Soup
There are many soups in my repertoire, but only one is
distinguished solely as
Soup.
Other favorites such as lentil, butternut squash, and chicken noodle, go (not
surprisingly) by lentil, butternut squash, and chicken noodle respectively.
They are delicious all, but not quite worthy of the coveted common moniker.
Krista is of like-mind on this matter, so that if one of us were to call the
other and say, “I just made Soup,” the other would immediately
understand, and would be likely to reply, “I’m coming over,”
or almost equally as likely, “Really, I just made Soup
myself.”
It was Krista’s
sister Kara who first introduced us to this godly potion. She served it one
night years ago and the thought of it stayed with me for days afterward. I
remember calling Krista in search of the recipe, and she had only just gotten
off the phone with Kara for the same reason. We swore to make it together the
next time we saw each other, but I’m pretty sure both of us made it on our
own that night. I know I did.
The recipe
for Soup, scribbled hastily on yellow notebook paper and unlabeled, lives on my
fridge. I have it memorized, but I like to keep it there so that I can look at
it and imagine the next time I’ll make a batch. Soup is the reason I know
which brand of canned cannellini is the best, the reason why I get excited about
two for one kielbasa specials at the grocery store, and practically the only
reason I hold on to the enormous bag of dried red peppers I bought wholesale in
remote Truro. Soup is the reason I have three stock pots - the first two
didn’t cut it.
When I bring
leftover Soup to work, its fragrant steam turns me into an impromptu pied piper.
I literally have been followed from the kitchen back to my office by colleagues
driven to distraction by the wafting aroma. I have shared the recipe with only
a select group of fortunate souls over the last few years, but have decided that
it’s time to stop hording it and go public. It will be my good deed for
the day.
What Soup is: a clear broth base
flavored by onion and garlic, enlivened by red pepper flakes, dotted with white
beans and cheese tortellini, bolstered by smoky kielbasa, and garlanded with
escarole. What Soup does: brighten, warm, energize and deeply satisfy.
I made Soup for dinner last night,
because March is still exasperatingly in its lion phase and I needed heat. I
chopped an onion and some garlic and sautéed them in a little olive oil
in my stock pot. To this I added smoked kielbasa, and when it was sizzling
away, poured in chicken stock and water. I seasoned it with crushed red pepper,
brought it to a boil, and dumped in a package of frozen tortellini and a can of
rinsed white beans. Let it simmer for a while, then dunked in handfuls of
escarole till they wilted in the hot broth.
That’s it. Nothing fancy. Just
simple, divine Soup. Some people say to serve it with crusty Italian bread, but
I think that just gets in the way.
By
the way, the best cannellini? Progresso, and Cook’s Illustrated agrees.
They are firm but creamy, and don’t fall apart after a long
simmer.
Soup
Dash
olive
oil
4
• cloves of garlic,
sliced
1-2
• onions,
diced
8
• cups chicken
stock
2
• tsp. crushed red
pepper
1
• pound smoked kielbasa,
sliced
1
• 12-16 oz can
cannellini,
or
1
cup or so of pre-soaked white
beans
1
• 12-16 oz bag of frozen cheese
tortellini
1
• smallish head of escarole,
chopped
Sauté
garlic and onion in olive oil until translucent, add kielbasa and cook until
heated.
Add chicken stock, 2
cups of water, and crushed red pepper and bring to a
boil.
Add tortellini and beans,
reduce to a simmer.
Add escarole
and simmer until wilted and tortellini are cooked through.
Posted: Fri - March 26, 2004 at 12:27 PM