappa al Pomodoro: by Ina Garten

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1 fennel bulb (I substituted celery)
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups Italian loaf, cubed
28-ounces whole tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup red wine
1 tablespoon dried basil
salt and pepper
parmesan cheese

Topping:
3 cups Italian loaf, cubed
2 ounces sliced pancetta, chopped
dried basil
olive oil
salt and pepper
 
In a large stock pot, saute the carrots, onions, garlic and celery (or fennel) in olive oil until the onions are translucent. Add the cubes of bread and saute another 5 minutes. Ladle in the the tomatoes, squishing each one with your hand. Pour in stock, wine, basil and salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let sit partially covered for 45 minutes.
 
For the toppins, arrange the bread and pancetta on a baking tray. Preheat the oven to 375. Drizzle bread and pancetta with olive oil (because that Italian-style bacon needs more fat), basil leaves and salt and pepper. Toast in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until crisp. Serve on the soup with parmesan cheese.

Pasta al Tomate

Last week, Emily and I went to the airport to collect our sister, returned from an epic voyage to Italy. She offered to make the entire family dinner last Friday, a decision I'm sure she regrets. I'm not so sure she missed us. My part of the story started when Al called to invite me to dinner. "Well, I have a party to go to, what time is it going to be over?" (This is the sort of thing you can only say to your family.) But I came and sat on the couch and complained that dinner wouldn't be over according to my schedule. Dad and I sat in the living room, joking and sincerely wondering where the chef du jour was. It was 5:30 p.m., and she was at the grocery store--this is America, Al. We eat by 6! But the pasta got rolling, mom was on-hand to lend assistance and I finally dragged myself off the couch to chop some tomatoes--for which I was lucky not to maim my hand while Al pushed around the cutting board in a frantic dash to find the corkscrew. But taking nibbles of the food and sips from the wine sobered everyone's tempers. Al was the chef de cuisine, mom was sous chef and I was the lowly garde manger (pantry supervisor).

But we did the work to prepare the bruschetta, salad and pasta (no meat to be seen--and on my dad's birthday). Al even grabbed a bottle of wine from the town in which she lived in Italy (Orvieto). The recipes are from a restaurant in Orvieto called Zeppelin where Al took a cooking class. So our meal was just as good as being there--obnoxious family included. Bruschetta: 1 loaf of HyVee take and bake bread (this stuff is awesome and so easy) 2 ounces pancetta Asiago cheese, thinly sliced coarsely chopped fresh basil olive oil balsamic vinegar dried parsely This seems too easy to explain, but here goes: Slice baked bread into one-inch-thick pieces to serve topped with the cheese, pancetta and basil and also dipped in a bowl of a olive oil-vinegar-parsely mixture.

Pasta with Tomatoes and Chilis: olive oil 3 cloves garlic, diced 1 cup dry white wine 2 pounds Roma tomatoes, diced 1 chili pepper, diced (remove seeds according to desired spiciness) large handful of fresh basil, coarsely chopped big handful spaghetti salt and pepper to taste parmesan cheese In a large sauce pan on medium, heat oil and saute garlic for a couple minutes. Add wine, tomatoes and chili pepper and continue to saute for 5 to 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Al bought an Anaheim pepper, which is less spicy than a jalapeno. You can always adjust the spiciness by adding or removing the ribs and seeds from the pepper. As far as judging a pepper's spiciness, generally smaller peppers are spicier. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti according to directions. Al picked up some spaghetti with ribs in it, which I really liked. Drain pasta and carefully dump into sauce pan with tomatoes. To serve top with basil and parmasan cheese.