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A Hill of Beans
It’s always a good week when there is plenty of lunch fixings in the fridge. The people I work with tend to brown bag it and then sit together to talk over lunch. It’s a nice break in the middle of the day. I work with a diverse group of people from all over the world, so the conversations are always interesting and lively.
I’m not a huge fan of cold lunches. I do like sandwiches, though I typically prefer grilled paninis over something cold between two pieces of bread. Salads are good for lunch too, but I like to accompany them with something warm, even if it’s just something simple like warmed bread or toast.
An ideal lunch for me features a bowl of soup. The weather is starting to turn, so I’m trying to cram in all the cold-weather favorites I didn’t get a chance to make this fall and winter. French Market Soup is a hearty bean soup that makes an appearance at least once each cold season. It’s also a good recipe for using up the odds and ends on the bean shelf in my pantry.
I start with a big bowl on top of a kitchen scale. I add a bit of this and a bit of that until the scale hits 1½ pounds. I include some dark beans, like black beans and kidney beans. Some white beans, like cannellini or flagelot, are also a must. I also throw in some mottled beans, like pinto or Jacob’s cattle beans. Finally, I add a scattering of lentils and split peas, in a variety of colors. The array in the beans looks gorgeous!
The beans need to soak overnight. I like to pour boiling water over the beans instead of cold. It gives them a head start. Then, beans are cooked with some smoky ham hocks before adding the other ingredients. The soup cooks for several hours, so you really need to do on the weekend. The end result is a big pot of a delicious soup.
Unfortunately, this week, my company is bringing in lunch three days, so some of the soup will have to go into the freezer for later, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
French Market Soup
Serves 8+
Adapted from The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Russo & Sheila Lukins
1½ lbs mixed dried beans
2 ham hocks
4 large cloves garlic, peeled
10 cups water
½ lb kielbasa sausage (turkey or regular)
1 (28-oz) can ground peeled tomatoes
1½ cups red wine
2 onions, chopped
½ cup chopped Italian (flat) parsley
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp dried red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
Gather 1½ lbs mixed dried beans. Sort them to remove any stones or other debris. Rinse. Place in a large bowl or pot. Bring a large kettle of water to a boil (you will need enough water to cover the beans by 2 inches). Pour the water over the beans, and soak overnight.
Drain the beans. Return them to the pot with the ham hocks, garlic, and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1½ hours, skimming off any foam that rises to the top.
Cut the kielbasa into 1-inch coins, then quarter the slices. Add the kielbasa to the soup and simmer for 1 hour longer. Continue to skim if necessary.
Remove the ham hocks. While the ham hocks are cooling, add the remaining ingredients. When the ham hocks are cool enough to handle, remove the skin, shred the meat, and add it to the pot. Simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve piping hot.
You Win Some, You Lose Some
Like most avid home cooks, I try a lot of new recipes. I have my share of successes. Sometimes, though usually less frequently, recipes don’t turn out the way I hope. This week, I’ve had a steady string of duds. Ever hopeful, I snapped pictures of my failures, but it was sort of discouraging.
It started with the third tomato soup flop in a row. I somehow lost track of the “winner” recipe I’d been attached to, so I was trying to recreate it. None of them quite worked out. The first soup was too thick, the second too chunky, and the third was too bland. I’m determined, so I’ll have to try again next week.
Next, I made a Southwestern style pot pie with a cornbread biscuit topping. It was very colorful and festive, but something was missing. How disappointing.
Yesterday was Mardi Gras, so of course, I had to make something Cajun. Being a weeknight, I tried out a “quick” version of jambalaya. The ingredients were great, but there was no time for the flavors to meld. Plus, it was more soupy than I expected.
The most successful thing I made all week was borscht. I pored through piles of cookbooks, but couldn’t a recipe that seemed exactly right, so I made one up. It looked great while it was cooking. I don’t know what possessed me to add the vinegar, but all the recipes I had seen used it so I did too.
Unfortunately, I didn’t care for it at all, though it was a hit with my husband. As I mentioned when I made a cabbage gratin a couple of weeks ago, I don’t really like food that tastes like sauerkraut. The sour flavor that the vinegar gave the soup turned me off completely. The bad thing was that I ended up making a HUGE pot of this soup. The good thing was that Howard liked it; it reminded him of his Grandma Sadie’s sauerkraut soup. My friend Laury liked it too. So, I shared some, and we stashed the rest of the freezer for future lunches for Howard.
I know I didn’t make this sound so appealing, but if you like borscht, you might want to give it a try. My borscht-likers gave it a thumbs up!
Borscht
Serves 10-12
1 lamb shank
3 qts water
1 Tbsp canola oil
3½ lbs beets
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, shredded
1 turnip, shredded
8 cups shredded cabbage
1 c tomato puree
¼ cup white vinegar
2 Tbsp sugar
Sour cream (optional)
First, make a lamb stock. Ideally, make this the day before. Preheat the oven to 450F. Season the lamb shank with salt and pepper. Roast the lamb shank for 30 minutes. Transfer the roasted lamb shank to a large soup pot and cover with 3 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, and simmer for 1½ hours. Remove the lamb shank and reserve. Chill the stock, overnight, if possible, so you can easily remove any fat from the stock.
You also need to roast the beets. Scrub the beets. Place the beets in a roasting pan, add about ½ inch of water in the bottom of the pan and cover with foil. Roast in the preheated 450F oven for 1 hour or until the beets are tender. When the beets are cool enough to handle, slip the skin off and grate the beets.
In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Saute the onion, carrots, and turnip until softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the beets, cabbage, tomato puree, vinegar and sugar to the pot and stir to combine. Add the stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour.
Cut or pick the meat off of the lamb shank and cut into bite-sized pieces. Add to the soup to heat through.
Serve hot with an optional dollop of sour cream.
A Plateful of Happiness 