Tag: celery

Romano Pepper Soup

Among all vegetables, peppers arguably have the most unique flavor! Romano peppers are sweeter and caramelize wonderfully when roasted, which makes them a great addition to a tomato-based soup, balancing its acidity and gaining depth in return.

If this isn’t enough, like most Italian soups this recipe makes use of the classic celery/carrot/onion soffritto both as a thickener and for its flavor. Again, roasting is key to cause browning and the development of the many aromatic compounds that go with it. 

The predictable addition of chili powder adds yet another layer of complexity and, of course, the nerve endings stimulus that we perceive as heat (please check out my very first podcast titled Salty and Spicy to hear more about the chemistry involved.)

Oh, this recipe happens to be vegan 🙂 Enjoy!

Romano Pepper Soup

Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Romano Pepper Soup

Ingredients

  • 1/4 onion, chopped
  • 2 celery sticks, sliced
  • 1 carrot, cubed
  • 2 red 'Romano' peppers, sliced
  • 200 g 'passata' strained tomatoes
  • 20 g tomato paste
  • 2 cups vegetable stock
  • olive oil
  • salt
  • chili powder
  • black pepper, ground

Preparation

  1. Roast the peppers in olive oil, with some salt, in a frying pan at medium heat until tender - 15 minutes (add a splash of water from time to time if the peppers start to burn).
  2. Meanwhile, roast the other veggies in olive oil for 10 minutes at high heat in a medium pot.
  3. Add the roasted peppers, the strained tomatoes, the tomato paste, and the veggie stock to the pot with the vegetables. Bring to a boil.
  4. Lower the heat and cook for 1/2 hr stirring from time to time.
  5. Strain the soup using a strainer or a food mill with a fine mesh.
  6. Re-add the strained soup to the pot and resume cooking for another 1/2 hr stirring occasionally.
  7. Add chili powder to taste and adjust the salt.
  8. Serve with a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper.
https://www.disgracesonthemenu.com/2020/10/romano-pepper-soup.html

Braised Fennel

Side dishes have an important role in Italian cuisine. These, often vegetarian, preparations are meant as an accompaniment to a second course, whether it’s meat or fish, a piatto freddo (literally, cold dish) of cheese and/or cold cuts, or a vegetarian preparation. To have a side of braised fennel was common in my family while growing up, and I now make it regularly.

Fennel is known for its aromatic seeds and as a vegetable consisting of the lower part of its stalks, which form an enlarged bulb-shaped bundle(1). As the stalks separate, they become fibrous and are discarded in cooking. Fennel belongs to the umbellifers family along with celery (which it visually resembles), carrots, parsnip, parsley, cilantro, dill, anise, and other plants which tend to produce flowers in umbrella-shaped clusters.

Fennel Nutrition Facts
Fennel bulb (raw)

Fennel has a strong anise aroma due to the presence of anethole, an organic compound also found in anise seeds. Some say that fennel tastes like licorice, but this is really because many licorice candies are flavored with anise.

Nutritionally, fennel is a good source of vitamins (e.g.: C, A), minerals (e.g.: potassium, manganese), as well as carbohydrates in the form of dietary fiber (non-digestible) and sugar (3.9% in weight).

Fennel is consumed raw (e.g.: thinly sliced and added to salads) or cooked (e.g.: roasted, braised, or au gratin). In this recipe:

  • I sliced the fennel perpendicularly to its fibers to tenderize it.
  • I pan roasted it in olive oil and butter to caramelize the sugars and develop flavor through browning.
  • Then, I added salt to enhance the flavor and to extract some water (via osmosis).
  • Allowed the fennel to braise in its own juice covered with a lid at a low temperature.
  • Interrupted the cooking after 15-20 minutes or when the fennel was cooked through but still had a slightly fibrous texture.
Braised Fennel

Yield: 2 servings

Total Time: 25 minutes

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

side dish

Braised Fennel

Ingredients

  • 2 fennel bulbs
  • 1/2 Tbsp butter
  • 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
  • Salt

Preparation

  1. Slice the fennel perpendicularly to its fibers, discarding the stalks.
  2. In a non-stick pan, warm up olive oil and butter, then add the fennel.

  3. Roast the fennel at a high temperature, tossing and flipping it frequently.

  4. Add a pinch of salt, lower the temperature, cover with a lid, and allow the fennel to braise.
  5. Cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring from time to time, just until the fennel is cooked through.

https://www.disgracesonthemenu.com/2019/02/braised-fennel.html

 

(1)Harold McGee. On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. 2nd edition (2004).

Passato di Verdure (Strained Vegetables Soup)

Growing up, I was used to my mother’s soup made from chunky vegetables in clear broth. I can’t say I loved it – certainly not as much as I enjoy it now – but I clearly remember liking its strained variant: the “passato” (passed through, strained), the first time I tasted it.

This memory goes back to when I was a kid, during a summer vacation. My family and I were staying at our usual “pensione” on the Adriatic coast of Emilia Romagna, in the days before bed and breakfasts. The most common vacation accommodations were “full pensions”, with three meals a day included, and “half-pensions”, which only served breakfast and dinner, and so allowing time for day trips.

The Romagna region is famous for its delectable cuisine, and the pensione was no exception. Each day was special, but the Sunday menu was even fancier than usual, often featuring baked pastas, stews, roasts, a variety of sides, and dessert (which was only fruit on weekdays). Things however were less fancy on the chef’s weekly day off! On that day, reduced kitchen staff used to serve a simple dried pasta for lunch and a soup for dinner, both of which were followed by cold cuts and cheeses. One of those soups was my first passato, and it made a strong impression! Not only do I remember its complex flavor, its dark green color, and its velvety texture, I even remember the corner of the restaurant in which we were seated!

Over the years I learned to appreciate all kinds of soups, but passato still holds a special place in my memory. Like most Italian soups, passato di verdure is made by first roasting the aromatic vegetables (celery, carrot, onion) in olive oil, then adding water and the rest of the vegetables, then cooking everything for a long time to allow for the flavor to develop. To make a passato, however, the cooked vegetables are finally strained in a food mill (or by hand in a kitchen strainer), then allowed to cook some more. The straining process retains the fibrous content, and finely mashes the vegetables releasing all of their flavor into the broth. Mashing also emulsifies the olive oil used for roasting, bringing out even more flavor.

Passato di Verdure (Strained Vegetables Soup)

Yield: 2-3 servings

Total Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Passato di Verdure (Strained Vegetables Soup)

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/4 onion, minced
  • 1 big carrot, minced
  • 2 celery sticks, minced
  • 1 medium leek, sliced
  • 2 yellow potatoes, diced
  • 1/2 lb squash, diced
  • 1/4 of a cabbage, coarsely cut
  • 5-8 leaves black kale, coarsely cut
  • 2 Roma tomatoes, halved
  • 2 oz Parmigiano, grated
  • salt and black pepper

Preparation

  1. Roast onion, carrot, celery in olive oil at high heat until soft.
  2. Add the leek, potato, squash and continue roasting for a few minutes.
  3. Add enough water to fully cover the vegetables.
  4. Add cabbage, kale and tomatoes (which don't need to be peeled, since the skin will remain in the strainer).
  5. Simmer for 2 hours, covered with a lid, or pressure cook for 1/2 hour (using the vegetable setting if available), which is what I did.
    cooked veggies
  6. Strain the cooked vegetables in a food mill or by hand.
  7. Put the vegetables back in the same pot, add most of the grated Parmigiano.
  8. Adjust with salt and simmer for 15 more minutes. If necessary, use an immersion blender to make the soup even smoother.
  9. Serve sprinkled with the rest of the Parmigiano and freshly ground pepper.

Notes

Like for any other vegetable soup, for a more filling dish you can add pasta/rice to the finished product, and continue boiling until cooked. Because of its density, however, the passato will require pasta or rice to cook for longer, since it will take longer to absorb water (up to 50% more in my experience).

https://www.disgracesonthemenu.com/2016/02/passato-di-verdure-strained-vegetables-soup.html