TASTY TIDBIT TUESDAY
I had such a good time cooking on Sunday; while my Pasta Fagiole was simmering away in my crock pot, I made another soup in a stock pot. If you are a working woman, you know why I’m cooking on Sunday to serve during the week and to freeze for that oh my God, I have nothing to make for dinner night. This very soup is for tonight – I just have to heat it up when we get home from the movies. I just can’t start cooking at 8:30pm, because if I do, I’ll be up till 1am on the computer.
Roasted Chicken anButternut Squash Soup
4 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
1 medium butternut squash (about 2 1/2 lbs), peeled, seeded, diced medium
1 small yellow onion diced medium
2 tbsp olive oil
coarse salt and ground pepper
ground cumin and ground coriander
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet, toss together the chicken, butternut squash, the onion and the oil. Season with coarse salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer and roast till squash and chicken are cooked through, about 30 minutes.
Transfer chicken to a plate and let cool. Transfer squash and onions to a medium pot and add 4 cups of low-sodium chicken broth or water and 1/4 tsp each ground cumin and ground coriander. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. With potato masher or back of wooden spoon, mash some vegetables till mixture is thick and chunky. Discard the skin and bones from chicken; cut meat into small pieces and add to soup. Stir in 1-2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice, season to taste. Serve topped with fresh cilantro if desired.
recipe from Martha Stewart’s Every Day Food
Although this soup is full of fiber, Vitamin C and Beta-carotene, my husband doesn’t think he has had a meal unless there is a green vegetable! On Saturday night I prepared some pan-steamed broccoletti using a method and recipe that Gus, my favorite Wegman’s chef had made and we sampled that day. So tonight with a bag of baby spinach in the fridge, I’m going to prepare the spinach the same way. It’s so simple and the most aspect to this is: I hate anchovies!, so needless to say when Gus said you put an anchovy in the oil, I started to make faces and squeamish sounds. He assured me I would not taste the anchovy and gave me a sample – He was right, of course. Here’s the method which is good way to prepare your vegetables.
Pan-Steamed Vegetable Technique
1/4 cup of olive oil
2 tsp chopped garlic,
1 or 2 anchovy fillets (or 1 1/2 tsp capers or 1 1/2 tsp olive tapenade)
1 1/2 lbs. vegetable
1/2 cup water
salt and cracked pepper to taste.
Heat the olive oil, garlic and anchovy on MEDIUM-LOW. Cook stirring 2-3 minutes till anchovy dissolves. Raise heat to HIGH. Add water, vegetables and salt. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer; cover. Cook stirring occasionally 8-12 minutes or until water is evaporated. Season to taste, finish with a squeeze of lemon juice, grated cheese and red pepper flakes if desired.
What I learned: Gus suggested if you are using anchovy fillets, you should probably skip the salt (I did). I also used 4 fillets (I still can’t believe it although I made my husband take them out of the jar) and still no anchovy taste however, I used two bunches of the broccoletti. The vegetables suggested by Wegman’s are thick and fibrous; cauliflower, broccoletti, romanesco, broccoli, green beans – they’re not leafy like my spinach so I’m not going to use that amount of water, I think the spinach would drown.
Recipe from Wegman’s MENU magazine
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