Recipe 49: Ribolita

This soup is so good it should it come with a warning:  you will want to eat it forever.  And lucky for you, you can!  It makes enough to feed the entire von Trapp family and all their neighbors in the convent.  The hills of your mouth will be alive with delicious.  You may even want to sing about it. It is possibly the best recipe in The Soup Bible (but as I haven't made them all, this is a dubious statement - they are all really good).   As a liquorice h8r, I was dubious about the fennel.  But you know what?  This recipe totally turned my h8r ways bass-ackwards.  Now I love fennel, all thanks to Debra Mayhew & Co.  This is a hearty, delectible, peasant-y soup that freezes well and is great in winter, fall, and even spring!

The Soup Bible's Ribolita

Question: What is red and green and blue all over? Anser

Ingredients

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 onions, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

4 crushed garlic cloves

2 celery stalks

1 fennel bulb, finely sliced (to fit decently on a soup spoon)

2 zucchini, sliced (sub in one yellow squash for color if you feel so inclined)

14 oz can crushed tomato

2 tbsp pesto

3 ¾ cups vegetable stock/broth

14 oz can of white beans of your choice (recommended are haricot or borlotti, which frankly, are about as easy to find as a snowman in July - save yourself the time and get cannellini )

salt & pepper to taste

1 lb fresh young spinach

• Heat the oil over medium heat in a large soup pot or Dutch oven.
• Add the onions, carrots, garlic, celery, and fennel and sauté slowly for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add zucchini and cook 2 minutes more.
• Add crushed tomatoes, pesto, stock, & beans.
• Bring to a boil, and then lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 25-30 minutes until vegetables are tender.  Season to your taste.
• Add spinach to the pot, cover, and wait approximately two minutes until it wilts.  Check seasoning, and serve. Note that the spinach step is a departure; the og recipe calls for you to saute it with olive oil and serve over individual bowls.  I am lazy - this makes more dishes.  It tastes fine with the spinach mixed in. 
• Best served either over or with a side crusty bread and Parmesan cheese.

Since I am neither a von Trapp nor a convent dwelling nun, what do I do with my massive vat of leftovers? 

I am so glad you asked.  Leftovers from this soup are GREAT for other meals or variations! They can be used for breakfast  (or really any meal) if you put a serving into a frying pan, hollow out a spot, crack an egg on in*, cover and let it poach as the leftovers warm.  YUM.  This variation is also good served with crusty bread and cheese.  

*Disclaimer: I love poached eggs like Lindsay Lohan loves getting arrested.  I especially love them poached in other soupy, flavorful substances, like leftover soupy, flavorful soup.  YUM.  If you don't like poached eggs, I don't like you.  SALTED.

Recipe 50: Chunky Vegetarian Chili

On one hand, this chili is filled vegetables.  As a fan of vegetables, it appealed to me.  Probably this is why I made it.  And it was quick and easy to make!  On the other, I was underwhelmed by the recipe.  It needs more - more of everything - spices, spiciness, liquid, flavor.  But it is not bad.  It's just not the best chili I've ever had.  If I were to make it again, I'd add some broth, more spicy peppers and cayenne, and probably quadruple the chili powder.  That said, as a fairly mild dish, this would probably be good to serve to kids to get them to eat their veggies.  Also, it is very colorful.  It looks nice in Blue, doesn't it?  So there's that.  As per, it makes a boatload (way more than the 8 servings it claims it makes).  Double as per, it is a Cooking Light recipe I found on My Recipes. Serve with or without cheese and cornbread.   Definitely add spices to the basic recipe below. 

Chunky Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon  vegetable oil
• 2  cups  chopped onion
• 1/2  cup  chopped yellow bell pepper
• 1/2  cup  chopped green bell pepper
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  tablespoon  brown sugar
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  chili powder
• 1  teaspoon  ground cumin
• 1  teaspoon  dried oregano
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  black pepper
• 2  (16-ounce) cans stewed tomatoes, undrained
• 2  (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1  (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1  (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

Preparation

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell peppers, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add sugar and remaining ingredients, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.  Serve and eat your boring soup.