Zuppa Bianca (Italian White Soup)

From what I've read, traditionally a zuppa bianca is creamy from the white beans in it, often part of them being blended to thicken the soup.  I didn't want to use that many beans in mine, so I thought I'd try my own spin on the soup and it came out fantastic!
I started with homemade stock that Justin had made the day before.

I'll remind you again - SAVE ALL YOUR VEGGIE ENDS AND BONES!  Every time we cut off broccoli stems, carrot ends, onion ends, herb stems, and leftover bones we throw them into a Ziplock bag and stick 'em in the freezer.  Sooner or later you've got a full bag and you can put it all in a stock pot, add water, and make your own stock!  It's so easy, you're using every bit of the vegetable, and it's worth it to make homemade stock!

I also wanted to add anchovy, pepper, fennel and mushrooms to my zuppa bianca... also not traditional as far as I can tell, but man, they were a killer, tasty addition!  Served it up with some crusty bread and that was all you needed!  It might have been good with a little fresh Parmesan grated onto it, but we didn't have any.

This recipe makes a huge batch... you could probably half the recipe and it'd be fine, but being that I made it in a huge batch, that's the quantities I'm throwing at you.  I say make a huge batch and you can freeze the leftovers to pull out later when you don't feel like cooking.  That's what we do.

I love punk rock.  But there's a lot of old music that I really love too - I think I can sing more songs from the 60s than most people who lived through the 60s... though drugs might have something to do with that for a lot of folks.  So when punk bands cover songs from the 60s, it's no surprise that I usually love them.  (I never even stood a chance with the Gimmes.)  So let's listen to the Adolescents covering Eric Burdon and The Animals' "House of the Rising Sun"... the only song I was ever able to play on the organ, but probably can't now.  Plus... how many punk songs can you name with a harmonica solo?  -jen

ZUPPA BIANCA
Time:  about 1 hour
Difficulty:  Easy
Makes: 

• 1 pound ground spicy Italian sausage
  
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 anchovies packed in oil
• 1 cup diced celery (about 2 large stalks)
• 1 cup diced carrots (about 2 medium
• 1 cup diced fennel bulb (about 1 medium), reserve 1/4 cup of the fronds, chopped
• 1 cup diced green bell pepper (about 1 large)
• 2.5 cups diced onions (about 1 large)
• 3 cups diced crimini mushrooms
• 1.5 tablespoons minced garlic (about 5 medium cloves)
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt plus extra
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3 quarts chicken stock
• 2 cups 1/2" cubed potatoes (about 1 large potato), skin on
• 1 can (14oz) white beans, reserve liquid
• 3 cups chopped kale (remember to remove stems)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup chopped basil
• 1/3 cup chopped parsley
• lemon wedges

In a large stock pot over medium-high heat, brown the Italian sausage.  Remove sausage and set aside.  Leave 2 tablespoons of the sausage fat in the pot, discard the rest.  (That was all I actually got out of my sausage, but some sausage is fattier than others.)  Add olive oil and the anchovies to the sausage fat in the pot and cook 1 minute.  Add celery, carrots, fennel bulb, bell pepper, onions, mushrooms, garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, white pepper and 1 teaspoon salt.  Cook, stirring intermittently, until vegetables begin to soften and onions are just turning translucent.  Add white wine and cook another 2-3 minutes.  Add chicken stock, potatoes and the liquid from the beans (don't add the beans yet).  Turn heat to high and bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer.  Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10-12 minutes (fish one out and test it).  Once potatoes are tender, add cooked sausage, beans, kale, heavy cream, basil, parley and the reserved chopped fennel fronds.  Taste the soup and add salt or pepper if necessary.  Serve each bowl with a wedge of lemon to squeeze onto the soup.

Italian Sausage & Lentil Soup

The lentil soup was really new for me.  I'm sure I'd had lentils in soup before, but I have no immediate memory of it.  I know we didn't grow up eating lentils.  Believe it or not, we DO try to eat healthy at home most the time.  And in an effort to better our carb intake (which means cut out the bad carbs and add in the good ones that are low on the glycemic index - ooh, science!), we picked up some green lentils.  They sat in our pantry for a couple of months before I pulled them out and just decided to throw together a random soup... which was deliciously successful.  I'm not even sure it's fair to call this a "soup".  I wanted something a little thicker and hardier, so I suppose it's almost stew-like.  Whatever it is, it's good.  And that's what counts.

We rocked out with our friend Betsy's excellent Boston choice - The Unseen, singing "False Hope".  -jen

ITALIAN SAUSAGE & LENTIL SOUP

• 1 pound Italian sausage (I used 1/2 mild, 1/2 hot)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 ribs celery, chopped
• 3 large carrots, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 2 Anaheim peppers, chopped
• 1 jalapeño, chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 1.5 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 can (14.5oz) peeled tomatoes
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups lentils
• 1/4 cup sherry
• dash of hot sauce
• dash of Worcestershire
• salt and pepper to taste

In a stock pot over medium-high heat, brown sausage.  When nearly cooked through, add 2 tablespoons of butter.  Then add onion, celery, carrots, bell pepper, Anaheim peppers, and jalapeño.  Cook until onions are just becoming translucent.  Add garlic basil, thyme and rosemary, cooking for another 2 minutes.  Sprinkle flour over vegetable and sausage mixture, stirring to mix in and cook 5 more minutes.  Then add tomatoes, chicken broth, lentils, sherry, hot sauce and Worcestershire.  Bring to a boil, then turn down heat and simmer for 30 minutes until lentils are tender.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Served here with kale chips!

That's A Spicy-a Meataballa!

Alright, I'll admit it. We were watching Disney's Lady & the Tramp.  We still have hearts, man.  Souls.  Feelings.  We don't always want to punch some smarts into people.  Sometimes we just want to watch some freakin' feel good Disney movies!  And laugh at the awful, ethnic stereotypes - "Whattsa matta for you, Joe!  I break-a your face!"  That's family entertainment!  And also a direct quote from the movie.  And then we craved meatballs!  So we made them.

We try meatballs anywhere we can... and we are disappointed, every time.  Too dry.  Too mealy.  Too big.  Too bland.  Well I'm going to go out on a limb and say that these are the best meatballs I've ever had.  They were perfect (for what we like).  I spiced the hell out of these balls, because Justin made the sauce, and he was feeling like a less-seasoned marinara than we usually make, so they balanced each other out perfectly.  The combo was killer.  And we're not big on pasta... we eat it now and then, but we don't crave it, so we just ate our Meatballs and Marinara with some rustic buttered bread.

And Fugazi... need I say more? "Waiting Room".  It's my favourite Fugazi song; I'm not alone there.  But I'm not alone there for a reason. -jen

BASIC MARINARA

• 2 cans (28oz each) whole, peeled tomatoes
• 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1/4 cup chopped celery greens
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2-3 tablespoons minced garlic (depending on taste)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1 teaspoon rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup Marsala wine
• 1 can (14oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 shot (1.5 oz) dry Sherry
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Empty whole tomatoes into a large bowl and break them down with your hands so that they're crushed.  (Careful, they squirt!  Wear an apron or be prepared!)  Set aside.

In a stock pot, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil to medium-high heat.  Add chopped onion and celery greens and sweat until onion is translucent, 3-5 minutes.  Then add minced garlic and red pepper flakes.  Cook an additional 2 minutes.  Add fresh basil, oregano, marjoram, rosemary, bay leaves, salt and black pepper.  Cook another 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Then add Marsala and let reduce for a couple of minutes.  Add the tomato sauce and whole tomatoes that were crushed earlier.  Simmer, covered, for 1 hour, then blend with a stick/immersion blender or pour into food processor and carefully blend (it's hot!) and return to stock pot.

Simmer uncovered for an additional 1.5 hours (You can start making your meatballs here).  Ten minutes before it's done, add Sherry and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil.  (For a spicier, more seasoned version of this sauce, we just add an additional 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning and 1 teaspoon Thudium's Herb Seasoning.)

Note: All the simmering and cooking down isn't absolutely necessary if you're in a hurry, but it definitely helps the flavour of your sauce if you have the time.

SPICY MEATBALLS

• 3 slices bread, cubed small
• 1 cup milk
• 1.5 pounds 15/85 ground beef (we used Angus beef, yum)
• 1.5 pounds Italian sausage
• 1 egg yolk, beaten
• 2 medium shallots, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or Romano or Asiago)
• 3 tablespoons salt
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 4 teaspoons dry Italian seasoning (or a variation or oregano, thyme, rosemary)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
•  1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a small bowl, soak bread and milk.  In a large bowl, combine all remaining ingredients.  Squeeze out some of the milk from the bread and crumble the soaked bread into the mixture, just mixing until combined.  Refrigerate for about an hour.  Place a baking rack over a baking sheet and roll meatballs about 2" in diameter.  Place on rack and partially bake meatballs for 12 to 15 minutes at 375 degrees F.


Using tongs, place the hot meatballs into the simmering marinara and cook for another 15 minutes or until internal temperature of meatballs reaches 140 degrees F.  (If you want to bake the meatballs in the oven until completely cooked through because you won't be cooking them in sauce, bake for a total of 20-25 minutes.)