Spinach Chickpea Soup

I keep reading on the Facebook about people eating poorly during the quarantine. While I'm all about a little indulgence here or there, I do know that eating healthy and well and colorful just makes us feel better inside. And this is a time in the world that we all need to feel good to keep it all going safe  and sound.

So, I came up with this Spinach Chickpea Soup. It's full of color and protein and fiber. A good one for vegetarians, for sure. And it's so quick to make. Done in less than thirty minutes, and that includes cleanup.

Personally, I gave up lunch meats for Lent and I'm sticking with it as a life change, it seems. So, this soup makes a fab lunch, for sure.

Enjoy!

Spinach Chickpea Soup
Makes 6 servings

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 14.5 ounce can chopped tomatoes
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 cup water
1 19 ounce can, Cento chickpeas, drained and rinsed
6 ounces baby spinach or baby kale
2 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large soup pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, saute for 5 minutes. Add garlic and crushed red pepper flakes, saute for another minute. Add chopped tomatoes, Italian seasoning, water, chickpeas and salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes partially covered so that the onions soften.

Add baby spinach, basil and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and simmer for 3-5 minutes so that spinach wilts and the pot of soup is heated through.

Serve as is or with a little sprinkle of cheese if you please.

Mussels: Fine Dining on a Dime

Recently, I rocked out some mussels at home for the first time. These bad boys of the sea are loved by many generations in my fam. So, I thought it was time to make them in my own kitchen. We eat them at restaurants all the time for an appie or over pasta.

They are so easy to make at home. And the price tag is dirt cheap: a 2.5-pound bag  of fresh mussels was literally $5. You do have to give them a good wash.  But it was very easy to do.

I did a French style dish courtesy of Ina Garten. This recipe is from her Barefoot in Paris cookbook. It is one of my faves. French cuisine is so top notch. The recipe in the cookbook is ginormous: 6 1/2 pounds of mussels. I did a 21/2-pound bag, so I halved the recipe.  I am presenting it to you as it is in the book.

Regarding the cleaning, I followed her instructions exactly. Mine did not have the beards, so I didn't have to remove that part of the mussel. Yay! Less cleaning, more wine while cooking. Ha.

I didn't drain my tomatoes, and I used a whole 14.5 ounce can. The one special high-falutin ingredient is saffron. It is a must. I served the mussels with a mixed green salad, baked frites (we were doing a Belgium theme) and crusty bread. The sauce is soooo amazing!

Bon appetit!

Mussels in White Wine
From "Barefoot in Paris"
By Ina Garten
Serves 6

6 1/2 pounds cultivated mussels
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. good saffron threads
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3 Tbsp. good olive oil
2 cups chopped shallots (10-15 shallots)
1/3 cup minced garlic (12 to 15 cloves)
1 cup chopped canned plum tomatoes, drained (8 ounces) (The Jersey Girl did not drain the tomatoes)
3/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1/4 cup fresh thyme leaves
2 cups good white wine
4 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

To clean the mussels, put them in a large bowl with 4 quarts of water and the flour and soak for 30 minutes, or until the mussels disgorge any sand.  Drain the mussels, then remove the "beard" from each with your fingers. If they're dirty, scrub the mussels with a brush under running water. Discard any mussels whose shells aren't tightly shut. Soak the saffron in 1/4 cup hot tap water for 15 minutes and set aside.

In a large (12 quart) nonaluminum stockpot, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for 5 minutes; add the garlic and cook for 3 more minutes, or until the shallots are translucent. Add the saffron with the soaking water, the tomatoes, parsley, thyme, wine, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.

Add the mussels, stir well, then cover the pot, and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until all the mussels are opened  (discard any that do not open). With the lid on, shake the pot once or twice to be sure the mussels don't burn on the bottom. Pour the mussels and the sauce into a large bowl and serve hot.

Ham Soup with White Beans and Barley

Easter is over. So now what to do with all that leftover ham?

I give mine a healthy boost by turning it into a soup featuring cannellini beans and barley. These two ingredients pack in the protein and fiber. It's like your ham is getting a smack down by fitness foods. Yay! This soup comes together in less than an hour, and I'm planning to freeze half of it (without the barley) to eat later on this year because there is only so much ham I can take.

You certainly could make this with red kidney beans if that's what you have. I hold off on my usual salt in this. Truth be told, I don't use a ton of salt in anything. Ham is salty by nature, so I do not use salt to season the veggies since I saute the ham with the veggies and I feel like that's enough. I add a pinch of salt after I pour in the broth.

Here's the recipe:

Ham Soup with White Beans and Barley
Makes 10 servings

1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cups leftover ham, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 can (14.5 can) low sodium diced tomatoes (I like Hunt's)
1 19 ounce can Cento cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 cups water
A pinch of salt
Pepper to taste
3/4 cup dried barley
2 Tbsp. fresh flat leaf parsley
Serve with grated parmigianno

In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add carrots, celery and onion. Saute for 5-7 minutes until slightly softened. Add garlic, bay leaves and thyme. Season with pepper. Give a good stir. Cook for two minutes. Add ham. Cook for five minutes. Stirring occasionally.

Add tomatoes, beans, broth and water. Bring to a boil. Season with a pinch of salt. Simmer for 30-35 minutes until veggies are tender. Adjust seasonings if necessary.

Meanwhile, in a small pot add dry barley. Cover with cold water and 1/4 tsp. salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, lower heat to medium high. Simmer for 30-40 minutes or until barley is cooked and tender. Drain barley.

Once soup is finished, add drained barley and parsley into soup pot. Stir.

Serve with parmigianno cheese, if desired.

Classic Braised Short Ribs

If you are in need of some culinary indulgence, my Classic Braised Short Ribs are totally a must-do.

The short ribs themselves are pretty pricey, but all the remaining ingredients in this dish are basics every home cook should have in their refrigerator or pantry. And of course, you can use your favorite wine no matter what the brand.

The beauty of short ribs is that they can be presented in a super elevated manner, but they cook simply in your Dutch oven. You start on the stove with a sear and then transfer the pot to the oven so that they braise slowly. Make these on a rainy day at home. You need a good four hours, in my opinion. You can also make them the day before if you choose. I add another can of beef broth upon reheating so that you have enough sauce to top them and your mashed potatoes.

This is great to make when you have fresh rosemary and thyme in your garden, but you may use dried as well.

Classic Braised Short Ribs
Makes 4-5 servings

2.5-3 pounds bone-in short ribs (About 7 or 8 short ribs)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. fresh thyme, minced or 1/2 tsp. dried
1 tsp. fresh rosemary, minced or 1/2 tsp. dried
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 Tbsp. flour
1 cup red wine
2 cups beef broth, plus 2 cups more if needed for saucier short ribs
1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Season all sides of the short ribs with salt and pepper to taste.

Heat a large oven-proof Dutch oven over medium heat. Add olive oil and coat the bottom of the pot. Brown the short ribs on all sides in batches. About 4 minutes per side. Do not crowd the pan. Once browned, set aside and repeat with second batch. Remove short ribs from the pot. Carefully spoon out excess oil from the pot and discard, leaving about 3 Tbsp. oil in the pot.

Return pot to medium heat. Add celery, carrot and onion to pot. Saute for about five minutes. Add garlic, thyme and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper. Saute for three minutes more.

Add flour. Whisk to dissolve flour into veggies. Add tomato paste. Blend into veggies. Add wine. Bring to a bubble and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. After two minutes or so, add the broth.  Bring to a gentle simmer.

Return the ribs back to the pot. Spoon some sauce over the ribs. Place lid on top of pot. Turn off burner.

Place the pot of short ribs into the preheated oven. Bake for two hours at 350 degrees. Immediately turn the temperature down to 325 degrees and cook for 30 to 45 minutes more.

You may serve immediately or serve later that evening or even the next day. The longer they sit, the tastier they are! Add more broth if needed and reheat before serving. Top with chopped parsley.

Serve with mashed potatoes.

Chicken Dinner Total Winner

Chicken Piccata Toss. Oh, how I need you. I can't believe this is your first appearance on my little blog. But it's those old reliable workhorses of a dish that sometimes get forgotten. The specialness of this dinner is the ease and familiarity of it all. Chicken. Rice. Lemon. The basics. We all have these ingredients hanging in our kitchen. Forgive me for forgetting you, Chicken Piccata Toss.

I have been making this for a bazillion years. Literally. It makes frequent appearances when I am swamped with work, cleaning, life, etc. It's just something that is so delish and comforting and requires little brain function to whip up.

I like to add grape tomatoes and parsley for some brightness and color. Love it. This is easier to make then standard chicken piccata just because you don't need to dredge the chicken in flour. Less clean up and less time cooking. Which I know is what the people want. Usually.

Chicken Piccata Toss with Rice
Makes 4 to 5 servings

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. butter
2 1/2 lbs. boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 small shallots, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup dry white wine
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (1 14.5 oz. can)
2 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. capers, rinsed
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
Salt and pepper to taste
To serve: Cooked rice and parmigiano cheese

In a large pan, add olive oil and heat over medium high heat. Add chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Brown on all sides. About 6-8 minutes. Remove cooked chicken to a plate.

In the same pan over medium heat, add butter. Add shallots, garlic and lemon zest. Cook for 3 minutes. Add flour. Whisk to cook flour down. Add white wine. Deglaze pan and reduce wine to about half. Add chicken broth, lemon juice and capers. Bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for about 5 minutes.

Return chicken to pan. Cover and simmer for five minutes, occasionally stirring the mixture. Add grape tomatoes. Cover and cook for 5 five more minutes. Top with parsley. Serve over rice.  Top with grated parmigiano, if desired.

Super Delish Cherry/Grape Tomato Sauce

Cherry Tomato Sauce over spaghettini was an amazing hit for a Lenten Friday recently. I will definitely make this again in the summer when Jersey tomatoes are hot and heavy.

This cooks up in minutes. Literally.

It's from a really awesome Rachael Ray cookbook called, "Everyone is Italian on Sunday." Best title ever! I love this cookbook, and I strongly recommend it.

The recipe offers you options. You may use cherry or grape tomatoes. I used grape.

You may use red onions, white onions, spring onions or scallions. I used a white/yellow onion.

For cheese, I used pecorino.

You can serve over any pasta you dig. I used spaghettini.

Here's the recipe. So easy!

Cherry Tomato Sauce
From "Everyone is Italian on Sunday"
By Rachael Ray
(Serves 4-6)

3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small red or white onion, or 1 bunch scallions or spring onions (white parts only), finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped or thinly sliced
2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes
A handful of fresh basil leaves, torn
Salt and pepper
Grated ricotta salata, Parmigiano-Reggiano or pecorino cheese, for serving

In a skillet with a tight-fitting lid, heat the oil (3 turns of the pan) over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, over the pan and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes to sweat the onions.

Add the tomatoes, shake the pan, cover and cook until the tomatoes begin to burst, 8 to 10 minutes. Mash and stir the sauce. Add the basil. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve: Cook one pound pasta to al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water. Toss together the sauce, starchy water and pasta. Top with cheese and serve.