Tomato-free Minestrone (The Best Minestrone in the World)

As a cook, I have a significant limitation. Or, rather, a blind spot. I don't like tomato soups. Or tomato sauces.

I can hear the hisses now.

I know, I know, I've been told thousands of times just how wrong I am, how *amazing* tomato soups are. I would like to believe you. Lord knows, I've tried the so-called "best" tomato soup hundreds of times. And yet? Well, I haven't been bowled over. So needless to say, minestrone soup has never been on my top ten of favorite soups. Too much tomato.

But then, as if by magic, the Guardian realized the horrors of my minestrone-less lifestyle and compensated accordingly. In their regular column on how to make the "best of" anything, Felicity Cloake featured a minestrone recipe that was tomato-free!! And to call it the *best* minestrone recipe...well, obviously I was immediately on board.

And, well, it was. It was the best minestrone soup ever. Easy, light, but perfect for cold winter nights. The best part was you could substitute any vegetable you had at hand in the recipe. So the soup changes with the seasons and with your whims. Perfect.

The secret glory to this soup is the Parmesan rind. Throw it in with the broth and you'll create the most wonderfully rich broth. Thicker than just a standard vegetable or chicken broth, the rind infuses the broth with a great hint of cheesiness (of course, adding Parmesan on *top* of the soup at the end also doesn't hurt).

Don't feel obliged to stick to the vegetables below. These just happened to be what I had on hand that evening. But, at the very least, I highly recommend some spinach, pasta, beans and the potato. Together they give a great variety to the soup. But experiment with any of your favorite veggies. You almost can't go wrong.

Serves 4

Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve
1 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed
2 carrots, cut into 1cm dice
2 sticks of celery, cut into 1cm dice
Seasonal vegetables of your choice (at the moment, 2 summer squash, diced, handful of fresh or frozen peas or broad beans, half a head of broccoli, diced, a large bunch of Swiss chard, shredded)
1.5l good quality chicken stock

1 Parmesan rind
1 potato, cut into 2cm dice
100g cooked and drained cannellini beans (or one can)
200g pasta (any variety, but I like bow ties in particular)
Grated Parmesan and a few basil leaves, to serve

1. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan and add the onion and garlic. Soften over a medium heat for 5 minutes, without allowing them to colour, then add the carrots and soften. Repeat with the celery.

2. Add the rest of the seasonal vegetables in order of cooking time (zucchini and broccoli will take longer than peas or fresh beans for example) and allow to soften slightly – they don't need to cook through at this point. Stir in the potato.

3. Add the stock, the beans, the Parmesan rind, and pasta. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes until the potato and pasta are cooked. Season to taste.

4. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, a grating of parmesan and some torn basil leaves.

This soup is also fabulous as a leftover. Reheat and add more stock to loosen it up.

Baked Eggs with Yogurt and Chile

I am a recent convert to the baked egg. For years, I slaved away poaching, boiling, and scrambling. Who knew the wonders awaiting me if I just popped those puppies in the oven? Even with this recent knowledge, my collection of baked egg recipes has been relatively small. Once again, it has been the year of the Yotam. Faced with an abundance of eggs and chard, his Turkish-inspired baked eggs convinced me yet again that this may be the best egg preparation ever.

Take a simple recipe of baked eggs and add flavored yogurt and butter to it. Heaven. Absolute heaven. I mean, I'm sure the eggs and chard by themselves would be lovely, the two toppers to this meal sent the experience over the edge. And it's easy. Dead easy. Don't skip on either the yogurt or butter. You'll hate yourself for it later.

Serves 2

Ingredients
3/4 lb (about 14 cups) arugula or chard
2 tbsp olive oil
salt
4 eggs
3/4 cup Greek yogurt
2 garlic cloves, crushd
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon plain chile flakes
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
6 sage leaves, shredded

Method
Preheat the oven to 300 F. Place the arugula/chard and oil in a large pan, add some salt and saute on a medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the arugula wilts and most of the liquid has evaporated.

Transfer to a small ovenproof dish and make four deep indentations in the arugula. Carefully break an egg into each hollow, taking care not to break the yolk. Place in the oven to cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the egg whites have set.

While the eggs are in the oven, mix the yogurt with the garlic and a pinch of salt. Stir well and set aside; do not chill.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the chile and paprika and a pinch of salt and fry for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the butter starts to foam and turns a nice golden-red. Add the sage and cook for a few more seconds. Remove from the heat.

Once the eggs are cooked take them out of the oven. Spoon the yogurt over the center and pour the hot chile butter over the yogurt and egg. Serve immediately.

Potato and Swiss Chard Gratin

I submit that it is impossible to take a "stunning" photo of gratin. I mean, everyone (I believe) can agree that cheese and potatoes are one of the most delicious combinations ever devised by man, but the advent of the camera has not done the gratin justice visually. Of course, I say this knowing that the New York Times (from which this recipe comes) has produced some sort of visual delight to make everyone ooh and ahh over the "photogeneity" of the beloved dish.

Ah well, ce la vie. This dish is indeed delicious and it even tries to up the gratin ante by sticking Swiss chard in (perhaps to give us the illusion that we are indeed eating "vegetables). For me, the poor chard was lost amongst the cheese and starch and so I would increase the amount if I were to be make it a second time, but believe me, I'm not complaining about the first run.
Prepare thy arteries to be clogged.

Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

Salt

1 pound Swiss chard leaves and slender stems, stems cut into 1/4-inch cubes

2 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 garlic clove, smashed

1 small shallot, sliced

2 thyme sprigs

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

3 pounds (6 to 8 medium) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled

1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature

Pepper

6 ounces grated Gruyère

Method

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees, and place rack in the center. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; set a bowl of ice water on the side. Boil the chard leaves until tender, 3 to 5 minutes, then transfer with a slotted spoon to the ice water. Squeeze them dry and chop roughly. Boil the diced stems until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain well and add to chopped chard leaves.

2. In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream, garlic, shallot, thyme and bay leaf to a simmer. Cook until reduced by half, about 25 minutes. Strain out the solids and add the nutmeg.

3. Meanwhile, slice the potatoes into 1/8-inch-thick rounds with a mandoline or sharp knife. Butter a 12- to 14-inch gratin dish. Assemble the gratin by layering the ingredients in this order: a single, slightly overlapping layer of one-third of the potato slices, a sprinkling of salt and pepper, one-third of the Gruyère, half the Swiss chard and one-third of the reduced cream. Repeat once, and then top with one more layer of potato, salt and pepper, and the rest of the Gruyère and cream.

4. Bake until the top is browned and the potatoes are fork-tender, about 45 minutes.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.