Category: Recipes

Acquacotta con Peperoni

(Acquacotta means “cooked water,” a traditonal soup that takes its name from the days when it included little more than a few vegetables, boiled in water and poured over slices of stale bread. This is a more extravagant modem version.)

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
2 red peppers, cored, deseeded, and cut into very thin strips
2 plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon of flour
3 3/4 cups vegetable or chicken stock or water
1 teaspoon sugar
2 eggs
4 thick slices of bread
salt and pepper
chopped flat-leaf parsley to garnish

Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan; add onion, celery and red peppers and cook gently, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes until softened.

Add the tomatoes, garlic, and flour and stir well to mix. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring, then pour in the stock and bring to a boil. Add sugar and salt and pepper to taste; half cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes.

Whisk the eggs in a bowl, then whisk in a ladelful or two of the hot soup. Pour this mixture into the soup and heat very gently without boiling, stirring all the time. Taste for seasoning.

Place a slice of bread in the bottoms of 4 soup plates, ladle the soup over and garnish with parsley.

Preparation time: 15 min. – Cooking time 30 min.

An earlier “ham bone” version has appeared in these pages before. This is a vegetarian variation. The absolute key ingredient is a high quality dark balsamic vinegar.

1 pound dried black beans
6 cups of liquid
(Variation A – Canned supermarket vegetable juice with additional
water as needed. Variation B – Canned V-8 Vegetable juice Picante
Style with additional water as needed. Variation C – Canned V-8
Vegetable juice -Spicy Hot with additional water as needed.)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
3/4 cup chopped green pepper
6 cloves of chopped garlic
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can of
Variation A – Canned tomatoes
Variation B – Dei Fratelli Italian Style canned tomatoes
Variation C – Dei Fratelli Mexican style canned tomatoes
1 (4 1/2 ounce) can chopped chilies, undrained
1/2 cup dark balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons thyme
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon tumeric

Cover beans with water and bring to a boil. Rinse. Add vegetable juice and cook for 1 1/2 hours -check if additional water is needed. Lightly saute onions, green pepper and garlic in olive oil. Add them and remaining ingredients to the beans and cook for another 30 minutes or so. Cool. Put three quarters of the soup in a blender or food processor, puree and return to pan. Mix well. Serve with sour cream.

(The need and craving for spiciness varies – hence the three levels offered. Variation C is EXTREME.)

10 1.5 cup servings.

Cals.. 227, Prot.. 15 g. Chol 39 g. Fat 1.8g, Fiber 12.5 g.

1/2 pound potatoes, peeled and cut in 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup chopped yellow onions
1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces, or two 10 ounce packages frozen green beans
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons fresh savory leaves
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup half-and-half cream or evaporated skim milk

In a saucepan, combine the potatoes, onions, beans, stock, wine, 1 tablespoon of the savory, salt, black pepper. Bring to a boil over medium heat, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes until vegetables are very tender. Puree in a blender or food processor. Return to the pan, stir in cream, and heat on low. Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve chilled. Garnish with remaining savory leaves, minced, and grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Yield 6 to 8 servings.

1 large onion, choppod
1 1/2 c chopped celery (include inner ribs and leaves)
6-7 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 pc fresh ginger (1″ long), peeled and chopped
1-2 tsp toasted sesame oil or organically grown olive oil
5-6 qt filtered water or fat-free broth
6 carrots, chopped
1 parsnip, chopped
1 turnip, chopped
1 med burdock root, sliced
3 med red potatoes, cubed
2 sticks dried astragalus root
1 c sliced fresh shitake mushrooms
3/4 c chopped fresh parsley or 1/4 c dried
1/2 c chopped fresh herbs, such as basil, sage, thyme,
marjoram, oregano, and rosemary, or 3-4 Tbsp dried herbs
3 tsp low sodium soy sauce
1/2 c barley
1/2 c lentils or dried peas (optional)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
Finely choppod chfle peppers or ground red pepper
Salt
Ground black pepper
1/2 c chopped red bell pepper
1 med zucchini, chopped
1 c chopped spinach, cabbage, kale, or collard greens
Freshly ground black pepper or crushed red chile pepper

In a large stockpot, saute the onion, celery, garlic, and ginger in the oil until the onion turns translucent. Add the water and ingredients through the lentils. Simmer on low for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until vegetables tender.

Stir in tumeric, paprika, and vinegar. Add chile peppers, salt and pepper. Add the bell peppers, zucchini and greens. Simmer 30 minutes. Remove the astragalus and season with pepper.

25 one cup servings.

72 cal, 3 g pro, 12 g carb, .08 g fat, .01 g sat fat, 9 mg chol, 3 g fiber, 137 mg. sodium