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.

African Sweet Potato and Peanut Soup

This recipe originally made its debut during the 2011 Turducken Extravaganza (about which, more later). We were in desperate need of a sweet potato recipe, but I was unwilling to do the same-old sweet potato casserole, complete with brown sugar or marshmallows. Now, don't get me wrong, I love sweet potato casserole, but with the thousands of courses and pot luck dishes we had that night, the casserole would have been lost in the shuffle. So we needed a new way to put the traditional ingredient in the Thanksgiving dinner.

And soup was the perfect answer. It started off the meal with a neo-traditional punch (there's a great smokiness to this recipe. Not hot, but a nice warmth) and it let everyone in the room know we meant business. And it was gobbled up. Literally. The soup went in about 5 minutes flat, an indication of a crowd pleaser if ever there was one.

Now, I prefer this soup with a nice hearty garnish of cilantro/coriander, but I know how some people feel about the stuff. Taking that into consideration, the soup does just fine with a garnish of peanuts, giving it a great texture.

Also, don't worry if you can't find unsalted dry roasted peanuts. The first time I made this recipe, I searched high and low for them in vain. I eventually relented and bought some salted peanuts, fearing that my soup would resemble a salt lick. But never fear! As long as you decrease the salt you add alongside the vegetables when cooking, your soup should remain thankfully un-salt licked.

Serves 6

Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground cloves
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped (feel free to add more if you want a more sweet potato taste to the soup)
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
4 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped, unsalted dry-roasted peanuts (plus more for garnish)
1 pinch cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 bunch chopped fresh cilantro

Method
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute the onion 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Mix in the garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and cloves. Stir in the tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrot, and continue to cook and stir about 5 minutes.

Pour water into the saucepan, and season the mixture with salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.

Remove the soup mixture from heat. In a food processor or blender, blend the soup and peanuts until almost smooth. Season with cayenne pepper. Return to the saucepan. Whisk in the peanut butter, and cook until heated through.

Serve warm topped with fresh cilantro and some chopped peanuts.

Beet, Orange, and Black Olive Salad

Yes, yes, I know. This is an unusual flavor combination. If I saw this item on a restaurant menu, I'd think "how bizarre" and order something far more prosaic, like a Caesar or Cobb, or some other salad named after someone.

But I found myself in an increasingly common situation. The need to use up the plethora of vegetables that arrive in the weekly box. My parents have jumped on the proverbial vegetable box band wagon and now, like my own house, they take each week's box as a challenge. A challenge to use up the sometimes bizarre varieties of fruits and vegetables that arrive on their doorstep every Friday morning, delivered by a veritable vegetable Santa.

And this week? It was beets. Beets and oranges. Now, oranges, sure. Everyone can use oranges one way or another. But beets present a different kind of challenge. And beets and oranges together? Madness. Surely.

But trust Yotam to not only face the beet and orange issue head-on, but also throw another unusual item into the mix: black olives. In his preface to this recipe, he makes some claim about the wonderful blend between the sweetness of the oranges and the spiciness of the olives. I thought this was all blather, until I made the salad. And bizarrely, he was right. Eating the olive right after the orange and beet highlighted the special spiciness of Kalamata olives, balancing it perfectly with the citrus. And, again, I had to bow to those more knowledgeable than myself.

Try it, I dare you. You might actually like it.

Serves 2 generously

Ingredients
5 small or 2 large beets
2 oranges
1 bunch chard (or 1 Treviso or red chicory)
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
3 tbsp chopped parsley
5 tbsp black olives, pitted and halved (try to find Greek black olives of the dry and wrinkled variety)
3 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp orange flavoring (optional or orange flower water)
1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and black pepper

Method
Preheat oven to 400 F. Place the beets in a roasting tin unpeeled and pop them into the oven for an hour to an hour and a half, until they are soft when prodded with a knife. Once tender, remove them from the oven and let them cool. Once cool, peel the beets and then cut each beet into wedges about 1 inch thick. Place the beets in a mixing bowl.

Take the oranges and use a small sharp knife to trim off their tops and bases. Now cut down the sides of the oranges, following their natural curves, to remove the skin and white pith. Over a small bowl, remove the segments from the oranges by slicing between the membranes. Transfer the segments and juice to the bowl with the beets; discard the membrane.

Cut the chard into bite-size pieces (or, if using the chicory, slice it vertically into 1 inch thick slices).

Finally, add the remaining ingredients and toss everything together gently. Taste and adjust seasonings and serve.

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.

Sweet Corn Polenta with Eggplant Sauce

I have yet to find a polenta-based dish I don't adore. And Yotam was kind enough to provide me with yet another means of enjoying some sweet corn action, combined with a glorious Italian eggplant sauce.

Now, fair warning, this is not standard polenta. You create a polenta-type meal from fresh corn kernels, butter, and feta and you blitz it all to oblivion. And how could that be wrong?

I used the eggplant sauce that Yotam recommends with the dish, but really, you can use any of your favorite polenta topping with this one. Cheese, mushrooms, the list is endless if you're as big a polenta fan as I am. But the eggplant sauce is good and perfect for a cold winter's night.

Serves 4

Ingredients

Eggplant Sauce
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 medium eggplant, cut into 3/4-inch dice
2 tsp tomato paste
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup chopped peeled tomatoes (fresh or canned)
6 1/2 tbsp water
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp chopped oregano

Polenta
6 ears of corn
2 1/4 cups water
3 tbsp butter, diced
7 oz feta, crumbled
1/4 tsp salt
black pepper

Method

Eggplant Sauce
Heat up oil in a large saucepan and fry the eggplant on medium heat for about 15minutes, or until nicely brown. Drain off as much oil as you can and discard it. Add the tomato paste to the pan and stir with the eggplant. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the wine and cook for 1 minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, water, salt, sugar, oregano and cook for a further 5 minutes to get a deep-flavored sauce. Set aside; warm it up when needed.

Polenta
Remove the leaves and silk from each ear of corn, then chop off the pointed top and stalk. Stand each ear upright on its base and use a sharp knife to shave off the kernels. You want to have 1 1/4 lbs of kernels.

Place the kernels in a medium saucepan and cover them with the 2 1/4 cups water. Cook for 12 minutes on a low simmer. Use a slotted spoon to lift the kernels from the water and into a food processor (or just use an immersion blender to save space and time) and reserve the cooking liquid. Process/Blend them for quite a few minutes, to break as much of the kernel case as possible. Add some of the cooking liquid if the mixture becomes too dry to process.

Now return the corn paste to the pan with the cooking liquid and cook, while stirring, on low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the mixture thickens to a mashed potato consistency. Fold in the butter, the feta, salt, and some pepper and cook for a further 2 minutes. Taste and add more salt if needed.

Divide the polenta among shallow bowls and spoon some warm eggplant sauce in the center.