Rapini + Leek + Rice Soup

Ingredients:
3 leeks, sliced (white parts only!)
1 bunch rapini, chopped
6 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup (uncooked) jasmine rice
1/4 cup dry vermouth
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 bay leaves
juice and zest of 1 Meyer lemon
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
In a wide-bottomed pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil and butter. Add the garlic, rapini, parsley, rice and leeks. Saute until the leeks start to soften and the rapini starts to wilt. Pour in the broth, vermouth, juice, zest and spices. Cover and cook until the rice is fully cooked, about 15 minutes.

My thoughts:

A local grocery store chain often has some somewhat surprising fruits and vegetables. Cactus pears, Seckel pears, rapini, many varieties of apples, Vidalia onions still with their greens, broccolini, the list goes on. I guess none of those items is terribly exotic but a lot of that are things that until fairly recently, we could only buy at a specialty store or the farmers market. We only have one year-round farmers market since nothing is in season here during the winter so any store that has fresh, varied produce gets our vote. Lately it has been an embarrassment of riches when it comes to rapini (aka broccoli rabe), leeks and other dark greens. This recipe came about because I have a ton of stock in my freezer (anyone want to point me in the direction of a good, affordable pressure canner? I have ham, lobster, chicken and turkey stock taking valuable space.), lovely rapini and some leeks that looked shifty. Luckily, it was one of those happy accidents when everything came together in a delightful manner. I am not even a soup fan and I loved it.

Potato, Leek & Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients:
1 lb Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 or 4 leeks, sliced (white parts only!)
1 small head cauliflower, broken into florets
6 cups chicken or ham stock
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 1/2 cup cubed smoked ham*

Directions:
In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil and butter. Saute the potato until just turning golden. Add the garlic, cauliflower, leeks. Saute a few minutes just until the leeks start to soften. Pour in the broth and spices. Simmer until the liquid has reduced a bit and the potatoes and cauliflower are soft and starting to fall apart. Meanwhile, lightly brown the ham on all sides in a dry, nonstick skillet. Using an immersion blender or work in batches using a regular blender, blend the soup until smooth. Stir in the ham. Heat for couple minutes.

*I used one of those boneless ham steaks that are always on sale. Leftover ham would be good too.

My thoughts:

This is sort of a twist on the classic potato-leek soup. Cauliflower can be somewhat of a polarizing ingredient but in this soup, it is mild and adds body and creaminess. I don't like soups that are entirely smooth so after blending it, I stirred in some ham that I had sauteed (to deepen the flavor) so there was some texture contrast. Of course, if you wanted to leave it out and use water instead of stock, it would make a wonderful vegan soup. At any rate, it is a great way to get your daily dose of vegetables on a cold winter's night.

Parm, Olive & Pepperoni Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
8 oz rotini
1/2 English cucumber, diced
2 1/2 oz turkey pepperoni, sliced
1 large cubanelle pepper, diced
1/4 cup diced red onion
10 pimento stuffed green olives, sliced

for the dressing:
2 oz olive oil
2 oz red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons minced Italian parsley
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Directions:
Prepare pasta according to package instructions. Drain and allow to cool. Place the pasta and the remaining salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss. In a small bowl or dressing shaker, mix together the dressing ingredients until emulsification occurs. Drizzle over the salad and toss again. Serve at room temperature for best flavor.

My thoughts:

Every year around this time I really, really want to eat light, spring-like dishes. Unfortunately, living in the mid-Atlantic means that despite recent warm weather, there are virtually no vegetables or fruits in season locally right now. Overwintered rhubarb or leeks maybe but that's about it. So frustrating. So what I've been doing is making a lot of salads that don't absolutely rely on in season vegetables to be awesome. I've been getting a head start on grilling some proteins for this summer's grilling posts and these salads are prefect accompaniments; I can make them ahead of time leaving me free to grill without running back and forth to the kitchen. The trick is to include enough fresh ingredients in the salad to keep it from tasting too straight from the cupboard but nothing that truly needs to be in season to be delicious like tomatoes or corn. A bit of fresh Italian parsley brightens the dressing, hot house English cukes and cubanelles are pretty tasty year round. Good quality olives, Parmesan and pepperoni round it out and add an Italian edge which makes it robust enough to serve along steaks or pork marinaded with Italian herbs. The leftovers make a tasty light lunch the next day too.

Moules aux Poireaux et le C�leri

2-2 1/2 mussels (cleaned, discard any that are open)
2 large leeks, diced
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 small onion, sliced
3/4 cup (dry) white wine or water
minced parsley to taste
salt
pepper

Directions:
Place the leeks, celery, onion, parsley and wine in the bottom of a large pot with a lid. Add the mussels. Cover and bring the liquid to a boil. Cook until the mussels have all opened, stirring occasionally. Discard any mussels that did not open.

Quick tip: When picking up mussels at the store, ask for some ice to place in a bag with the mussels for the trip home. You want to keep them as cool as possible to avoid any mass mussel death. Refrigerate until cooking. If they are very fresh, they should be fine refrigerated overnight. If unsure, plan on making them the same day they were purchased.

My thoughts:

I think every time I have mussels I love them a little bit more. They are so quick to make, always delicious, easy to vary and very affordable. When we made this, I am a little embarrassed to say, we actually made 5 lbs of mussels and split them between the two of us. In our defense, they were quite small and we hadn't had anything else to eat that day. For this recipe, I paired it down to a more reasonable 2 to 2 1/2 lbs but if you are up for a mussels orgy, by all means, feel free to double it. And by all means, make frites to go with.

Beer Braised Beef with Leeks and Kohlrabi

Ingredients:
4-5 lb beef roast
1 bunch kohlrabi, peeled and sliced
3 large leeks, whites only chopped
1 cup broth
1 cup beer
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon paprika
salt
pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. In large saucepan, heat the oil. Meanwhile, rub the roast with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour. Brown the roast in the hot oil on all sides. Remove from the pan and place into a dutch oven or oven safe pot with a firm fitting cover. In the same pan you browned the roast, saute the leeks and kohlrabi until both are softened and starting caramelize. Pour the broth and beer over the roast. Bring to a boil. Pour in the kohlrabi/leek mixture. Remove the pot from heat, cover the top in foil, place the lid over the pot and then cover the lid with foil to ensure that no liquid will escape. Roast for 2 hours or until the roast is tender. Slice and serve.

My thoughts:

I think braising sort of has the reputation of being a time consuming, weekend only activity, but is actually is surprisingly well suited to a weeknight. Think of it as a condensed slow cooker recipe: you can come home, do about 15 minutes of prep, pop it in the pot and 1-2 hours later you have dinner. Braising can be done in the oven or on the stove top, all you need a tight fitting lid (or a tight fitting lid/foil combo I outlined above), a slab of meat and some sort of liquid. You can also braise vegetables on their own following the same basic technique but reducing the cooking time. Braising is easy and economical; you can use less expensive cuts of meat because the cooking process breaks down the connective tissues of the meat which results in both a flavorful broth and a tender finished product. Inexpensive root vegetables also respond well to braising. Virtually any combination of meat and vegetables would work, but this is one of my favorites. Any bitterness from the beer is offset by the slightly sweet kohlrabi and leek and the beef juices mix with the beer to form a delicious sauce. Another personal favorite is pork loin with fennel and potatoes, but that is a meal for another day.

Pork and Fennel Stew

Ingredients:
2 lbs of boneless pork rib, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup red wine
1/4 cup flour
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups broth, chicken or vegetable
2 leeks, halved and sliced
2 fennel bulbs, cut into thin 1 inch strips
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 tablespoons olive iil
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1 sprig fresh thyme
salt and pepper and paprika to taste

Directions:
Season pork cubes with salt, pepper, and paprika. Put the flour in a bowl (a paper bag would work well also), add a bit of salt and pepper, and then toss the pork in the flour until it is coated. Heat the oil in a large flat-bottomed pot, add the pork, the garlic, and the fennel seeds. Brown the meat on all sides. Add the fennel and leeks. Cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes until the vegetables have started to soften. Add the wine to the pot and stir until the wine has thickened and the flour stuck to the pan has loosened, about 2 minutes. Add the broth and the thyme and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down low and cover the pan, simmering for 45 minutes. Skim the scum off the top periodically during this time. Then add the potatoes and carrots, and cook (stirring frequently) at a medium-low heat for 1 hour or until the carrots and potatoes are tender. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

My thoughts:

This stew might not win any beauty contests but it doesn't have to-the taste is enough. Fennel and pork are natural companions and this stew highlights them both. My husband (who also was kind enough to both create and type up this recipe for me) made this for dinner earlier this week. The leftovers were just as good the next day.

Corn, Potato & Leek Chowder

Ingredients:
kernels from 4 ears of corn
3 stalks celery, diced
3 large potatoes, peeled and diced
3 carrots, diced
2 leeks, sliced thin
2 cups milk
2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon sage leaf
salt
pepper

Directions:
In a large pot, heat butter and oil. Add carrots, corn and leeks. Cook covered, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Remove cover and add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil then lower heat and cook until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes. Serve hot.

My thoughts:

This is another recipe that really highlights fresh ingredients. The subtle flavors of celery, carrot and corn really shine. I used milk in this recipe instead of the heavy cream usually present in chowder, this gives it a lighter mouth feel that I really think works well and doesn't overpower the veggies.

Potato Leek Soup with Bacon

Ingredients:

4-5 slices lean bacon, in 1/4 inch strips
2 lbs leeks, cut into 1/4 inch strips
2.5 lbs. small red skin potatoes, cubed
1 1/2 quarts chicken stock or water (or a combination of the two)

Directions:

Brown bacon in a 5 quart pot. Stir frequently then add leeks when bacon has browned. Continue to stir and cook 10 minutes or until leeks are soft. Add potatoes and broth/water. Simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Carefully whisk soup until it is the desired consistency. Serve immediately.