Week 91: Sourdough and Tomato Soup

Today's assignment: make a delicious tomato soup, only make it BETTER by adding delicious carbs.  Dream come true?  Pretty much.

My only complaint with this soup was that the tomato part tasted a little like pasta sauce.  I'm not sure what was needed to make it taste less saucy, and more soupy.  I just imagined that I was using yummy bread to sop up the extra sauce from my pasta, and all was good.

Year of Yum Rating: 4 STARS

INGREDIENTS
3 pounds plum tomatoes

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, minced
3 cloves garlic
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups sourdough bread, without crusts, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup grated ricotta salata
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil leaves

DIRECTIONS
1. Core and quarter plum tomatoes. Place tomatoes in food processor and pulse to chop, but not too fine.


2. Heat oil in 4-quart saucepan. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft, but not browned. Add tomatoes and their juices. Season with salt and pepper, bring to a slow simmer and cook 45 minutes, covered, stirring from time to time.

3. When the soup has simmered for 45 minutes, stir the bread cubes into the soup and simmer for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Check the seasoning.

4. Serve hot or at room temperature, with grated ricotta salata and minced basil strewn on each serving.

Recipe courtesy of The Wednesday Chef

Week 55: Spinach Polenta with Balsamic Tomatoes

I knew I was behind on posting, but I didn't realize I was THIS far behind. The only way I remembered what we cooked this week was from looking at the pictures on my camera. I'll use end-of-the-school-year-mania as my excuse, but now that I'm settling comfortably into the easy pace of summertime, I have time to catch up and share all of the delicious things that Abby and I have been cooking.

This recipe came from a Moosewood cookbook that the school nurse lent me. She let me borrow it after watching me eat packed lunches for a while in the teacher's lounge, and she thought this cookbook looked like my kind of food. She was right...there was some yummy-looking stuff in there.

I had never made polenta before, so I was kind of nervous getting started. I also don't have that much experience EATING polenta, which was either a good thing because I didn't have high expectations for it, or a bad thing because I didn't really even know what it was supposed to look like. I didn't stir the milk enough the first time, so it burnt onto the bottom of the pan and I had to start over. The second time was much better, and the polenta turned out to be creamy and delicious! The tangy balsamic tomatoes on top balanced it perfectly.

Year of Yum Rating: 3 1/2 STARS

INGREDIENTS
2 cups Water
2 cups Skim Milk
1 tsp Salt
1 cup Cornmeal, Polenta, Yellow (dry)
1 cup Parmesan, Grated Cheese
8 oz Baby Spinach
4 Tomatoes
2 cloves Garlic Clove
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Oregano, Dried
2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

DIRECTIONS

For Polenta:
Boil water, milk, salt in a saucepan
Add polenta in a slow, steady stream while whisking
Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally
Once polenta is thick, reduce heat and stir in cheese until melted
Fold in spinach a few handfuls at a time until just wilted

For topping:
Cut tomatoes into wedges
Cook garlic in oil for 1 minute
Add tomatoes, 1/2 tsp salt, oregano, and vinegar
Summer for about 5 minutes

Serve polenta hot and topped with tomato mixture