Pasta e Fagioli
The cookbook that I wrote almost fifteen years ago (!), Secrets of the Best Chefs, has a lentil soup in it so good, Smitten Kitchen wrote about it. That soup, which was taught to me by the late Gina DePalma, will live on in perpetuity as one of the great combinations of sausage, lentils, and tomatoes ever to exist in human history.
Spicy Fennel and Squash Soup with Candied Pepitas and Balsamic Pears
Garnishes are a game-changer when it comes to a pureed soup. What could pass easily as baby food, becomes something much more substantial and more interesting to eat when you add lots of little bobs and bits. I’ve noticed, when I’ve gone out to fancier meals, that pureed soups are almost always presented as a separate entity from the garnishes: you receive a bowl with lots of stuff in it and then a waiter pours the soup on top. Why can’t we do the same thing at home? I’m here to tell you that you can.
French Cabbage and Onion Soup
There are certain ingredients that food people adore that make normal people cringe. Take cabbage, for example. Last week, I told Craig I was going to cook a cabbage for dinner and it was as if I’d said, “Instead of going out for cocktails, let’s get our flu shots!”
