Because It's Not Winter Yet

Your plate has been pretty full lately. All of these pumpkin tarts, acorn squash risottos, and fried apples must be elbowing each other for more room.

Autumn is terrific, it really is. After the fresh corn and tomatoes of late summer disappear, I love scooping mouthfuls of pie and whipped heavy cream from a bowl. I love the richness of toasted pecans and roasted hard squashes. And nothing beats fresh cranberry sauce.

Love the puckery taste of cranberries. Love it.

However, I find that I tend to overindulge in these offerings during the month of October. After several weeks of filling my shopping cart with cello-shaped squashes and bright apples, I need a breather.

Perhaps you feel the same way. How about something on the lighter side for lunch today? Let's make soup.

I found this version of stracciatella in last year's December issue of Food and Wine Magazine. Have some; you'll find that you have enough room for a few bites of sweet dessert later on.

Spinach and Egg-Drop Pasta Soup
Adapted from this Tom Valenti recipe in Food and Wine Magazine

1/2 pound tubetti, ditali or other small pasta
2 quarts chicken stock
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
5 ounces baby spinach
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving
Extra-virgin olive oil and lemon wedges, for drizzling

Cook the pasta in a pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain well.

In a saucepan, bring the stock to a simmer with the garlic; simmer for 3 minutes. Add the pasta and spinach and cook over moderate heat until the spinach wilts. Season with salt and pepper. Gently stir in the eggs, breaking them into long strands. Gently simmer the soup until the eggs are just firm, about 1 minute. Stir in the 1/2 cup of cheese. Ladle the soup into bowls, drizzle with olive oil and serve, passing lemon wedges and more cheese on the side.

Seeking, Finding

How do you decide what to cook?

This is a question that I hear a lot. I used to shrug; recipes would just jump out at me, I would try them, then I would write about them.

To a certain extent, this process still works for me. I browse online collections of recipes in search of something interesting. In doing so, I make myself available to whatever recipe wants to jump out at me. My criteria for those "jumpers outer" aren't special and vary with my mood. My eye may be caught by an unexpected combination of ingredients, an exotic-sounding dish, or just something that sounds like it will photograph well and taste wonderful.

Sometimes, though, I want something specific. That kind of search is easy: I just need to narrow down a million "lamb ragu" recipes to the one that suits me best.

And then there are the days when I feel like I want something particular, but can't put a name to the desire. Is it a baked good? A vegetable dish? Does it include cinnamon? Those days are tough. My patience gets tested over and over as I click past dozens, sometimes hundreds, of recipes in a random search for that one I know I will want, if only I could find it.

Last Thursday was just such a day. Around lunchtime, I started sifting through recipes. No, not this one; I'm tired of pork. No, that one does not grab me. Maybe I want something green and leafy? No...

This went on for a while. By late afternoon, I was grumpy and still had no ideas for that night's dinner.

Then, I found it: Caramelized leek soup.

The leeks are cooked in a bit of butter until they caramelize, then the pan gets deglazed with vermouth. Chicken stock rounds out the edges. At once rich and nuanced, this soup might be best served from a warm coffee mug, the big ceramic kind whose handle is large enough to be grasped by four of your fingers. If you spill a little on your sweater as you spoon mouthfuls of buttery, nutty leeks, you'll just shrug and continue eating until the last little bit is gone.

Caramelized Leek Soup
From this January 1998 Gourmet recipe, available on Epicurious

2 pounds leeks (white and pale green parts only; about 2 bunches)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/4 teaspoons sugar
1/4 cup vermouth
3 1/2 cups chicken broth

Halve leeks lengthwise and thinly slice crosswise. In a large bowl of cold water wash leeks well and lift from water into a large sieve to drain. In a 6-quart heavy kettle cook leeks in butter over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until some begin to turn golden, about 40 minutes. Stir in sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. Stir in vermouth and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is evaporated and most leeks are golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Deglaze kettle with 1/2 cup broth and cook, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes more, until liquid is evaporated and leeks are deep golden. Add remaining 3 cups broth and bring soup just to a boil. Season soup with salt and pepper. Serve soup, garnished with chives.

Serves: 4

Rainy Summer Day Soup

Something beautiful happens in Fort Lauderdale during summer afternoons.

Miles to our west, out over the Everglades, dark knots of clouds begin to swell around one o'clock. They crowd east, slowly. The sun is shining through my window, but I hear a sigh of thunder in the distance.

The light fades to gray around two o'clock and a flicker of lightening makes me blink. Rain streaks my window. The streets below go quiet. I can't see the building next door.

I am cozy, nestled in the privacy of water and white noise.

In these snuggly, dim minutes, I yawn and smile. Some soup would be nice. The kind that you eat cross-legged, wearing socks but no shoes, while staring out the window into the blowing rain.

Eventually, the western sky blotches. The light warms to yellow again. My phone is ringing. The street comes back to life.

But I still want the soup.


Tangy Lemon-Egg Soup with Tiny Meatballs
Adapted from this recipe in Food & Wine Magazine

The original version of this recipe calls for ground lamb instead of ground turkey, and for mint instead of parsley. Since I wanted to use what I had on hand, I adapted the recipe slightly.

1/2 cup medium-grain white rice
3 cups water
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
4 cups chicken stock
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3/4 pound lean ground turkey
1/3 cup sweet onion, minced
2 teaspoons finely chopped parsley
3 tablespoons finely chopped dill, plus dill sprigs for garnish
1 1/4 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
All-purpose flour, for dusting

In a large saucepan, bring the rice to a boil in 3 cups of salted water. Simmer over moderate heat until the rice is tender and the water is nearly absorbed, about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Transfer 1/2 cup of the rice to a food processor and spread the remaining rice on a plate.

Add the chicken stock to the saucepan and bring to a simmer. Ladle 1 cup of the hot stock into the food processor, cover and puree until the rice is smooth. With the machine on, add the egg yolks and lemon juice and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Stir the mixture into the stock and keep warm over low heat.

In a medium bowl, mix the ground turkey with the onion, parsley, 2 tablespoons of the dill, 1/4 teaspoon of the lemon zest, 1 teaspoons of kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Form the mixture into 1-inch balls.

Lightly dust the meatballs with flour, tapping off any excess, and drop them into the warm soup. Increase the heat to medium and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through, about 10 minutes. Stir in the reserved rice and the remaining 1 tablespoon of dill and 1 teaspoon of lemon zest and season with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish with dill sprigs and serve.