Forward by Kathleen Daelemans
Recipe by Russ Parsons for the Los Angeles Times.
Photograph by Gary Friedman for the Los Angeles Times
I've
always chosen recipes for their
dizzying, hypnotic effect, for their overpowering force to make an
otherwise clear-thinking, dedicated (forever behind) work-a-holic,
jeapordize her financial security by leaving work early for a turn at the stove and a glass of wine.
The second I saw this recipe, I fell in love with it for the sherry vinegar alone. You know a bowl of soup is going to be good when it's finished with a splash of good vinegar. Plus, it calls for pasta, fennel seeds and parmesan cheese.
Russ calls his recipe Spring Soup of Greens and Pasta. I call it Skinny Soup. It's fill-you-up great, really flavorful, really hearty and really easy. And maybe the best thing about it after it's culinary integrity,
Ding, ding, ding bonus! Calling all yellow-polka-dot-bikini-season phobes....
Get out your flip-flops, paint your toenails and head to the seashore. This soup is a mere 200 calories per serving. For that price, you can have thirds!
Spring Soup of Greens and Pasta
Mr. Parsons is also the author of
How to Pick a Peach:
The Search for Flavor from Farm to Table
Before you get started: One-half pound
leafy greens yields 8 cups coarsely chopped.
Cooks Tip: Be in love with
the greens you choose. This is not
the time to make Bitter Green Soup.
The mixed leafy greens can include
mustard, kale, collard, beet and turnip
greens, chard as well as dandelions.
(Watch the dandelions as too many
might make the soup bitter.)
If your'e at all nervous about bitterness,
stick to one variety of greens and consider
the more mild beet greens, swiss chard
Servings: 6
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound mixed leafy greens, stemmed and coarsely chopped (about 8 cups)
3 cups vegetable or chicken stock diluted with 3 cups water
2 teaspoons salt, more to taste
3/4 cup small pasta shapes (such as riso or stars), or 1 cup cooked rice
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar, more to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon finely ground fennel seed
6 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1. Heat the olive oil in a 4-quart soup pot over medium heat and cook the onions until they soften, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until it becomes fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the coarsely chopped greens to the pot, a handful at a time, and let them wilt, stirring constantly.
2. Add the diluted stock and the salt and slowly bring to a simmer, then cook until the greens are soft (but not darkened or faded), about 10 minutes.
3. While the greens are cooking, cook the pasta in a large pot of rapidly boiling salted water until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside until the soup is done.
4. Coarsely shred the greens with an immersion blender. Some will become puréed, but mostly they should be shredded. If you don't have an immersion blender, a food processor will do a better job than a stand blender. Transfer half the greens and liquid to a food processor and carefully purée until the greens are finely chopped. Reserve in a mixing bowl and repeat with the remaining greens and liquid. Wipe out the soup pot and return the greens and liquid to it.
5. Bring the soup to a simmer, and stir in the cooked pasta and 1 teaspoon vinegar. If the pasta clumps together (it probably will), let it warm and stir it again to break it up. Season with the pepper and the fennel seed. Taste, and add more salt or vinegar if needed.
6. To serve, ladle the soup into heated shallow bowls and garnish with a generous grating of Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Each serving: 192 calories; 5 grams protein; 28 grams
carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 6 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 4 mg.
cholesterol; 890 mg. sodium.
Russ Parsons is the food and wine columnist for the Los Angeles Times, a winner of multiple James Beard Awards for his journalism, and the recipient of the IACP/Bert Greene Award for distinguished writing.
Mr. Parsons is also the best-selling author of How to Pick a Peach: The Search for Flavor from Farm to Table and How to Read a French Fry: And other Stories of Intriguing Kitchen Science .
Photograph by Gary Friedman for the Los Angeles Times. Gary Friedman is an AP award winning photographer for the Los Angeles Times.
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