Blue Cayenne

I found this soup recipe on the Washington Post site and the ideas of pureeing some of the chickpeas as a technique to increase the creaminess of the soup broth and of adding farro to give the soup substance intrigued me. In the end, this recipe produced a flavorful minestrone-ish soup.

Farro, if you are unfamiliar with it,  is the Italian name for emmer, one of the oldest cultivated grains. Farro has been enjoying a bit of a renaissance in popularity since the 1990s when “foodies” rediscovered the distinctive grain as an alternative to pasta and rice. Thereafter, farro imports to the United States from Italy increased dramatically. Today, it is pretty easy to find farro at your local Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods.

So what is farro, exactly?

Food historian Harold McGee writes that “somewhat” less than a million years ago a chance mating of a wild wheat and a wild goatgrass produced emmer and durum wheat–the two most important wheats of the Mediterranean world.  McGee’s description sounds kinda “Fifty Shades” of farro to me, but I digress.

Further, The University of Florence’s Department of Plant Genetics identifies farro as an ancient, unhybridized grain that was used as an important food source for thousands of years in North Africa and the Middle East. Farro grains, according to their research, have been recovered from ancient Egyptian tombs and the use of farro as a primary food (and even as currency) during the height of the Roman Empire is well- documented.

Fast forward to modern times. Modern Farro cultivation is concentrated in central and northern Italy where many credit the longevity of Italians who live in those regions with their consumption of the grain. then again, maybe this is just another indication of the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet.

How to prepare farro?

Uncooked farro looks a bit like a kernel of brown rice. Cooked, it looks like a small piece of popcorn and, importantly, in the cooked state, farro retains its shape. It is rich in vitamins A,B,C and E and is high in fiber, so it is good for you. Incorporated into your favorite dishes, farro imparts a nutty flavor and a chewy texture to your salads and soups. Because farro is most successfully grown in Italy’s arid high altitudes without a lot of fuss, you can usually count upon it to be pesticide and fertilizer free.

Tuscans are renowned for combining farro and beans into a delicious winter soup, zuppa di farro. For that reason, I’m thinking that this soup, although it does not call for white beans,  is a bit Italian. Farro flour is used to prepare ravioli and other pasta dishes. Farro also is used in risotto-like dishes. Apparently, farro has a place on your dessert table, too. I’ve found a  maple syrup-flavored farro pudding recipe, budino con acero, that sounds amazing.  I promise to give that pudding recipe a try and, if it is as good as it sounds, I will post the recipe here.

Blue Cayenne has visited the expanding world of farro before. You will find recipes for Farro and Bean Soup and a wonderful farro salad, Farro with Pistachios, Mixed Herbs, Golden Raisins and Dried Cherries. Just take a look using the search box on the right side of this page this page under the bold-face heading “Categories”.

The link to the original Washington Post recipe from which this recipe was adapted appears at the end of this post.

Yields 6 Cups

Serves 4

Vegetable Soup with Spinach and Farro

A simple and delicious vegetable soup with farro.

20 minPrep Time

45 minCook Time

1 hr, 5 Total Time

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Ingredients

• 3 C. cooked (and drained) chickpeas (from two 15-ounce cans or home-cooked)
• 3 1/2 C. vegetable broth
• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 medium onion (diced)
• 1 medium carrot (diced)
• 1 rib celery (diced)
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 pinch rosemary (or a small sprig of fresh rosemary)
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/4 t. freshly-ground black pepper
• 1/2 C. pearled farro
• 2 C. lightly-packed baby spinach (coarsely chopped, stems removed)
• 1/3 C. freshly grated Asiago cheese (or more)
• 1/2 15-ounce can tomato sauce

Instructions

1. Puree 1 cup chickpeas and 1/2 cup broth in a blender until smooth. Set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot and sauté onion, carrot and celery for 6-8 minutes until vegetables are softened by not browned. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 additional minute. Add the remaining 2 cups of chickpeas, remaining 3 cups of broth, tomatoes (and their juices), tomato sauce, rosemary, salt and pepper. Stir to incorporate and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook for 15 minutes.
3. Add farro. Increase heat and bring mixture to a boil. Once it boils, reduce heat and simmer soup (covered) until the farro is tender. This will take about 20 minutes.
4. Discard the rosemary sprig if you used fresh rosemary. Add the chickpea puree and stir in the spinach. Cook for 1-2 minutes until spinach is wilted but still bright green.
5. Serve with a sprinkling of grated Asiago cheese.

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https://bluecayenne.com/vegetable-soup-with-spinach-and-farro

Here is the link to the original Washington Post recipe:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/the-one-pot-stew-that-does-pasta-fazool-one-better/2016/11/03/d8008642-9f9a-11e6-8d63-3e0a660f1f04_story.html

It is overcast, drizzly and gloomy in Huntington Beach today. Cooking weather!

My good friend Sarah is an Ina Garten devotee. Well, actually, she is an “Ina ♥ Jeffrey” devotee. Show Sarah a good romance and she’s hooked. Connect the romance to good food and Sarah is lost. (I do have to admit that the Ina loves Jeffrey meme is pretty compelling. I’d cast Barbra Streisand as Ina and Robert Redford as Jeffrey in the movie.  No! Wait! That’s been done. Then, again, I’d cast Robert Redford as the romantic lead in just about every movie.)

I do have to admit that this cauliflower gratin is food for the gods! The Gruyere and Asaigo-laced white sauce is to die for and who doesn’t love cauliflower? My kitchen smells wonderful. And the counterpoint of the crunchy-cheesy topping and the smooth cheesy white sauce is spectacular.

This is an adaptation of a recipe from Garten’s Barefoot in Paris book. Buy it. It is a great book.

Sarah convinced me to buy Garten’s newest book, Cooking for Jeffrey. Sarah is an enabler for my cookbook-buying addiction. Bad Sarah.

I’m trying a new piece of software that will permit you to print Blue Cayenne recipes without all the narrative. I tried a different program earlier in the week and it didn’t work out. Cross you fingers that this one doesn’t conflict with any of the other widgets I’m using on this site. A year ago, when I started this blog, I didn’t even know what a widget was.

Yields Serves 4 to 6 persons.

Cauliflower Gratin

A rich and wonderful cauliflower gratin. Perfect served with a sliced pear salad and a glass of wine.

15 minPrep Time

30 minCook Time

45 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

• 1 large head of caulifower (cut into florets)
• Kosher salt
• 4 T. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter (divided)
• 3 T. all-purpose flour
• 2 C. hot milk
• 1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 t. grated nutmeg
• 3/4 C. grated Gruyere cheese (divided)
• 1/2 C. grated Asiago cheese (grated)
• 1/3 C. fresh sourdough bread crumbs

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Divide cauliflower into large florets and cook in boiling water until cauliflower is al dente (tender but firm). This will take 5 or 6 minutes. Remove from water and drain. Set aside.
3. Melt butter in a medium saucepan and whisk in flour, stirring constantly for about two minutes. Pour hot milk into the butter and whisk until smooth and thick. This will happen quickly. Remove thickened sauce from heat and whisk in salt, black pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 C. Gruyere cheese, and all of Asiago cheese.
4. Pour one third of sauce into a large 8 x 11 x 2 inch baking dish. Arrange drained cauliflower on top of sauce and cover with the remainder of the sauce.
5. Combine bread crumbs with the remainder of the Gruyere cheese and sprinkle this mixture on top of the cauliflower. Melt remaining two tablespoons of butter and drizzle over the bread crumbs.
6. Bake in a preheated 375 degree F. oven for 25-30 minutes or until the top of the gratin is browned.
7. Serve cauliflower gratin hot or at room temperature.

Nutrition

Calories

578 cal

Fat

15 g

Carbs

82 g

Protein

26 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

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https://bluecayenne.com/cauliflower-gratin

My good friend Sarah and I have been taking cooking classes at Sur La Table in Costa Mesa. (Sarah is the pretty lady in the middle holding what is left of a tray of  minced chicken lettuce cups). What fun!

Our most recent class was Sur La Table’s “Thai Restaurant Favorites” class. Among other delicious Thai recipes, our excellent teacher, Melody Rodriguez (pictured above in red) , taught us to make Pad Thai.

Pad Thai, if you are unfamiliar with it, is a rice noodle dish that Thailand considers its national dish. Thais are not the only ones in love with Pad Thai.  In a 2011 poll, CNN listed Pad Thai as number five among the world’s most delicious foods. (I’m not all together sure about that CNN poll, though. Chocolate was number 25. How could that be?)

The history of Pad Thai is pretty interesting. (I know, I know. I always find history interesting.)

There was a revolution in Thailand (then Siam) in 1932. The absolute monarchy was toppled in favor of a constitutional one backed by a strong military. Field Marshall Plaek Philbunsongkhram became the powerful head of the new Thai government as Prime Minister (read that military dictator). He was determined to stoke Thai nationalism, rush Thailand into the modern age and ensure Thailand’s independence from colonial rule by the West or by China. In the process (and under pressure from Japan), he eventually allied Thailand with the Axis powers during World War II.

In his quest to modernize “Thailand”, Philbunsongkhram (he was known as Phibun, for short) issued twelve cultural edicts. Some of his rules were quirky, Everyone had to wear hats, for example. Thais were instructed to kiss their wives goodbye each morning.

Others of the twelve edicts were right out of the ultra-nationalist playbook of the 1930s. Everyone had to be loyal to the new government. The Thai flag must be revered. There was to be a single national language. People should dress modestly.  Everyone needed to eschew foreign products in favor of Thai products.

Foodwise, Phibun’s decrees directed Thais to abandon everything Chinese.  Thus, there was a new government-approved slogan: “Noodle is your lunch” and a new government-approved Thai noodle –sen chan rice noodles named for the eastern Chanthanburi province. In no time,  a new national dish incorporating those noodles had the government’s blessing. It was Pad Thai and the government subsidized pad Thai food carts to popularize the new dish. The rest is history.

Here is my “take” on the Pad Thai recipe we learned in our Sur La Table class.

Ingredients: Pad Thai

Pad Thai

8 oz. Chantaboon rice noodles
1/3 C. peanut or vegetable oil
4 large eggs (beaten)
3 garlic cloves (minced)
2/3 cup Pad Thai Sauce
1 C. fried tofu (cut into 1/4 inch cubes)
4 T. thinly-sliced sweet preserved radish
1/2 C. finely sliced green onion
2 1/2 C. bean sprouts

1/2 C. roasted peanuts (chopped fine)
1 lime (cut into wedges)

Pad Thai Sauce

2/3 C. tamarind concentrate
2/3 C. white vinegar
2/3 C. light soy sauce
1 t. sea salt
1 C. grated palm sugar (or light brown sugar)
3 T. garlic powder
1/8 C. Sriracha chili sauce (or to taste)

Directions:

For Sauce: Combine tamarind, vinegar, soy sauce, salt, sugar, garlic powder and chili sauce in a saucepan. Boil over medium heat until sauce thickens. This will take approximately 10 minutes.

For Pad Thai:

Soak rice noodles in hot water for 30 minutes or until the noodles are al dente soft. Drain and set aside.

Heat a oil in a wok over high heat. Add eggs and stir fry for about 30 seconds. Add garlic and noodles to eggs. Mix and add 2/3 C. Pad Thai sauce. Simmer noodles in the sauce for one or two minutes until the noodles are cooked. Stir in tofu and radish. (If noodles are not tender enough, you can add water to your pan. ) Add green onions, 2 C. bean sprouts and peanuts and stir. Remove Pad Thai from stove.

Serve pad thai warm or at room temperature on a large plate garnished with bean sprouts, additional chopped green onion, chopped peanuts, and lime wedges.