Cranberry Bean, Farro + Sausage Stew with Roasted Baby Heirloom Tomatoes

It's been a while since I posted a soup dish. I guess it felt a little funny to be writing out soup recipes in the middle of summer, but since the Bay Area has such mild weather until about September, I figured, why not? I know most of you are probably scorching right now and devouring popsicle after popsicle, but I'm actually wrapped in a cozy sweater as I type this. So, soup it is.

I really make every effort to try and utilize the food in our pantry as efficiently as possible. For one, we have a fairly small kitchen, and fairly small kitchens typically come with a fairly small amount of storage space. I try my best to not stock up on more groceries until our cupboards are practically barren. A lot of times, this means that I have to suck it up and eat something when I may not necessarily feel like eating that particular something. I consider myself an incredibly fortunate individual who, on a regular basis, gets to eat some of the finest foods this world has to offer, so a little bit of a sacrifice from time to time is no biggie. 

And then, there's the issue of food waste. I hate it. Yes, I actually HATE it. Every time I see food go into our garbage can, it feels as if a piece of my soul is going with it. Not only is it money that's basically being thrown out, but wasted food is food that could have gone to someone in need. Never in my life have I felt hunger, true hunger, and it crushes me that not everyone has access to a decent meal at least once a day. I just don't understand how it's possible. When I was a kid, my mom and I would help deliver baskets of groceries to local families in need around Thanksgiving time every year. Most of these families would practically shit themselves from excitement over their gifted boxed mashed potatoes and canned corn, and it didn't take long for me to genuinely understand what a lucky duck I was. I find myself constantly working to drive this point home with Cheech, and reminding her that we never refer to food as "yucky" (or, complain about food in general), but she's three, so her common response tends to be something along the lines of, "Ok, can you please play the Frozen song, Mama?" Hopefully, she'll catch on soon enough.

Alright, I'll get off my soapbox now. If there's one thing I continually want to stress with this blog, it's that  phenomenal meals can always be made without having to run to the market. It takes practice and trust in yourself and your skills in the kitchen, but it's a glorious thing when you learn how to cook by technique vs. by following a recipe word for word. This stew came about because I had three cooked sausages and some tomatoes in the fridge, plus a bag of unopened cranberry beans that I noticed had somehow ended up in a container we use to store our spices. I pretty much just threw everything together here; I hadn't even soaked the beans, but split beans don't bother me so much in a rustic soup. 

Cranberry Bean, Farro + Sausage Stew with Roasted Baby Heirloom Tomatoes

1 c. of dried cranberry beans, cooked until almost al dente and drained*

1-1 1/2 c. of heirloom baby tomatoes

salt + pepper

olive oil

1 small-medium yellow onion, chopped

2-3 cloves of garlic, sliced

splash of white wine (anywhere between 1/2 c. - 1 c. is fine)

3 sweet or spicy (whichever you prefer) italian sausages, chopped

1/2 c. of uncooked farro

1/2 c. of tomato sauce

7-10 fresh basil leaves

chicken broth

parmesan cheese for topping

*I always forget to soak beans. Again, it wasn't the end of the world with this dish, but here's a cheater's way of soaking if you're hellbent on it:

1. Place your beans in a pot with about 2 inches of water.

2. Bring to a rolling boil, and let the beans continue to boil for two minutes.

3. Take your pot off of the heat, cover, and let sit for an hour.

4. Drain. Beans are ready to be cooked.

5. To prevent splitting, make sure to start with hot liquid when cooking your beans.

Preheat your oven to 375º. Drizzle your tomatoes with some olive oil and season with salt + pepper. Roast until fully blistered and caramelized (this took about half an hour in our toaster oven). Set the tomatoes aside.

In your soup pot, sauté your onions in some olive oil, on medium heat, until translucent. Add the garlic, and sauté for about another two minutes. Pour in your wine, and let the onions and garlic cook until almost all of the liquid has evaporated. Throw in your cooked and drained cranberry beans, uncooked farro, chopped sausages, tomato sauce, and basil leaves, and pour in enough chicken broth to cover, plus an extra inch. Turn up the heat, and bring the stew to a boil. Bring the heat down to low, cover the pot, and simmer for roughly 30-40 minutes. Check your liquid level half way through cooking. If it seems low and as if your stew might dry out, feel free to add a little more broth (as you can see from the photos, this isn't mean to be brothy, so don't go overboard).  Once the farro and cranberry beans are fully cooked, gently stir in your roasted baby tomatoes. Season to taste, and serve with grated Parmesan.

As with just about every other soup, this soup was great the first day, and to die for on the following day. 

Sausage + Chickpea Cassoulet

It's a little funny that I started this blog or even a Soup Club to begin with, considering a good 80% of my cooking is more oven friendly than stovetop friendly. And if we're being really specific, it's actually very toaster oven friendly (maybe one day I'll write a post about how I cook almost everything in our toaster oven, and how I'd probably never cook if we didn't own one). Generally speaking, I find stovetop cooking to require copious amounts of labor, and if there's one thing I don't like, guys, it's labor. Jokes aside, I always worked in kitchens where there was typically plenty of oven space, but you had to fight the hard fight to have access to even one burner on the stove. This taught me to utilize and sharpen my oven-cooking skills and to also learn some really great tricks and hacks along the way. Bet you didn't know that you can cook the most perfect and fluffy rice if you don't own a rice cooker by just baking it in your oven, did you? That, too, is a post for another time.

And so all this brings me to The Cassoulet. Simply put, a cassoulet is a stew that starts off on the stove, but spends most of its cooking time in the oven. It's a genius meal if you're having guests over to eat because you don't have to spend the first half of their visit slaving away in the kitchen. It's traditionally a rustic dish, so taking it straight from your oven to table to serve in its pot is highly encouraged. Just add a crusty loaf of bread, and you'll have a feast that is sure to impress and satisfy just about anyone.

Cassoulets are definitely one of those dishes that you can "make your own". I always use sausage in mine because my family never seems to tire of sausage, and it's just about the easiest meat to prepare (see above regarding labor). As for legume and veg, I'll add whatever I happen to have stocked. If you kept the measurements relatively the same, you could easily switch out the ingredients in this recipe and have it turn out just as delightful. 

Sausage + Chickpea Cassoulet

4 sweet italian sausages

3-4 slices of thick-cut bacon, chopped into about 1/2 in. pieces

1 c. sliced trumpet mushrooms

1/2 large yellow onion, chopped

1 medium red bell pepper, sliced

2 large cloves of garlic, sliced

1-1 1/2 c. of chickpeas, cooked and rinsed

3/4 c. of tomato sauce

splash of white wine

chicken stock

handful of chopped parsley

olive oil

salt + pepper

Real quick. I was thinking of writing a post about my absolute favorite soup pot, but I din't have much to say besides the fact that it's my absolute favorite. I will add, however, that for a cassoulet, the right pot makes all the difference in the world. I know All-Clad isn't exactly the most affordable in the cookware world, but there are few things more invaluable in any kitchen than a quality sturdy stockpot that is oven safe. If shelling out 100 bucks for one pot seems unreasonable to you, and I fully understand if it does, lots of companies like Williams-Sonoma and Sur La Table make great stockpots under their own label for a fraction of the price. 

Preheat your oven to 325º. Brown your sausages in some olive oil on on all sides and set aside. In the same pot, start to cook your bacon. Before fully browned, add your mushrooms, onion, and bell pepper, and sauté for a couple minutes on medium heat. Add your garlic and sauté for about another minute. Throw in the chickpeas, browned sausages, wine, and tomato sauce, and pour in enough chicken stock to almost cover all of your ingredients. Season the cassoulet and sprinkle your chopped parsley on top. Bring to a simmer, cover your pot, and then stick it in your oven to slow cook for an hour. It will be HOT when you pull it out of the oven, so let it rest for a good 10-15 minuted before serving. 

Because it's Cinco de Mayo: Mexican Rice and Beans

I made a joke on twitter a couple weeks ago about how much Mexican rice and beans we eat, and I was surprised to see that quite a few of you had requested the recipes. Most weeks, I make a big pot of each and they end up being our filler meals. The two side courses actually make a great dinner on days when I barely have time to do anything besides stick a couple of bowls in our microwave. I also use the beans to assemble mini burritos to pack in Cheech's lunchbox for school, and the rice topped with a fried egg is one of my favorite breakfast options. They're both even great for adding to soups, together or separately, when I'm making some sort of kitchen sink version (try subbing Mexican rice in your chicken an rice soup the next time you make it; it's a nice twist). And I don't know if it's because 2/3 of this family has Mexican roots, but we surprisingly never tire of either dish.

Mexican rice, as most people are familiar with it, is white rice that is cooked in broth (typically chicken) with onions, garlic and tomatoes. Cumin can even be added if cumin is your thing. Traditionally, this kind is served in Northern Mexico (where my family hails from), and plain white rice is served in Southern Mexico. Also, it's obviously not called Mexican rice in Mexico. It's either referred to as sopa de arroz, or simply, sopa. There are a variety of ways to prepare sopa, including making broth-y versions and/or using fresh tomatoes. Although I really enjoy a broth-y sopa, I find that most people prefer it on the drier side, which is the result the recipe below will give you. I also never use fresh tomatoes. Partly because fresh tomatoes suck for most of the year, and partly because I like my sopa better without tomato chunks in it. 

Refried beans, which are more typical of Tex-Mex cuisine, aren't often served in traditional Mexican fare. However, since I am Mexican-American, I grew up probably eating more refried beans than the more common frijoles de la olla. And if you find yourself in Mexico with an order of the classic variety, you'll end up with something resembling a very smooth and dry pinto or black bean paste. My version is soupier and made up of pinto beans that are cooked in salted water with onion and garlic, and then fried and mashed with chorizo in chorizo fat (lard is more often used). Also, contrary to what many people think, there is no double or re-frying involved. Adding the prefix "re" to a word in Spanish is simply a way of adding emphasis. So if you happen to live in the Bay Area, refrito basically translates to "hella fried".

Mexican Rice

1 1/2 c. of dry long grain white rice, rinsed 

1/2 of one yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 c. of tomato sauce

1/2 tsp. of ground cumin (optional)

chicken broth (sub for water and use the measurement given in the directions of your package of rice)

small handful of cilantro stems

olive oil

1 1/2 tsp. of salt

Sweat your onions and garlic in some olive oil. Add your rice and sauté until it becomes fragrant (roughly 1-2 minutes). Pour in the tomato sauce and broth, making sure all the rice is submerged.  Add cumin (if using), salt, and cilantro stems. Once liquids start to boil, lower heat to a simmer and put a lid on your pan. Follow the cooking time given on your package. Once the time is up, turn your burner off and let the rice continue to steam in the pan with the lid on for an additional 10 minutes. Remove the bulk of the cilantro stems (whatever hasn't turned to complete mush), and fluff with a fork and serve.

Refried Beans

1 1/2 c. of pinto beans (no need to soak)
7 c. of water
1/4 of a white or yellow onion
2 smashed cloves of garlic
1/4 lb. of mexican chorizo
salt

Add your beans to a pot of water along with the 1/4 onion, 2 cloves of garlic, and a healthy dose of salt. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Top with a lid and cook on low heat until beans are tender (this will take about 2 1/2-3 hours). Once the beans are cooked, brown your chorizo in a fry pan. Drain your beans, making sure to reserved the liquid. Add your beans, onion, and garlic to the fry pan along with a 1-2 cups of the reserved liquid. Start mashing everything together with a potato masher while keeping the pan on medium-high heat. The longer you mash, the smoother and drier your refried beans will be. If they start to look too dry, add more of the reserved bean liquid (whatever is left can be disposed of). Salt to taste and serve.

Note: Both of these recipes yield a good 6-8 servings each, and they'll keep in your fridge about 5 days.

Fancy Wedge with Buttermilk Creme Fraîche Bleu Cheese Dressing

I'm not what you would call a salad person. Once in a great while I'll suffer through some sort of identity crisis and think that I could be a salad person, but without fail, I am always dead wrong. When people wax poetic about the large beautiful (they always refer to it as beautiful, for some reason) salad they had for lunch, I can't help but think that they are totally bullshitting me. I mean, yeah, I enjoy a well crafted salad as much as the next guy, but to have it be your entire meal just seems completely absurd to me. Maybe my appetite is off the charts, but if I were to eat a salad for lunch and only a salad, I'd be heading for some cheese and crackers within the hour. And it's not that I don't take pleasure in greens and a plethora of vegetables. Oh, I do! We eat LOTS of greens and LOTS of vegetables in this house, but I think I simply prefer them more in a supporting role.

This is not all to say that I will not be posting salads here. I will occasionally make a salad that I devour and am particularly proud of, and I'd love to share those recipes with you. Like this wedge, for example. We invited some friends over for dinner and we wanted to keep the menu from getting too complex, which can actually be challenging for us. I felt like serving a wedge salad, but also wanted something with a little more zest (after all, you have to impress folk who are coming for dinner at least a little bit), so I figured I'd take the traditional wedge just a few steps further. The result was glorious, and although I'm not convinced I would want to pull it off as a meal on its own, I will be making and serving it again, and again, and again.

Let's be honest. A wedge salad is not unlike a wolf in sheep's clothing. At some point in time, someone threw a whole bunch of really great, but possibly not great for you, ingredients on top of some iceberg lettuce and had the bravado to call it a salad. And good for that guy. Whatever you decide to add to your wedge salad, I think the key is always going to be a healthy slathering of creamy bleu cheese dressing. For supreme creaminess, you're going to want to let this dressing sit in your fridge for at least two hours, but overnight is best.

Buttermilk Creme Fraîche Bleu Cheese Dressing

1/2 c. of buttermilk

1/2 c. of creme fraîche

2 tbsp. of mayonnaise

1 tbsp. of balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp. of chopped chives

1 cup of crumbled bleu cheese

salt + pepper

Combine all of the above ingredients into a jar with a tight fitting lid, and shake the daylights out of it. Let it chill before using. Will last a good 4-5 days in your fridge if you have any extra, but I doubt you will.

Fancy Wedge

(serves 6-8)

2 heads of iceberg lettuce, quartered

2 8-minute eggs, peeled and chopped

6 slices of thick-cut bacon, fried and chopped

1 c. of halved cherry or grape tomatoes

1 tbsp. of chopped chives.

bleu cheese dressing

salt + pepper

Arrange your iceberg wedges on a platter. Top with your bleu cheese dressing. Sprinkle remaining ingredients on top of dressing and finish off with some salt and pepper.

Saffron Farro + Lentil Stew with Creme Fraîche and Toasted Almonds

In my quest to fill our pantry with an endless array of gluten-free options, I stupidly brought home a pound of farro last week. I've been a fan of farro for years, so I felt like a total ass when I realized that I knew very little about it. I do know that at some point in time I heard someone mention "farro" and "gluten-free" in the same sentence, and I just went with it. I figured if buckwheat was safe (which, I've just learned isn't actually a wheat), then why couldn't emmer wheat apply to the same principles? I swear I'm not an idiot, guys, but I am still very new to this. When you go from a life of zero dietary restrictions to all of a sudden having one very big and significant dietary restriction, well, it's really not as simple as one would think. 

It was all good and fine, though. Like I mentioned, Cheech and I are still consumers of gluten. I had bought the farro specifically to use for soups, and she and I are the bigger soup-eaters in the house anyway. If you do happen to be gluten-free, this soup would be just as delightful if you substituted any type of rice, or even skipped out on the grain and doubled up on the lentils.

Many chefs believe that if you can taste saffron in a dish, then too much saffron was used. Although I wholeheartedly understand their angle, I do think that that's taking the idea a little too far. You need very little saffron to get your point across, but if I'm going to be using the most expensive ingredient on the market, you better believe I want to taste it. There's a fine line, however. Too much of a good thing is never good, and too much saffron can lead to a very medicinal flavor in your food. The golden rule in cooking (and in life, I suppose) is that you can always add more, but you can never take away. Start with the tiniest amount, and slowly build up. For this recipe, I used half of what is pictured in the photo above, so about 10 strands. 

Saffron Farro + Lentil Stew with Creme Fraîche and Toasted Almonds

1 large shallot, diced

2 medium carrots, diced

1 large clove of garlic, diced

1/2 c. of lentils

1/2 c. of farro

1/2 c. of white wine

1/2 c. of tomato sauce

4 1/2 c. of stock (chicken or veggie)

saffron

creme fraîche

handful of almonds, toasted and chopped

olive oil

salt + pepper

Sauté your shallots and carrots in some oil until the shallots start to become translucent. Add your garlic and sauté for a minute or two more. Add the wine and let all of the liquid cook out. Pour in your tomato sauce and your broth, along with your lentils. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Cook with a lid partially covering your pot for 20 minutes. Add the farro and saffron. Replace the lid as it was, and cook for another 20 minutes. If your liquid levels are looking very low, feel free to add a little more stock. Season to taste and ladle into bowls, topping each with a spoonful of creme fraîche, a few toasted almonds, and a drizzle of olive oil. Serves 4.