Simple Broccoli Rabe Soup: Breaking Winter's Back

According to my Farmer's Almanac, winter's back is broken on February 16th. I have a problem with that, because I am totally tired of the cold, spotty snow and general grayness we've had this winter NOW. I am officially  sick of winter. Either give us one good, deep, real snow, or just go away, Old Man Winter, and let us have spring.

Well, I'm sure that helped a lot. About as effective as trying to bail the ocean with a thimble. But I have other ways of keeping winter at bay, and yes, many of them involve food, chocolate or planes heading south. One of my favorites is a soup I took for granted as a child. Well, technically it isn't necessarily called a soup. It's one of the most comforting things I can think of to make a late winter day bearable: good greens, cooked in good stock with lots of garlic. Love in a bowl from an Italian grandma, I tell you. 

Greens are always one of the first things to pop up in the market at this time of year, because once February hits, it's already spring somewhere. So the greens are already starting to look good, not tired as they look in December. The broccoli rabe was very nice this week, tender not big and tough and woody, but if it isn't nice when you shop, just substitute some escarole or baby kale. Even spinach, just don't cook it so long. Look for greens that will cook to tender in less than 15 minutes; leave the braising greens like mature kale or collards for another dish.

If you have some homemade stock, some garlic, oil and your favorite greens, you are about 10 minutes from making the basic black dress of soups. You can dress it up innumerable ways. I like a dusting of Parmesan or Romano over the top, or a slice of toast (a crostini) grilled with some Gruyere on top afloat in the bowl, or even some small pasta like orzo, tubetini or pastene cooked in the soup. Leftover diced chicken or turkey, or tofu...all good. This soup hints of spring, and really will break winter's back.

This dish, basically greens cooked in broth, is only as good as your ingredients. If your broth isn't great, neither will your soup be great. If you use chicken broth, it should sing of chicken, if vegetable, it should be rich and robustly flavored. It should be utterly delicious served just as it is. Not a place to use up tired or worn out vegetables, sprouty garlic, or cheap boxed broth.

Italian greens in broth: Simple Broccoli Rabe soup

Simple Broccoli Rabe Soup

4 - 6 Servings

Ingredients:

1T extra virgin olive oil

3 - 4 garlic cloves, minced or thinly sliced

2-1/2 quarts chicken or vegetable broth

1 large bunch broccoli rabe, tough stems removed,  chopped 

Pinch dry oregano

Pinch or more of red pepper flakes

salt and fresh ground black pepper

Optional additions: 2 oz. small pasta like orzo or  pastene , croutons, slice bread  toasted and topped with cheese.

1. Heat the olive oil in a 4 quart or larger saucepan over medium-high heat. When it thins and ripples, add the garlic, and stir a minute or so until the garlic is coated in oil and fragrant.

2. Pour in the broth and bring to a boil. Add the broccoli rage, the oregano, and the red pepper flakes, bring back to a simmer, and cook about 10 minutes, or until the largest stems of the rabe are soft. Taste for salt and black pepper and season accordingly.

Note: if you want some sort of pasta in this, add to the broth just after the broccoli rabe and if it's the tiny stuff, it should be done when the rabe is cooked.

Roughly chopped broccoli rabe: looks almost springlike, huh?

Italian Penicillin: Chicken Tortellini Soup

Italian Penicillin: Chicken Tortellini Soup

I whomped up this soup for my sister-in-law this morning. Granted, what she’s got is going to need a lot more than soup, but for the moment, soup will have to do. I’ve always called this soup Italian Penicillin, as it’s been known to cure middling sniffles, broken hearts and occasional hangovers. It’s a rich, chickeny chicken soup on steroids: Double strength chicken stock bolstered up by more chicken. Add in a nice mix of vegetables, herbs, some pesto or cheese tortellini, and serve it up in a big bowl sprinkled with good Parmesan. At this point it ceases to be a bowl of soup and becomes a bowl of love. That's all I can do for her right now, a big warm hug in a bowl.

Please try this recipe and feed it to those you love.

Notes: If you don’t make your own rich chicken stock, (I'll post a killer version that'll give you stock like this soon) I suggest looking for 4 quarts of no salt added chicken stock (it exists) and cooking it down by half. Or use the low sodium, boil it down, and add NO salt to the soup until you taste it. If you can’t find small dried soup tortellini, either use the small dried soup ravioli, or just add fresh or frozen regular tortellini after the vegetables are tender and cook for as long as the package directions tell you to.

Chicken Tortellini Soup aka Italian Penicillin

Serves 6

2 quarts of double strength low or unsalted chicken stock

4 large chicken thighs with skin and bone

1 large onion diced

1 cup sliced celery

1 cup diced carrots

2 garlic cloves minced

1 14.5- oz. can diced tomatoes with liquid

1T dry basil

1T dry oregano

1 tsp. dry thyme

2 bay leaves

pinch of hot pepper flakes

1 quart of water

½ pound of small dried soup tortellini (pesto or cheese filled)

1 10-oz. bag of baby spinach

Black pepper and salt to taste

Grated Parmesano Reggiano for serving, or a Pecorino Romano

Get a big soup pot, at least 8 quarts and dump the chicken thighs in, and then add the chicken stock. Bring it to a boil on high heat, cover, lower the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes until the chicken is tender. Remove the chicken to a plate with a slotted spoon and let it cool a bit.

Turn the heat back up under the now-enriched stock, and add everything up to and including the extra quart of water. Bring again to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes. Pick the chicken meat off the bones, cut into bite sized pieces and add the meat to the soup pot. Discard the skin and bones. Add the tortellini and cook about 15-20 minutes until they soften. Taste one to see if they’re done. Stir in the spinach and cook for two minutes. Add a little more water if it's not soupy enough as those tortellini can be thirsty!

Serve in a big bowl and pass the Parm or Romano on the side. Or put some in a big jar and take it to someone who needs a hug.