Escarole & Meatball Soup

A steaming bowl of this escarole soup replete with meatballs is exactly what I imagine someone suffering the cold in the midwest would be hankering for. Here in sunny Southern California, where it smacks of Spring, it fits the bill quite nicely too. Hot and hearty, but not overly thick and heavy, this may just be the soup to carry you through all of 2012.

Thank you, Dana Bowen for sharing this terrific recipe with Saveur readers this December. An equally heartfelt thank you to Rita and Joseph for pointing it out to me. Rita declared it a winner and I couldn't agree more. The escarole soup contains two of my favorite things, meatballs and escarole! Add a mound of comforting rice, plenty of sweet onions, and a healthy dose of ground pepper and you've got a soup that is sure to satisfy.

The soup is a snap to make as long as you don't mind getting your hands dirty. Ground beef under your nails and in between your fingers is a certainty. For me rolling out meatballs is soothing work, carrying the promise of something delicious and nourishing just around the bend. The smell of the ingredients heaped up in the bowl was pure Italy, familiar and exotic all at once.

Just a couple of notes. I used fresh bread crumbs that I whizzed up in the food processor from a day old loaf of ciabatta. The recipe calls for seasoned bread crumbs, and I'm guessing that you can buy pre-seasoned breadcrumbs in a grocery store, but I didn't bother with that. I did not find the meatballs lacking due to this. I also don't own any Italian seasoning. I simply mixed together a tablespoon of oregano, basil, thyme, and marjoram. This did the trick, also without any noticeable want.

We supped on the escarole soup over the course of a few days. The soup is ever tasty the second and third go-round, but the meatballs do tend to fall apart (not necessarily a bad thing). Serve this to the young and old alike! A and I were mighty pleased and Fe. scarfed down the greens and meatballs like they were going out of style. A definite hit all round.

Dana Bowen's Escarole Soup

1 pound ground beef

1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated parmesan, plus more

1/2 cup grated pecorino

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced, plus 1, minced

2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced, plus 1, minced

1 small bunch parsley, minced

1 egg lightly beaten

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 large heads escarole, cored and cut in to 2-inch pieces

8 cups chicken stock

Cooked white rice, for serving

Mix beef, bread crumbs, parmesan, pecorino, 1/4 cup oil, seasoning, minced garlic and onion, parsley, egg, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Form into 30, 1 1/2-inch meatballs; chill.

Heat remaining oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the sliced garlic and onions; cook until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add escarole; cook until wilted, about 6 minutes. Add stock; boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add meatballs; cook until meatballs are cooked through, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over cooked rice; top with more parmesan and black pepper.

Serves 8

Hainanese Chicken with Rice

So as I mentioned previously, Mark Bittman was my saviour, twice last week. He could be yours, too! His Hainanese Chicken with Rice is a fantastically delicious, relatively healthy, easy to make, curative. You can find it in his ever-handy How To Cook Everything

Everyone I know is sick or is just recovering from horrible snotty, phlegmy illnesses. This recipe might just nurse you and your loved ones back from the brink.

You won't see me writing about poultry that often, because A. is a hater. Yes, it's tough to deal with, but he has so many other wonderful and endearing qualities that I am learning to live with this major flaw. I usually confine my chicken cookery to Wednesdays when A. has his radio show and comes home too late for dinner. Fe. and I go to town! Hainanese chicken and rice is a favorite of ours.

This recipe produces a vat of chicken stock fragrant with garlic and ginger. You can easily sip or slurp your way to health for the better part of a week with the stock that remains after the rice is made.

I had no idea you could do this, but the gentle poaching of the chicken that takes place mainly occurs with no flame under your pot. You bring a very large pot of water up to boil, and you add your chicken, smashed garlic and ginger and salt. You simmer for ten minutes and then turn off the flame. The chicken bathes in the hot liquid for an hour and presto, your chicken is done.

I dig that.

The rice is made by sautéing chopped garlic, shallot and the raw rice, itself, in peanut oil and then simmering it in the stock you have just prepared. It is mighty tasty, if a little on the oily side. I kind of like that, though.

The rice is topped with shredded chicken, sliced cucumber and tomatoes, chopped green onions and a generous handful of chopped cilantro. I didn't bother peeling the Persian cucumbers I used, and I chose halved cherry tomatoes in lieu of whole ones.

A super-quick-to-prepare dipping sauce of peanut oil, chopped ginger, chopped green onion and salt is served on the side. It's amazing that what may just seem like a small bowl of oil, is actually a savory and quite addictive little sauce. Watch out, because this is where a relatively healthy dish can quickly take a turn for the dark side. It's a dipping sauce, not a pour-the-whole-bowl-on-your-plate sauce, Jacqueline!

A little drizzle of sesame oil enriches the flavor. I also like to serve a little dish of the broth alongside for warmth and comfort. Bittman serves the dish on a platter mounded high with the chicken and surrounded by the chopped vegetables. I prefer to make individual portions, as below.

Hainanese chicken presents beautifully, and appeals to just about everyone except my darling, A.

Tant pis.

Hainanese Chicken with Rice

1 whole (3- to 4- pound) chicken, trimmed of excess fat

Several cloves smashed garlic, plus 1 teaspoon minced garlic

Several slices fresh ginger, plus 1 tablespoon minced ginger

1/2 cup peanut oil, or neutral oil like canola

3 shallots, roughly chopped, or a small onion roughly chopped

2 cups long-grain rice

1/2 cup minced scallions

2 cucumbers peeled and sliced

2 tomatoes slices

Chopped fresh cilantro leaves

2 tablespoons sesame oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt it. Add the chicken to the pot along with the smashed garlic and sliced ginger. The chicken should be completely, but just, submerged. Cover and reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the chicken remain in the hot water for an hour, until it is cooked through.

Remove the chicken from the pot, reserve the stock, and let the chicken cool to room temperature. Put half the peanut oil in a skillet or medium dutch oven. When hot, add the remaining garlic and the shallots. Cook, stirring every so often until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring until shiny. Add 4 cups of the reserved stock and boil. Reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook for 20 minutes, until all the liquid has been absorbed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Make the dipping sauce with the remaining oil, ginger, half the scallions, and a large pinch of salt.

Shred the chicken, discarding the skin. Put the rice on a large platter and mound the chicken on top. Sprinkle with the cucumbers, tomatoes, remaining scallions, and cilantro. Drizzle with the sesame oil and serve with the dipping sauce.

Risi e Bisi

Risotto is very good, but risi e bisi is better.

At least to me it is. I'm a big sucker for the soupiness.

Risi e bisi is a classic Venetian dish that typically celebrates spring and with it the arrival of fresh peas. Now, I do love fresh peas. I do. However I am pretty much on board with #21 of the last Saveur 100 issue. Frozen peas. Fergus Henderson quips: a wise old man once told me: Wait till peas are in season, and then use frozen.

Oh, the convenience! There is always a bag or two in my freezer, ready to add to Fe's dinner or to toss into pasta or to simmer with mint, olive oil, and thinly sliced onions (thank you, Nigel Slater!). They easily cook up in five minutes. And for the parents of toddlers reading this, I'll pass on a tip that my dear friend Sharmon shared with me. Give the frozen peas to your kiddos as a healthy snack. Yes, frozen. Taste them. They're good and the kids love to munch on them!

It's February. Why bother waiting until the spring, when I can enjoy a soothing supper of risi e bisi now, using perfectly delicious frozen peas?

Risi e bisi is basically a casual souped up version of risotto. There is none of the heavy duty stirring involved. And it takes much less time to prepare. You'll need to use short-grain rice like arborio or carnaroli, and naturally the better your parmigiano-reggiano and stock are the more divine your results will be.

I made risi e bisi on Tuesday night. I was pleased because A. really seemed to like it, judging by his comment that he never expected beige food to taste so good. Ah, a girl could really get used to praise like that.

We're not socked in by winter snows here in Los Angeles, but the nights do get cool -- by our standards -- and this dish provides perfect comfort for taking the chill off. It is a little bit sweet from the peas and onions and just the right bit salty thanks to the parmigiano-reggiano. I love a healthy grinding of pepper over the top.

Risi e Bisi

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 tablespoons butter

1 large onion, chopped

2 cups frozen peas, mostly defrosted if possible

Salt & freshly ground pepper

6 cups chicken stock or vegetable if you prefer

1 1/2 cups arborio or carnaroli rice

1 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano

Heat the stock in a pan, and keep at the ready.

Heat the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy medium-sized pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook stirring occasionally until soft and faintly starting to color. Season with salt.

Add the rice, stirring until coated with the olive oil and onions. Then add 5 cups of the hot stock. Stir and cover, lowering the heat so the stock is gently bubbling. Cook the rice, stirring every so often, for approximately 15 minutes. Tip in the peas and stir. Cook for about 5 more minutes, until peas and rice are just tender.

Remove the pot from the heat. Add the remaining stock. Stir in the butter and half of the parmigiano-reggiano. Season with salt and pepper, as needed. Serve with the remaining cheese sprinkled over the top.

Serves 6