The Yuca Diaries

I made this soup for the first time about a month ago, when I saw that corn on the cob was on sale for 20 cents a piece.  This soup is light yet filling. Paired with a fresh green salad, it makes a lovely weeknight meal. My only gripe is that I made this after dark and the pictures didn’t come out that great, but I intend on swapping out the pictures the next time I make this.

Ingredients:

6 cobs of corn (you could use three cups of frozen corn kernels if you’re in a hurry)

1 quart chicken stock

1 tbsp. flour

1 small onion

2 tbsp. butter

4 tbsp. cream

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Salt to taste

First wrap the corn in foil and bake them in a 375 degree oven for about 45 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let them cool enough for you to handle without burning your hands.  Next remove the kernels of corn from the cob and set aside.  Chop the onion and set aside.  Add the butter to a pot and let it simmer on medium heat until the butter turns slightly brown and nutty.   At this point add in the onions and let them cook until they become tender.  Add the flour to the pot and then add in the chicken stock, corn nutmeg, cayenne pepper and salt. Make sure you taste the soup before adding the salt because the chicken stock also has salt in it.  Whisk vigorously to break up  any clumps of flour that may have formed. It’s not a whole lot of flour so it should be fairly easy to incorporate.  Let everything simmer for about 5 minutes before transferring all of the contents of the pot into a blender.  Blend on high speed for about 4 minutes.  It seems like a long time, but blending it well will give you a gloriously velvety soup.  Add all of the contents back to the pot and add in the cream. Stir the soup to combine the cream well and serve hot.

Side note: if you want to make this a vegetarian soup, just swap out the chicken stock with vegetable stock.

I made this soup recently when it was stormy and rainy outside.  Something about rainy weather just makes you reach for something warm and comforting and this fit the bill.  It goes really well with a nice piece of crusty garlic bread.  Also, good to know, this soup freezes really well.  If you’re going to freeze it, just chop the parsley and spinach and add it to the soup when re-heating.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, cut into pieces

2 quarts chicken stock

1 large onion

1 bay leaf

1 sprig thyme

5 cloves garlic (grated)

2 carrots

1 tsp. olive oil

2 cups sliced mushrooms

5 cups fresh chopped baby spinach

1 cup fresh chopped parsley

2 tbsp. cream

1/8 tsp. cumin

2 whole lemons

1 cup dried orzo (you could sub this with white beans if you’re trying to watch the carbs or want to make this gluten free)

lots of freshly cracked pepper

salt to taste

First wash the chicken well and cut it into pieces.  Place the chicken into a stock pot along with the chicken stock, bay leaf and thyme.  Allow the chicken to cook on medium high for 25 minutes.  Remove the chicken and place on a cutting board. Strain the stock and put it back into the stock pot.  While the chicken cools, dice the onion, slice the mushrooms and grate the garlic.  Transfer to a non-stick skillet and saute with a tiny little bit of olive oil ( 1 tsp.). Allow the veggies to cook on medium high heat.  Remove the skin off the chicken and begin shredding into large strips.  Add the spinach to the skillet and saute until it slightly wilts.  Transfer the chicken back into the stockpot along with the ingredients in the skillet.  Stir everything well and begin peeling your carrot.  Cut the carrot into cubes and add to the pot.  Bring the soup up to strong simmer and let it cook for 10 minutes before adding the orzo.   Add in the cumin and pepper. Squeeze the juice of the lemons and stir well. Cook until the orzo is al dente.  Finish off by adding the cream and the chopped parsley.  Remove the bay leaf and the thyme stalk before serving and add a little extra lemon to your bowl if desired.  Serve with crusty garlic bread.

Spring is just around the corner, but winter seems to be lingering still.  I thought I’d bid the cold weather farewell with a hearty comforting soup.  This is reminiscent of a Pasta e Fagiole soup, but I created a white version using white beans, chicken sausage and herbs.  It was topped with a little shredded Parmesan cheese and a garlicky- parsley aioli. Serve with a crusty baguette and a crisp green salad and you’ve got a great and satisfying meal.

Ingredients for the Chicken Sausage:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 1.5 lbs. ground chicken)

2 eggs

3 cloves garlic

1 1/2 tbsp. ground sage

1 tsp. ground marjoram

1 tsp. herbs de Provence

3 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

zest of one lemon

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. fresh ground pepper.

If you’re using the chicken breasts, grind them up in a food processor until you have a ground consistency.  Dump the ground chicken into a bowl and crack in the eggs and blend.  Grate the garlic and add it to the bowl.  If you’re using the boneless, skinless chicken breasts add in one tbsp. of olive oil to avoid having dry sausage. Next add in the herbs, Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper.  Blend everything well and begin browning the sausage in a non-stick pan with a little olive oil.

Ingredients for the soup:

1 package dry white beans  ( I used navy beans but Cannelini or great northern would work well too. I’d use any except Garbanzo beans.)

8 cups water or chicken stock (if using stock make sure to adjust salt to account for the salt already in the stock)

1.5 lbs  chicken sausage (recipe listed above)

1 large onion

6 garlic cloves

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 (1lb.) box of short pasta like tubetti, elbow or shells.  ( I used shells)

1 lemon (juice)

1 Parmesan rind- optional (I save the rinds of cheese blocks for soups like this, but you can omit this and it won’t make that big a difference, it just adds a little depth)

1/4 cup fresh chopped Italian flat leaf parsley, plus one tbsp. for garnish

2 tbsp shredded Parmesan cheese for garnish

First add your dry beans to a pressure cooker with the water or stock.  If you don’t have a pressure cooker or are running low on time, go ahead and use the canned variety.  Just add in 2 cans of  the beans with their liquid into a stock pot,  plus another 3 cups of water or stock.   While the beans cook, begin dicing your onion and grating 4 of the garlic cloves.  Add the olive oil to a non-stick pan and turn the heat up to medium high.  Add in the onions and garlic and cook until they become tender, about 5 minutes.  Next add in the sausage and blend with the onions and garlic.  Once the beans are cooked, add in the sausage, Parmesan rind, garlic and onions to the stock pot.  If the liquid had reduced too much, add more to have more of a soupy consistency, bearing in mind that the liquid will thicken at the end of cooking a bit. Taste for salt and pepper and season to your liking.  Squeeze in the lemon juice, and add in the pasta shells.  Allow the pasta to cook until it’s al dente. Grate the last two garlic cloves and give the soup a good stir.  Lastly add in the parsley and top with the garlic and parsley aioli.

For the Aioli:

4 tbsp. light mayo

2 tbsp. water

1 garlic clove grated

1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 tbsp. finely chopped parsley

Add the mayo and water into a bowl and whisk well.  Next grate in the garlic clove and add the lemon juice.  Add in the parsley and whisk everything well, making sure to remove any lumps.

This post is dedicated to all my fellow Miamians. This week the temperature dropped to record lows and people have been freezing their butts off. All over facebook, the statuses are about how cold it is, how many layers people are wearing and how people from Miami are not made to deal with such cold temperatures. And truthfully, I don’t blame them; yesterday with the wind chill factor it was in the 20′s. So this post is dedicated to my Miami brethren. This Spanish bean soup is the perfect thing to warm your bones and fill your tummy.

Ingredients:

1 package dry navy beans

1 yellow onion, finely diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 large carrot, peeled and finely diced

2 celery stalks, finely diced

3 small potatoes

1 turnip

1 head of kale (you can substitute with collard greens or Swiss chard)

2 sprigs fresh thyme

6 slices bacon ( I used turkey bacon because I follow kosher laws)

1 lb. flank steak

6 cups water

3 tbsp. olive oil (plus more for garnish at the end)

salt to taste

The first thing to do is rinse the beans and make sure there are no little pebbles or twigs in the package and set aside. Next finely dice the onions, garlic, celery, carrots as well as the bacon (save one garlic clove to add in at the end). Make sure to cut the slices into small pieces. The traditional Caldo Gallego calls for ham hock and or chorizo or some kind of sausage, but I omitted these ingredients. Add the olive oil to a pressure cooker and toss the vegetables you just chopped and the bacon and saute until the bacon is nice an crunchy and the veggies are tender. Now would be a good time to trim the flank steak of any excess fat and cut it into large pieces. Add the beans, water and thyme, and flank steak to the pressure cooker, giving everything a good stir before putting the lid on. Let the beans cook on medium-high heat for about 30 minutes before checking on it again. While that is cooking, begin peeling the potatoes and turnips and cubing. Next wash the kale well and roughly chop. After the beans have cooked for about half an hour, remove the pot from the stove and run under cold water to release the pressure. You could also just turn off the burner and let it cool enough for the pressure to be released from the pot on it’s own. Taste the beans to see if they’re tender, as well as the saltiness of the soup. Add a little salt if necessary. The beans should be about two-thirds of the way cooked at this point. Stir everything in the pot, and then add the potatoes, turnip and kale and stir well. Put the lid back on and cook for about 20 minutes on medium-high heat. After the time is up, release the pressure from the pot before removing the lid and taste once again. Make sure the the beans are tender and that it doesn’t need any more salt. Grate the last garlic clove into the soup and stir really well. Once the beans, potatoes, and turnips are tender the soup is done. Serve with rice or crusty bread and drizzle the top of the soup with just a little bit of olive oil before serving.

Let the defrosting begin!

As I mentioned recently, I caught the most awful flu this week.  I was stuck in bed most of Monday and all day Tuesday.  I couldn’t’ breathe and my throat was killing me.  The only thing that was appetizing to me in that condition was a brothy, gingery, soup.  Since we moved to Dallas, we kept seeing signs for “Vietnamese Pho” (pronounced “Fuh”).  For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, Pho is a Vietnamese soup where a clear broth is poured into a bowl and lots of toppings are added.  There are all kinds of toppings, but one of the more common ones is the one with really thin rare beef.  I have never had Pho, so I can’t quite title this dish “Chicken Pho” because I have no idea what the original should taste like, but if my inclinations are right, it probably was very similar to this recipe.  Although, I did kind of use a shortcut by using store-bought broth instead of making it from scratch. But hey, under the circumstances, I’m sure you’ll forgive me right?

Ingredients for the broth :

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 Quarts chicken stock

2 tbsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. fish sauce

1 tsp coriander seeds

2 tsp. fresh chopped ginger

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. white pepper

For the Toppings:

Sliced chicken breasts

Thinly sliced red onion

Chopped cilantro

Thinly sliced red pepper (or red chilies)

Fresh chopped ginger

Sugar snap peas or snow peas

Thinly sliced carrots

Scallions

Lime juice

Cooked rice noodles (about 1/2 cup per person)

Optional condiments:

Hoisin Sauce

Siracha hot sauce

First thing to do is add the chicken stock to a pot and bring to a boil.  Add the chicken breasts into the broth and let them cook.  Next add the ginger, coriander seeds, fish sauce and soy sauce.  Let everything cook undisturbed for about 30 minutes.  You’ll notice that a foam from the chicken  will rise to the top of the broth- we’ll have to strain the broth before serving.   Remove the chicken breasts, and rinse them well.   Once cooled, slice into really thin pieces and set aside.   In a separate pot, bring 6 cups of water to a boil and cook the rice noodles until they’re al dente.  remove, and rinse with cold water to remove excess starch and to prevent the noodles from sticking.  Peel the carrots and cut them into long thin strips. Add some more water to a pot and blanch the carrots and sugar snap peas. Sliced the onions, red pepper,  and scallions and chop up the ginger and cilantro. Now run the broth through a fine mesh sieve and return to the pot (clean out the pot before adding the broth back in).  Bring the broth back up to a boil.  Add the toppings to a bowl and then scoop the boiling broth over the top.  Add any of the desired condiments I mentioned above and lots of lime.

Please note, traditional Pho usually has star anise added to the broth, but I am not a fan of licorice tastes so I omitted it.  Also, the traditional broth takes hours to make and is usually made with bones and skin, but I prefer the cleaner tastes of the chicken breasts. Lastly, one topping that is usually present in Pho is bean sprouts, but I didn’t have any on hand.

This was one of those meals that I immediately feel like eating again, even though I just had it a few days ago.  Especially since the weather has been considerably cooler.

I have posted a shortcut version to Cuban black beans here before, but I thought I’d also post the real way my mom and grandma have made black beans for years.  Let me just state that black beans are one of, if not the most important or common dishes in Cuban cuisine. We serve them over rice, eat them alone, cook them into the rice to make “moros”- another typical Cuban side dish.   Black beans are served from parties to weekday dinners, and are always a welcomed addition to any meal.  There are tons of recipes for black beans, but I tend to be a bit of a purist when it comes to the ingredient list.  I think the flavor of the beans when you’re not using the canned variety really lends a totally different taste that doesn’t need much “help” as opposed to the doctored up version I’ve posted here before.  Some people add vinegar, or bay leaves or even olives which I add to my shortcut version, but for my family’s traditional recipe I omit all three. In the picture above there is a really typical side dish called “tostones” which is made with green plantains.  I will post that recipe next.

Ingredients:

1 package dried black beans

Water (for soaking the beans and later cooking them)

2 Onions

2 green peppers

1 red pepper

5 garlic cloves

3 tbsp olive oil

Salt to taste

I made this soup the last time I was sick.  Did you know that drinking chicken soup when your sick actually does help?  It’s not a myth.  I did a little research before making the soup because I didn’t want to go through the hassle of making it, if it wasn’t going to help, but it actually did. And it tasted really good too. A little trick I use is to roast the veggies and chicken instead of boiling it to retain more of the flavors.  This one was a keeper.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts with bones

2 chicken thighs

2 drumsticks

2 celery stalks

3 carrots

2 medium potatoes

6 cloves garlic

1 large onion

2 tbsp. fresh parsley

1 tbsp. fresh thyme

2 quarts chicken stock

2 cups noodles (I used linguine, but egg noodles would have worked too)

1 lemon wedge (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

First clean the chicken and season with salt and pepper.   In a large roasting pan, roast the chicken, onion, 2 carrots, 3 garlic cloves, and celery. Once the veggies and chicken is cooked, remove the skin from the chicken and begin shredding the chicken into pieces.  In a food processor, blend the juices that were rendered in the roasting dish, the carrot, onions, garlic and celery.  Blend until you have a paste.  In a stock pot, add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Using a fine mesh sieve, run the veggie paste through into the stock.  This will add body, color, and flavor to the soup. Chop the herbs and add to the soup. Next add the chicken pieces to the soup.  Peel and cube the potato and carrot and add to the soup along with the noodles. Allow to simmer until the veggies are tender, and the noodles are cooked. Lastly, grate the remaining garlic cloves and blend into the soup before serving. If you want to add a little vitamin c to this dish, go ahead a squeeze a little lemon juice before eating.  This soup will have you feeling better in no time!

Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 qt. chicken stock

4 cups water

1 can coconut milk

2 tsp sea salt

1 carrot

1 small potato

1 bunch green onions

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 tsp fresh chopped basil

1 tsp mushroom sauce

1 tbsp fresh minced ginger

1 tsp fish sauce

1 lime (juice only)

1 cup rice noodles

First add the stock and water to a pot and boil with the chicken breasts.  Once the chicken breasts are cooked, remove from the pot.  Strain the liquid into a bowl and pour back into the pot (this collects and removes the yucky foam that comes from the chicken breasts) Slice one large carrot thinly and on the bias. Peel the potato and cut into cubes. Mince the ginger as well. Add the ginger, carrots and potato to the stock and begin to cook. Mix in the fish sauce, lime juice and the mushroom sauce.  While that is cooking, begin slicing your chicken breasts in to bite size pieces, I cut them into a think angled sliced- I cut pretty much everything on an angle. Once the potatoes are tender, add the rice noodles.  Taste the soup and add salt if needed.  Pour in the coconut milk and combine.  Lastly, cut the green onions on the bias, chop the basil and cilantro and mix into the soup.

Turkey and Black Bean Chili:

4 lbs. ground turkey

4 Ancho Chiles

2 Pasilla Chiles

1 Green Bell Pepper

1 Red Bell Pepper

1 Yellow Onion

1 Red Onion

5 Cloves Garlic

1 Can Tomato Paste

1 Quart Chicken or Beef Stock

1 Bottle of Beer ( I used Heineken)

1 Can Diced Tomatoes

3 Tbsp. Olive Oil

3 Cans Black Beans (rinsed and drained)

1 Tbsp. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1 Tbsp. Cumin

3 Tbsp. Chili Powder

1 Tsp. Oregano

1 Tsp. Cayenne Powder

Kosher salt to taste

First brown the turkey and remove from pot until later. I used my Dutch oven to make this dish. In a small sauce pan bring 2 cups of water to a boil and turn off the heat once the water comes to a boil. Add the Ancho chilies to the pot and allow for them to sit for about 10 minutes or until they are reconstituted. Remove them from the pot and dice them, removing the stem and seeds. Place in a blender with a little bit of the water from the saucepan and blend on high speed to make a puree. Set aside for now. Drizzle a little olive oil in the Dutch oven. Begin dicing the onions and bell peppers and add to the Dutch oven once the oil is hot. Mince the garlic and toss into the pot with the onions and peppers. Once the onions and bell pepper are cooking a bit, begin roasting the pasilla chilies. I have a gas stove so I just turned on a burner and with a pair of tongs, roasted it on the burner until all the sides looked charred. Do the same thing for both chilies. Once the chilies are roasted, you can peel the skins- they come right off. Dice the chilies and add to the pot. Next add the spices: cumin, chili powder, cayenne, cocoa, oregano and salt and blend with the veggies. Add the chicken or beef stock, tomato paste, and the bottle of beer. Using a fine mesh sieve, strain the Ancho chili paste from the blender into the pot and combine well. Reintroduce the ground turkey into the pot. Add the black beans and diced tomatoes and allow the chili to simmer for about an hour before serving. Garnish with a little sour cream and serve with corn bread.

For the Cast Iron Skillet Cornbread:

1 Cup Flour

1 Cup Corn Meal

1 Tbsp. Baking Powder

1/2 Tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

1/4 Cup Fresh Corn Kernels

2 Tbsp. Blue Agave Nectar (if you don’t have this you can use sugar or honey)

1/4 cup Canola oil

1 Egg

1 1/4 Cup Plain Non-fat Yogurt

3 Tbsp. Butter

1/4 cup Water

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and combine well with the exception of the butter which will be used in the pan. Next whisk all of the wet ingredients together and fold into the dry ingredients bowl. Take the butter and add to the cast iron skillet. Allow for it to turn into a golden brown color and remove from the heat. Once the mixture is blended well, transfer to the skillet and then place the skillet into the oven. Bake for 35 minutes.