Tortilla Soup

Tortilla Soup
(adapted from a recipe found on Simply Recipes)

This recipe reminded me a lot of the tortilla soup at Aqui es Mexico in Charlottesville. The restaurant served food from Honduras/El Salvador. A nice twist on your average Mexican food!

6 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1 onion, chopped (can use red or yellow onion or a combination of the two)
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 T cumin (less if you are not as fond of cumin as I am!)
1.5 jalapeño chiles, seeded, veins removed, chopped
4 cups chicken broth
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained (preferably fire roasted)
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt (kosher or sea salt)
1 pound chicken (boneless and skinless), cooked then shredded
1 ripe medium avocado
1/2 cup shredded Pepper Jack cheese (2 oz)
Chopped green onion
1 lime, cut into wedges

1. The recipe says you should try to use old, dried out tortillas. If not put them on a baking sheet in the oven at 200°F for 25 minutes . Cut tortillas into 1/4-inch strips. Reserve.

2. To cook chicken, place in a pot with 4 cups of water. You can flavor the water with whatever you have on hand. I used some spices (thyme, oregano) and 3 vegetable bullion cubes. Cook chicken until done. Remove chicken and shred after it has slightly cooled. Reserve liquid.

3. In a large pot saute onion, garlic, and jalapenos for 3-4 minutes. Add cumin and mix well. Stir in reserved chicken broth, canned tomatoes, and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.

4. Using either a blender, cuisinart, or immersion blender, puree soup. Add chicken to the soup and heat through.

5. To serve garnish with sliced avocado, green onions, pepper jack cheese, corn tortilla strips, and a lime wedge.

A Taste of Puglia: Orecchiette with Garbanzos, Tomatoes, Arugula, and Feta

This recipe takes you all the way to Puglia (also known as Apulia), the heel of Italy. This was one of our favorite regions in all of Italy. This region has only recently become a tourist destination. It is very Greek and very Italian at the same time (it was actually part of Greece at one point). On our trip we headed to Alberobello, Trani, Locorotondo, and Ostuni.

Most people know little about the region or it's products. In fact, Apulia produces 20% of the world's olive oil and 43% of Italy's olive oil! As a region, it also produces more wine than any other region and has 25 D.O.C. wines. I guess the Tuscans have just been more successful at marketing their product and their region!

The cuisine of Puglia is known as the poor man's cuisine. Vegetables have the leading role in the Puglian diet, including pasta sauces. Most sauces are simple, barely cooked and usually made from vegetables-barely cooked tomatoes; creamy ricotta; toasted breadcrumbs and garlic; broccoli and cauliflower, beans and chickpeas, fennel and arugula.

This recipe utilizes orecchiette or "little ears," the typical pasta of this region. It's made with hard flour and water rolled into sausage shapes and then cut into little disks with a knife.They are then pressed with a thumb to resemble little ears that catch and hold the pasta sauce.

Orecchiette with Garbanzos, Tomatoes, Arugula, and Feta

(adapted from a recipe found on Epicurious)

1 pound orecchiette (ear-shaped pasta)
1 pound tomatoes diced (liquid reserved)
7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 small thinly sliced red onion (can also use green onions)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley plus sprigs for garnish
4 garlic cloves, minced (or to taste)
4 cups Arugula
1 15 1/2-ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained, patted dry
2 cups feta cheese, coarsely crumbled

Preparation:
1. Combine diced tomatoes (and tomato juice), garlic, onions, oil, and parsley in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Let sit at least 30 minutes.

2. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain.

3. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add garbanzo beans and sauté until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add garbanzo beans, arugula, and pasta to tomato mixture in bowl; toss to coat. Add feta; toss briefly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley.

Serve warm or let stand at room temperature up to 2 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

For more reading on the region check out some of our travel adventures:

Ostuni Highlights
The Highlights of Puglia: Alberobello and Some Trulli
Our First Taste of Puglia: Trani and Ostuni

Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad with Three Citrus Vinaigrette and Chevre

1 lb assorted beets
1 c fresh orange juice
1/2 c fresh lemon juice
1/2 c lime juice
1 Tbs fresh herbs (no idea which ones-perhaps thyme, basil, oregano)
2" piece of ginger, sliced
1 Tbs Dijon mustard
3/4 olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 lb baby arugulaw
fresh chevre

1. Clean, peel, and slice beets. Roast in a 350 degree oven in covered pan for 45 minutes or until tender. Allow to cool.

2. Add juices and ginger to pan and simmer for about 30 minutes until juices are reduced to syrup. Allow to cool. Mix juices with other ingredients (through salt and pepper) to make vinaigrette.

3. Mix beets with some dressing and arrange on individual plates.

4. Mix arugula with some dressing and arrange in the middle of the beets on top. Crumble the chevre (goat cheese) around the salad and drizzle with more dressing.

5. Garnish with additional black pepper.

Gnocchi

Gnocchi is the Italian word for dumplings. The word "gnocchi" means "lump" or "knot" and is originally a Germanic word that may describe the distinctive shape of gnocchi.

Gnocchi vary from region to region throughout Italy. The most common way to prepare gnocchi is with potatoes and flour. In Rome, gnocchi are made with semolina flour, milk, and cheese and are known as gnocchi alla romana. In and around Tuscany, the gnocchi are made with spinach and ricotta and are called strozzapreti, or priest stranglers. According to popular legend, a priest choked and died after eating too quickly because the gnocchi were so delicious! In the Lombardy region of Italy, the spinach/ricotta gnocchi are called malfatti meaning "malformed" since these gnocchi are made from leftover ravioli and do not have uniform shape of other varieties. Lastly, gnocchi di pane is a popular version in the Friuli and Trentino-Atlo Adige regions and is made from bread crumbs.

My Gnocchi recipe:
5 lbs (9-10) baking potatoes (i.e. russets)
2 1/2 tsp salt
pepper
2 3/4 tsp baking powder
4 egg whites
3 3/4 c unbleached all-purpose flour
pinch of nutmeg

1. Pierce potatoes and bake at 400 degrees for an hour. Peel potatoes while warms and press through a potato ricer.

2. Mix potatoes, salt, pepper, baking powder, and egg whites in a large bowl. Add flour (a little at a time) and mix with hands until the mixture forms a rough ball.

3. Knead dough on a dry, lightly floured board until smooth (about 7 minutes). If using 5lbs of potatoes, separate dough at this point and do in two batches. Keep non-working dough covered.

4. With a sharp knife cut a piece of dough and roll into a rope about the thickness of your index finger.

5. Cut rope into 1 inch pieces and form slightly.

6. Boil in gnocchi in batches in salted water.

Small batch
2 lbs potatoes (about 4 lg. baking potatoes)
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1-2 egg whites
1 1/2 c flour

Toss gnocchi with sauce (tomato, butter and sage, Gorgonzola, or........)

Moscato d'Asti

Moscato is a lightly sparkling (frizzante) variety of Muscat, made from the Moscato Bianco (Muscato Canelli) grape of the Piedmont region of Italy. This region has a DOCG designation and is known for the production of Barbera d'Asti, Dolcetto d'Asti, and Asti Spumante.

This is one of my all time favorite wines ever!

Prosecco with Basil

Every once and awhile Reed and I get a bottle of Prosecco. I recently found a post on the blog Figs Olives Wine, about adding a sprig of basil to a glass of Prosecco (I actually chopped mine up). You can read the original post here. We tried it the other night and it really is great! Next time though, I think we'll try it in the larger open mouth glasses like suggested in the post instead of the flute-like glasses we used. ****update: we tried it again and Reed bruised the basil instead of chopping it and it came out much better*****

Prosecco is a variety of white grape grown in the Veneto region of Italy.


The grape is grown in the Conegliano and Valdobbiadene wine-growing regions north of Venice. Its late ripening has led to its use in dry-sparkling (spumante) and semi-sparkling (frizzante) wines.

Prosecco was the original main ingredient in the Bellini Cocktail (made with sparkling wine and peach puree) which was created at Harry's Bar in Venice.

The name "Prosecco" is now protected under European law and can be used only for wine made from the Prosecco grape in the Conegliano/Valdobbiadene region.

Check out the Prosecco Consortium Web site here for loads more information.

Pasta con crema di Peperoni

Pasta with an Orange Bell Pepper Cream Sauce

I found this recipe off the web site Mestolando. I made a few changes to the recipe, swapping light cream for the heavy cream, and using a blender instead of a food mill since we don't have one. Check out the Mestolando web site if you are looking for simple, easy, Italian dishes.

Recipe:
1 lb pasta (such as rigatoni or penne)
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 large yellow bell pepper, diced
olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 package basil, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup light cream (can use heavy cream)
salt and pepper
grated Parmesan cheese

1. Boil pasta according to directions. Slightly under cook the pasta since it will finish cooking in the sauce.

2. Saute the diced red and yellow peppers and garlic in olive oil. Add salt and pepper. Cook the peppers on medium high heat for about 10 minutes until cooked thoroughly.

3. Put 2 Tbs of cream in a blender. Add the cooked garlic and pepper mixture. Blend until a sauce is formed. Place sauce back in the saute pan and add remaining cream (you can add more cream if the sauce is too thick). Add basil and heat over low heat for a few minutes.

4. Add pasta to sauce and toss. Add a handful of Parmesan to thicken sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

When serving, add more Parmesan and basil if you want.