Ma's Apron Strings: Greens

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Soup for Your Belly

There is nothing better than a bowl of warm and steamy soup on a dark, damp, rainy day. Yes, you guessed it, it is raining here today. I snatched this recipe up from my mother-in-law. It is an Italian soup that uses penny pinching ingredients, which when mixed together make a most flavorful soup. Be sure to have some crusty Italian bread for sopping up some of the wonderful broth. This soup comes with an added bonus. As you can see it takes only a few ingredients that couldn’t be easier to put together and cooked in about an hour.

Greens & Beans Soup

1 large escarole cleaned and chopped

¼ lb. bacon or pancetta
1 small onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
4 cans chicken broth
1 can cannelloni beans rinsed and drained
Dash nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to taste
Parmesan Cheese for topping

Fill a large bowl full of ice cold water and leave it in the sink. Remove outer leaves from escarole and discard them. Chop the remainder of the escarole into bite size pieces. Place into bowl of water in the sink. Push down and stir escarole in the water repeatedly to remove the and grit that gets stuck in the lower part of the leaves. Drain and rinse a couple of times. Set aside.

Chop bacon into ¼” pieces. Sauté in large stock pan until bacon is almost crisp. Add garlic, salt, pepper, nutmeg and onion sauté until translucent. Add escarole, chicken broth and beans. Bring to full boil for 15 minutes and then turn down to a simmer for 30 minutes. Serve with crusty bread and sprinkle of Parmesan.

For more recipes, click the button below:

Follow me on Facebook

Or find me on Pinterest

Click this image to subscribe

Join me on Google+

From the bottom of my heart..............

Friday, August 12, 2011

The Bountiful Garden

Growing up I can remember my parents hunting and foraging for different greens to cook and eat. As a kid, it was a given you would join in the hunting and picking. You may think hunting is an odd word to use, but clearly when you are talking about sautéing field greens such as dandelions, wild leeks, cow slips, and burdocks you literally are foraging or hunting in the woods, fields and sometimes the backyard.

However, today we are talking about greens from the garden. It is that time of year when we can reap the benefits from not only our garden but also from our generous neighbors, co-workers, and friends. Today a co-worker brought in several vegetables from their garden. Included in the bounty was a bunch of beets with the tops still attached. While another co-worker opted for the actual beets, I asked if in fact if they were intending to use the greens. Though there are many greens grown and sold at the market, beet greens have always been one of my favorites. Once sautéed in a little garlic oil and butter they turn an eye catching deeper, darker green and offer a sweet yet hardy flavor. If the stems are younger I generally leave them on or chop them into the pan along with the leaves, as they cook they make a soft pink colored sauce from the oil, butter and water from rinsing the leaves. Add a little salt and pepper and you have quite a yummy side-dish or meal.