Late Summer Vegetable Soup

My whole household is fighting a summer cold right now, and I wanted something hearty that would be appealing for several meals over the next few days.  I decided to build a main dish around fresh green beans, while also including lots of other fresh seasonal vegetables.  The end of summer means that a plethora of New World vegetables are all in season simultaneously, not only several varieties of bean, but also tomatoes, potatoes, and zucchini.

Starting Point: Soupe au Pistou by Caroline Bretherton.

Soupe au Pistou is a Provençal dish made using summer vegetables and pasta, so it seemed well-suited for my purposes. Preparing New World variants of Mediterranean dishes is always a interesting challenge. On the one hand, many of the vegetables strongly associated with contemporary Mediterranean cooking--such as tomatoes, peppers, and squash--originate from the Americas.  On the other hand, without signature flavorings such as garlic and basil, Mediterranean dishes made with New World ingredients rarely have the distinctive flavors such dishes normally possess.

Pistou is a mashed garlic sauce that is traditionally prepared separately in a mortar and pestle and then spooned onto the soup at the time of serving.  Separate prepataion is less essential when excluding the customary parmesan cheese from the sauce, but I went ahead and did it anyway for this variation.

I started with a bunch of green onions (8-9), which are my usual substitute for ramps. I finely chopped the white and light green parts only, then mashed them in a large prep bowl with some kosher salt. I then peeled and chopped two tomatoes and drained away a majority of the liquid.  I added the tomatoes to the onions, as well as 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil, and 1/4 cup of finely ground pecans.  The pecans add an extra dimension of flavor to the sauce, and make up a bit for the absence of cheese. It's possible to make a closer vegan parmesan analogue using nuts, salt, and nutritional yeast, but I didn't have any of the latter on hand.

For the soup, I first quick-soaked 2 cups of dried navy beans for an hour, and then boiled them in water for 15 minutes. After draining the beans, I threw them in an extra-large saucepot with the vegetables: three more peeled and chopped tomatoes, four medium chopped zucchini, two medium diced russet potatoes, and about half a pound of sliced fresh green beans.  I covered the beans and vegetables with water, added plenty of J&D's Bacon Salt, and simmered (covered) for a little over an hour. I then added about 4 ounces of Ancient Harvest Gluten-Free elbow macaroni, which is made with a quinoa and corn flour blend (I found mine at my local Dierbergs supermarket). I kept simmering the soup for about another 8 minutes, until the pasta was al dente.

This soup should be served right away. Salt to taste and spoon on the sauce. Good stuff.

Jersusalem Artichokes with Black Beans

A few weeks ago I went searching for Jerusalem artichokes and found them at Global Foods, which is probably St. Louis' best international food store by a long shot.  I promptly forgot about these funky-looking tubers in my fridge, but they seemed to hold up pretty well even after a month.  However, I suspected they wouldn't last much longer, so this past weekend was the time to put them to work.

Also known as sunchokes, Jerusalem artichokes are neither from Jerusalem, nor artichockes.  They are the root of the perennial flowering forb Helianthus tuberosus, a member of the sunflower family, Asteraceae.  This is a diverse family that includes several significant food and horticulture crops, such as lettuce, true artichokes, chamomile, chicory, echinacea, marigolds, zinnias, and chrysanthemums. (It also includes some despised pest plants, such as ragweed.)

The root of H. tuberosus resembles ginger, and the flesh has the crisp quality of a water chestnut or jicama, as compared to the starchy, waxy quality of a potato.  The flavor isn't strong, but has a distinct, earthy sweetness.  H. tuberosus is native to North America, including the present-day United States, but cultivation has somewhat obscured its original range.  The exact date of domestication does not appear to be well-established, although the plant was being actively cultivated by Native Americans at the time of European contact.  H. tuberosus was transported to England in the early seventeenth century, and like sunflowers it now grows quite successfully in Europe.  Incidentally, a carbohydrate in Jerusalem artichokes causes--ahem--flatulence.  One of the plant's early English cultivators observed, "they stirre and cause a filthie loathsome wind within the bodie."

Starting Point: Jerusalem Artichokes with Black Beans by Carol Gelles.

This is fairly simple recipe using one small package of Jerusalem artichokes (about six small roots). After washing the roots thoroughly, I used a paring knife to slice off the tips of the knobs, where dirt can accumulate.  I then diced the root, leaving the skin on.  (Like potato skin, the 'choke skin is both hearty and edible.)  This yielded about 2 cups of diced 'chokes.

I heated 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  I then added 1/2 cup of sliced green onions (white and green parts only), which is my usual ramp substitute.  I cooked the onions, stirring, for about a minute and then added the 'chokes, 1/2 cup of my New World Harvest Vegetable Broth, and 1 tablespoon of pure cranberry juice (not cocktail).  I cooked the mixture, stirring, for about five minutes.  I then added 1 cup of black beans, which I had cooked the previous day from quick-soaked dry beans.

The resulting vegetable-legume medley is quite hearty, and very crisp even days later.  I recommend adding plenty of salt and pepper--or perhaps some thyme--to taste.

Quinoa Salad with Potato and Navy Beans

Following up on last week’s cupcakes, I wanted to work again with quinoa.  However, this time I was interested in cooking a stovetop whole-grain meal, as opposed to baking with quinoa flour.

Starting Point: Giada de Laurentiis’ Quinoa and Purple Potato Salad

The original recipe seems to be designed as a visually appealing Peruvian-Italian fusion side dish.  Not only did I want to shift away from the Old World ingredients, but I wanted something much more utilitarian: a hearty grain-potato-legume salad that I could have as a main dish every day for the next week.

Instead of gardens peas, my variation on this salad used small navy beans.  I used dry, bagged beans, not canned.  I first applied the so-called “quick-soak” on them: boiling 2 cups of beans in water for five minutes, removing the pot from heat, and then letting the beans sit in the warm water for an hour.  I then drained the soaked beans, transferred them back into fresh water, and cooked them at a simmer for an additional two hours.

Purple potatoes are attractive and all, but large red potatoes worked just fine for my purposes. I prepared two large potatoes as directed: unpeeled, cut into cubes, boiled for 15 minutes, and drained.

I moved on to the dressing next.  Instead of black olives, I used Bella Sun Luci sun-dried tomato halves, going for the soft, bagged variety, rather than the kind packed in jars with oil.  I used sunflower oil instead of olive oil, and pure cranberry juice (not a blend or cocktail) instead of lime juice.  I left out the oregano and swapped 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper for the 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.  All of these I combined with light agave nectar and salt in my 3-cup food processor.  I then refrigerated the resulting dressing while I prepared the quinoa.

For the quinoa, I added 2 cups of Bob’s Red Mill Organic Whole Grain Quinoa to 4 cups of Swanson organic vegetable broth (stretched with a little water).   Instead of garlic, I used the bulbs from about four green onions, which are a good substitute for the flavor of wild leeks, or ramps.  After bringing the quinoa, broth, and onions to a boil, I let the mixture simmer for 20 minutes, giving it a thorough stir every few minutes.  There was no need to remove the onions once the quinoa was cooked.  After letting the quinoa rest for a few minutes off of the heat, I combined it with the beans and potatoes in a large bowl.  I then added the dressing and tossed.

The result is perhaps I little heavier on the quinoa than I was initially anticipating, much more of a grain dish than what one typically thinks of as a salad.  Swapping beans for peas makes it even heartier.  Ultimately, I think of it as a South American version of succotash.  Accordingly, next time I might try a more vegetable-like bean, such as lima beans.

This dish can be eaten cold like any potato salad, but I prefer it hot.  I’ve been eating it with a little leftover wild rice, just to add yet another whole grain to the mix.