Fall Vegetable Soup with White Beans

While I can't say I'm enjoying these unseasonably cold temperatures, at least this enduring grip of winter means a prolonging of soup weather. I'm working hard to clear the freezer of all the soups and stews and other stick-to-your-bones fare, and these rescued meals are keeping me cozy and fed. The final portion of Stewed Cauliflower, Butternut Squash, and Tomatoes was part of my end-of-winter purge, appropriately transforming into this belly-filling bowl of soup.

The time invested prepping and slowly cooking those hearty vegetables is again clearly returned in this recipe with many elements of intense flavor come together quickly. The stewed vegetables bring a perfect balance of deep flavor and vinegary pop and the hearty helping of beans making it a satisfying meal. A sprinkling of croutons across the top start as a toasty, crispy bits, slowly disintegrating as they soak up the broth and meld into each thick, rich bite. A scant sprinkling of good Parmesan across the top creates a deep savoriness, gingerly bringing the perfect amount of umami to this vegetarian meal. (For the carnivores and hedonists out there, a bit of crumbled bacon would not be unwelcome as well.)

I've almost at the end of my rope when it comes to cold weather eating, but with such a meager time investment, I was absolutely delighted to chow down on this collection of diverse flavors - the perfect antidote to end-of-winter dinner fatigue.

Fall Vegetable Soup with White Beans
adapted from Serve Yourself by Joe Yonan
serves 1

1 slice sourdough or rustic whole grain bread or roll, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Kosher or sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

1 cup Stewed Cauliflower, Butternut Squash, and Tomatoes

3/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock or water, plus more if needed

1/2 cup cooked white beans, preferably homemade, drained and rinsed

Leaves from 3 or 4 sprigs thyme

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Put the bread cubes on a small baking sheet, drizzle with the oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Arrange in a single layer and toast in the oven for 5 to 6 minutes, until very crisp and golden brown, watching closely to avoid burning them. Use tongs to turn over the bread cubes and toast for another 5 to 6 minutes to create evenly browned croutons. Remove from the oven.

3. Combine the stewed vegetables and stock in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until hot, about 5 minutes.

4. Add the white beans and cook for a few minutes until heated through. Add more water if you want a thinner texture. Stir in the thyme. Taste and add salt and pepper, if desired.

5. Pour the soup into a bowl, add the croutons, sprinkle with the cheese, and eat.

Ribollita

It's a well-established fact that once I've acquired a beloved new cookbook, I can rarely restrain myself from getting a little obsessed. After pouring through each and every page, bookmarking as I go, how can I restrain myself? In continuing the Mollie Katzen recipe theme started earlier this week, I have another ready to go.

Ribollita is one of most delicious culinary creations of Tuscany, and like so many beloved dishes, originated as peasant fare. Literally meaning "reboiled", this dish began as a repurposing of the previous day's minestrone or vegetable soup, fortified with leftover bread. I'm fortunate enough to be deliberately preparing this meal rather than cobbling it together from leftovers, but I have no less appreciation of this affordable collection of humble vegetables melded into a hearty stew.

This meal is a labor of love and leisure, the kind of weekend project to let to lazily simmer on a Sunday afternoon while you mill about the house or relax with a good book. It might be tempting to short cut the process with some canned cannellinis, but much of flavor comes from the herb-infused beans and bean broth used later to cook the vegetables, so look to a different recipe for a quick ribollita. This can be streamlined a bit into a weeknight meal by preparing the beans the night before you'd like to serve the soup, making sure to reserve some of the bean broth as well. Each bite is herby and earthy and delicious down to the core in the vegan rendition, but the savory Parmesan takes it one more scrumptious step that my Dairyland origins wouldn't let me dream of omitting. Finally, a slice of rustic bread is absolutely imperative for staying honest to the peasant origins and more importantly, mopping up every last bit of beans, veggies, and broth.

Ribollita
adapted from The Heart of the Plate by Mollie Katzen
serves 6

For the beans:
1 cup dried cannellini beans, soaked for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight)
3 large garlic cloves, peeled and halved
3 fresh sage leaves
1 3-inch spring fresh rosemary
Several sprigs fresh thyme
1 medium Parmsan rind (up to 4 ounces; optional)

1. Drain the soaked beans and place them in a large pot along with enough fresh water to cover by at least 2 inches (3 inches is even better). Add the garlic and herbs and bring to a boil.

2. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook, partially covered, for 1 1/2 hours, or until the beans are as soft as they can get while still keeping their shape. (Make sure they are truly soft. No undercooked beans!) If you like, you can add the Parmesan ring about 45 minutes into the simmering.

3. Remove from the heat and drain in a strainer set over a large heatproof bowl, saving the cooking water. (Fish out the herbs and Parmesan rind, if using; it's okay to leave in the garlic.)

For the stew:
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped onion (1 large)
2 celery stalks, diced
1 large carrot, cut into half circles about 1/8-inch thick or into bite-sized chunks
3/4 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
2 tablespoons minced or crushed garlic
1/2 pound green cabbage, cut into bite-size pieces (2 heaping cups)
1 large or 2 small bunches lacinato kale (1/2 pound total), stemmed and chopped fairly small (4 packed cups) or spinach or other hearty greens
Black pepper
About 6 slices artisan bread (day-old is fine), sch as ciabatta or Pugliese, toasted
Grated aged Parmesan, Pecorino, or Asiago (optional)

1. Place a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat for about a minute, then add 2 tablespoons of the oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently for 5 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften. Stir in the celery, carrot, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and 1 tablespoon of the garlic and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring often.

2. Stir in the cabbage, kale, and remaining 1 tablespoon garlic, sprinkling them with another 1/2 teaspoon salt as you go. The pot will be crowded at first, but the vegetables will cook down. Cover and cook, stirring frequently, until all the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Add small amounts of the bean cooking water (1/2 cup at a time) if needed to prevent sticking, but otherwise try to force-cook the vegetables in their own moisture, adding as little water as possible.

3. When the vegetables are done to your liking, add the beans, stirring them in gently so they don't break. Add a little more bean-cooking water, if you wish. Cover again and cook for just a few more minutes. Taste to adjust the salt and add a good amount of black pepper.

4. Serve hot, drizzled with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, and topped with the toasted bread. If you want to enjoy a cheese-crusted experience, spoon the stew into ovenproof ceramic bowls (as you would with French onion soup), top with the bread sliced, sprinkle some cheese over the bread, and broil briefly.

Quick Tomato, White Bean, Sweet Potato, and Kale Soup

When you live in Wisconsin, the first day of the year in the fifties is a major victory. We air out the house even when there's a heavy covering of snow on the ground, drive around with the windows rolled down, and a few brave souls will don shorts for the occasion. Unfortunately, that lasted but one fleeting day this week, but it has definitely given me a metaphorical taste for spring. I'm more than ready to begin to transition to my literal tastes to more spring-like fare, as the days where I'll be craving a massive, piping hot, bowl of soup are happily numbered.

But while I'm still looking out on a yard full of snow, I'm happy to keep indulging that craving. There are plenty of white bean and kale soup recipes available, but my riff on a New York Times recipe is the first I've seen with sweet potatoes, confirming my theory those orange-fleshed beauties are nearly always a great substitution. Creamy white beans and tender kale go just as well with that delicious tuber as its blander and less nutritious cousin, perfectly finished with a sprinkling of salty, nutty Parmesan cheese. Fresh off the stove, there's no doubt it's a wonderful meal, but flavors meld and deepen over a day or two in the fridge, and fare pretty well when you pluck a serving from the freezer days or weeks later.

Quick Tomato, White Bean, Sweet Potato, and Kale Soup

adapted from the New York Times

serves 4 to 6

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 stick celery, chopped (optional)
Salt to taste
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 14-ounce can chopped tomatoes, with juice
6 cups water
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon oregano
1 medium sweet potato (about 6 to 8 ounces), scrubbed and diced
A bouquet garni made with a bay leaf, a couple of sprigs each parsley and thyme, and a Parmesan rind (optional – but it does add flavor; use what you have for this)
1/2 pound kale, stemmed, washed thoroughly, and chopped or cut in slivers (4 cups chopped)
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
Freshly ground pepper
Lemon juice, to taste
Grated Parmesan for serving (optional)

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot and add the onion, carrot, and celery and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes and juice from the can, add another pinch of salt and cook, stirring often, for 5 to 10 minutes, until the tomatoes have cooked down slightly.

2. Add the water, tomato paste, oregano, sweet potato, and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, add the bouquet garni, cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are just about tender.

3. Add the kale and simmer another 10 minutes, until the kale and sweet potatoes are tender and the soup is fragrant. Taste, adjust salt, and add pepper and lemon juice to taste. Stir in the beans and heat through for 5 minutes. Serve, sprinkling some Parmesan over each bowl.

Quinoa and White Bean Stuffed Acorn Squash

Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching and while that means I'll spend many hours in the kitchen lovingly preparing that meal, it also means that I don't have as much time for my regular eats in the days leading up to the big event. With crusts to be rolled, cranberries to be sauced, and birds to be brined, it's godsend to have a meal that spends much of its time unattended in the oven. Requiring little hands-on time without sacrificing flavor, this nutritional powerhouse is precisely what I needed to keep me on point rushing around house tackling chores.

Whenever I prepare dried beans or grains, I make big batches, portion them out, and store them in the freezer. This preparation leaves me without an excuse to skip a home-cooked meal and is what allowed me to put dinner on the table with a scant 20 minutes of effort on hectic weeknight. But even if I had to cook quinoa and drain a can of beans, it would be worth the effort. Those hearty ingredients blend with seamlessly with sweet squash, savory Parmesan, and fresh lemon, so though quite simple, it hits all the taste buds quite nicely and in lovely balance. For me this was fueling up for pre-Thanksgiving preparations, but if you're hosting someone who won't be partaking in the turkey, there's no reason not to break this out for the big event as well.

Quinoa and White Bean Stuffed Acorn Squash
adapted from HGTV
serves 2

1 acorn or festival squash
1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup prepared white beans
1 ounce baby spinach (optional)
1/4 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Slice the acorn squash in half, from the tip to the bottom. Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and discard. Place the two pieces of squash on a baking sheet.

3. Divide the butter in half and place each pat of butter in the center of the squash. Season with salt and pepper. Add 1 cup of water to the bottom of the baking dish to ensure that the bottom of the squash doesn't burn.

4. Place the squash in the oven and let it roast for 60-70 minutes until the insides of the squash are fork tender.

5. In a large skillet, add the olive oil over medium high heat. Sauté the onion for about 5 minutes until they are translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute more. Add the beans, quinoa, and spinach, if adding, and cook until greens are wilted and quinoa and beans are warmed through. Remove the skillet from heat, mix in half of the Parmesan cheese, and adjust seasoning as needed.

6. Place half of the quinoa mixture in each of the squash cavities. Sprinkle half of the remaining Parmesan on each squash half.

7. Place the squash back into the oven for about 5 to 10 minutes, just until Parmesan cheese is melted. Remove from oven and serve immediately.