Cooking for Two (4 page)

ESCAROLE, WHITE BEAN,
and
ROASTED GARLIC SOUP
makes
2 servings

L
ettuce soup? Well, not exactly. This is an Italian classic, a satisfying stew of tender white beans and wilted escarole, a green related to frisée or curly endive, but much sweeter, once only available in early summer but now in our markets year-round, thanks largely to Spanish farmers. Traditionally, this soup is thickened with egg yolks or cream—but a roasted garlic purée makes the broth light yet very aromatic. Since escarole can be sandy, wash it carefully before adding it to the saucepan.

1.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Loosely wrap the garlic cloves in a small piece of aluminum foil. Bake for 40 minutes, or until quite soft and sweet-smelling. Open the packet and set aside to cool.

2.
Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Swirl in the oil, add the pancetta, and sauté for 2 minutes, or until just browned and frizzled at the edges, stirring frequently. Toss in the onion and cook for 3 minutes, or until pale but very fragrant, stirring often.

3.
Add the escarole and cook only for about 1 minute, just until the greens begin to wilt, tossing them occasionally with two wooden spoons or tongs. Stir in the stock and sage, then raise the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a simmer. Reserve ¼ cup of the beans in a small bowl; stir the remainder into the soup. Cover the saucepan, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes.

4.
Meanwhile, squeeze the garlic pulp from its papery hulls into the bowl with the reserved beans. Discard the hulls. Mash the pulp and beans with a fork until smooth. Alternatively, place the reserved beans and the roasted garlic pulp in a mini food processor and pulse 5 or 6 times, or until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

5.
After the soup has cooked for 20 minutes, stir a small amount of the soup broth (say, ½ cup) into the bean-garlic purée, just to dissolve it, then stir this mixture back into the soup, along with the grated cheese. Stir just until the cheese melts, season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately.

Top each bowl with 1 tablespoon chopped, pitted black olives, or a small amount of purchased caponata (Sicilian eggplant salad). Since both olives and caponata can be quite salty, reduce the amount of salt in the soup to
teaspoon, or none at all.

Place a toasted round of bread in each bowl before adding the soup. For a richer soup, drizzle each toasted round with extra-virgin olive oil before placing them in the bowls.

Crack 2 large eggs into small custard cups or teacups. After you swirl in the garlic purée, but before you add the cheese, slip the eggs into the soup. Cover and continue cooking over low heat for 3 minutes, or until the eggs are poached. Gently ladle the soup and one egg into each serving bowl, then top each bowl with half the cheese. Season with salt and pepper before serving.

CELERY ROOT AND ALMOND SOUP
with
ROASTED SHALLOTS
makes
2 servings

T
his is a creamy soup, based on a standard served in Parisian bistros, but thickened with ground almonds. It’s a sumptuous soup because of the celery root (also called celeriac), a globular root from a variety of stalk celery, prized for its powerful celery taste with parsley overtones. Look for a celery root that is firm, compact, and spherical (the latter to make peeling it easier). A vegetable peeler will remove most of the leathery skin, but use a paring knife to cut out the deeper crevasses.

1.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the almonds on a baking sheet and toast them for about 6 minutes, or until lightly browned, turning occasionally. Remove them from the oven, but maintain its temperature.

2.
Place the shallots in a small baking dish; toss them with the oil. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until soft and caramelized, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool.

3.
Meanwhile, grind all but 2 tablespoons of the toasted almonds until powdery in a large spice grinder or a mini food processor. Set the sliced almonds and the almond powder aside separately.

4.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan set over low heat. Sprinkle the onion into the butter, stir to coat, and then cook for 3 minutes, or until pale and translucent, stirring frequently. Do not brown the onion pieces, to ensure that the final soup will remain creamy white. If the onion does begin to brown, reduce the heat even further, or remove the pan from the heat for a minute or so to cool it down. (If the onion browns, the final taste will not be affected—just the appearance.)

5.
Sprinkle the flour evenly over the onion, then whisk to combine. Continue cooking and whisking for 20 seconds so that the flour loses its raw taste, but do not brown the flour. Whisk in the stock and wine, raise the heat to medium-high, bring the mixture to a simmer, and continue whisking over the heat for about 30 seconds, or until thickened. Slip the celery root into the soup, stir well, and bring the mixture back to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the celery root is tender when pierced with a fork, stirring occasionally.

6.
Pour the thick, aromatic soup into a large blender or a food processor fitted with the chopping blade. If using a mini food processor, you will need to work in batches. Pulse 8 or 9 times, until puréed, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary. Return the puréed soup to the saucepan set over low heat; whisk in the ground almonds, cream, salt, white pepper (if using), and the nutmeg. Cook and whisk for about 1 minute, just until heated through. Cover, remove from the heat, and let stand for 5 minutes to infuse the taste of the almonds into the soup. Meanwhile, roughly chop the shallots for a garnish.

7.
Divide the soup between two bowls. Top each with half the chopped shallots and half the toasted almonds. Serve immediately.

F
RESH
P
EA
S
OUP
makes
2 light servings

B
ecause they show up in many markets in mid-May, or even earlier in parts of the South and West, fresh peas signal late spring. Or they’re a harbinger of summer, ready and full just before the first heat wave, a blow that strikes them bland and shriveled. Here’s an easy way to turn them into a light, tasty soup at their peak. Nonfat milk actually works best because the delicate taste of the peas is not overwhelmed by too much creaminess. Serve this soup warm or cold, depending on whether you’ve made it ahead—and the day’s weather!

1.
Bring the milk to a light boil in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 4 minutes, or until reduced by half, stirring occasionally. Cover the pan and set aside off the heat.

2.
Bring the pea pods (not the shelled peas), carrot, onion, and water to a boil in a medium saucepan set over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

3.
Strain the vegetables and their light broth through a fine-mesh sieve, a chinoise, or a colander lined with cheesecloth, sit over a bowl. Discard the vegetable solids, return the broth to the saucepan, and set over medium-high heat. Bring the broth back to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes, or until reduced to 1 cup. Add the shelled peas and
cook for only 30 seconds, just until their color turns a shockingly bright green.