Miso Soup

It's New York Restaurant Week!  I had big plans, people.  Big plans.  Reservations at four-star restaurants.  And then the snows came. Again. And Again.  Old Man Winter can bite me.  Big plans canceled and instead, my girlfriends and I stayed local and went for sushi.  I tried to drown my sorrows in miso soup. 

I brainwashed my children early to learn to like Japanese restaurants.  I could eat sushi everyday so I needed to get them on board.  It wasn't difficult when we started with miso soup.  In fact, it wasn't until years after they had been ordering it that they asked "what is the green stuff in the soup".  Well kids, that would be seaweed.  "Umm...ok."

Miso Soup is very simple to make at home.  There is one rule: never boil it.  The most taxing part may be finding the two main dashi ingredients, bonito flakes and kombu.  I found both at my local Whole Foods.  You may even find it in the international food aisle of your grocery store or a local Asian market.

I used white miso in this soup and the flavor was lighter and sweeter than at my favorite Japanese restaurant.  I think I would try brown miso next time for a richer "umami" flavor to the soup.  Speaking of umami, Chef David Chang says you can substitute raw bacon for bonito flakes to render the same umami flavor.  I love that guy.  He'll find a way to put pork in anything.

If you'd like to read two very in-depth interesting articles about kombu, check out this link and this link.  In the meantime, warm up with miso soup.

Miso Soup

2 quarts of water
1 and a half pieces of kombu
3/4 cup bonito flakes
1/2 cup white miso
firm tofu, cut into small cubes
1 scallion, light green part only, thinly sliced

1. Put kombu in 2 quarts of cold water.  Bring water and kombu to just under the boiling point.  Do not boil the water.  Turn off the heat and remove the kombu.

2.  Add the bonito flakes and let steep in the water for 5-7 minutes.  Pour the whole mixture through a strainer lined with cheesecloth.

3. Pour the strained broth back into your pan and turn on heat bringing the liquid to just under boiling again.

4. Mix one cup of the hot broth with the 1/2 cup of miso.  Whisk until all lumps are dissolved, then pour miso into dashi broth.

To serve, add tofu and scallions.  You can also chop up nori and add it to the soup.

Garlic Soup

Don't be afraid of Garlic Soup.  This is a traditional Castilian soup, the Spanish version of matzoh ball or Grandma's chicken soup.  Despite garlic being a main ingredient, it is really mellow and comforting. The flavor of the paprika shines through so use a good Spanish paprika.  Plus, if what they say is true about garlic being a good fighter of colds and viruses, you're in business.  Not to mention warding off the neighborhood vampires.

Sopa de Ajo or Garlic Soup
Makes 6 cups

3 T olive oil
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 T white wine
1/2 T sweet paprika (Spanish paprika, por favor-pimenton de la vera )
2 cups rustic bread torn into small pieces (toasted or not?)
4 cups chicken stock
2 eggs, beaten

1. Heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large saucepan.  Add the garlic and gently saute until light golden brown, about a minute.  You don't want to burn the garlic so watch it carefully.
2. Add the wine and cook another 45 seconds.  Then add your paprika and cook for a minute more.
3.  Add the chicken stock and bread and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, turn down to a simmer.  Simmer for 8-10 minutes.
4.  Add the eggs and gently fold them in to the soup.  They will form longs strands (like in an egg drop soup).  Simmer gently for 2 more minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Eating In Day 5

Soup weather will soon be a thing of the past.  Having a sick kid home for 3 days gave me a reason for this soup to be my winter swan song.  This was a "what do I have in the pantry that can become soup" kind of recipe.  That's the great thing about soup.  It's not all persnickety about weights and measurements.  It's got a the-more-the-merrier kind of attitude.  And it doesn't even mind when you've worn your pj's for 3 days straight and watched every episode of The Suite Life on Deck with Zack and Cody. 

Pasta e Fagioli Soup
Serves 8

1 T olive oil
4 ounces pancetta or bacon (I had some guanciale in the freezer), diced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
a pinch or two of crushed red pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 28 oz. can of whole or diced tomatoes
5 cups of stock (I used 2/3 chicken stock and 1/3 beef stock because that's what I had and needed to use up)
1 cup of water
1-2 Parmesan rinds (I keep these in the freezer when I finish a piece of parmesan-they add great flavor to soups)
2 15 oz. cans white beans (like cannellini), drained
1 1/2 cups of dried pasta (I used elbows)
salt to taste
Grated Parmesan

1. Put 1 T olive oil in dutch oven and cook pancetta or bacon until cooked.
2. Add onion and celery and cook until softened.
3. Add garlic and saute.  Do not let it get brown or cripsy.
4. Add your pinches of red pepper, oregano and can of tomatoes.
5. Add stock and water and parmesan rind and bring to a boil.
6. Add salt to taste.
7. Add beans and pasta and cook until pasta is done, about 10 minutes.
8. Sprinkle with grated parmesan and serve.


If pasta absorbs too much of the liquid once the soup sits, add more water or stock.

Hot and Cold

We've had a little snow here on the East Coast, in case you haven't heard.  For the record, I'm over it.  I can't wait for spring.  I'm dreaming of asparagus and rhubarb and ramps and fiddlehead ferns...but I'm getting ahead of myself.

The one thing I'll give winter is the colder it gets, the hotter I like my food.  From November-March I braise and stew and make hearty, soul warming soups.  This week I made a fiery, beefy all-meat chili. It's definitely got a kick but if you're shivering or have the winter blues, you might like a little fire in your belly.

If you can find dried, whole chiles, toasting and grinding them makes a real difference.  I love New Mexico chiles, they have a fruitiness that I love.  If you can't find whole chiles, you can substitute chile powder.

Chili Con Carne

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated

 Serves 8


8 slices of bacon, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

4lbs. Chuck Roast, fat trimmed, cut in 1-inch cubes

*3 dried New Mexico Chiles

*3 dried Ancho Chiles
(Or substitute 3T of New Mexico chile powder and 3T of regular chile powder )

3T Cumin
2t Garlic Powder

1 medium onion, diced

5 cloves of garlic, minced

2 15-ounce cans of tomato sauce

7 1/2 cups of water, divided
1t Sugar
3T cornstarch
1-2 Chipotles in adobo sauce, minced

Salt
Juice of 1/2 lime

1. Toast chiles in a cast iron pan on stovetop until they begin to smoke and feel brittle.  Let cool, tear into pieces and grind to powder in spice or coffee grinder.
2. Mix in cumin and garlic powder and 1/2 cup of water to form a thick paste.  Set aside.
3. Cube chuck roast and add 1T of kosher salt, toss to combine.
4. In a dutch oven, saute bacon until fat is rendered and bacon crisps. Reserve bacon and pour all but 2 teaspoons of bacon fat in a bowl.
5. Saute the beef cubes in bacon fat, approximately 5 minutes.  Do this in 3 batches so the meat is not crowded.  It needs space to sear and get browned.  Your looking for some nice carmelization on the meat.  Remove meat and continue with remaining batches, adding 2 more teaspoons of reserved bacon fat per batch.
6. Set seared beef aside.  Add remaining bacon fat to pot and saute diced onion and garlic.  Do not let the garlic brown.  You just want the onion and garlic softened, 2-3 minutes. 
7.  Add the chile powder/spice paste and sugar.  Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.
8.  Add seared beef back into pot along with the tomato sauce and 7 cups of water.
9.  Add minced chipotle.  Start small, you can always add more if you want it spicier, but you can't take it away once it's in there!
10.  Simmer, uncovered,  for 2 hours until dark in color and starting to thicken. The meat should now be tender.
11.  Mix cornstarch with 3T of water and add to chili.  Let simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Add cooked bacon back in.
12. Squeeze in lime juice before serving.

Serve with shredded cheese, diced onion, cilantro and sour cream.

*If your chile powders have a strong bitterness, you can add more sugar and tomato sauce to balance out the flavors.  You can also sub chicken broth or beer for some of the water but I think the water gives it a purer flavor.