Gazpacho

Want a refreshing summer meal?  Try this...it's amazing.  Once again, thanks to Kate and John for a DELICIOUS treat.  You truly spoiled us!!

Ingredients

• 1 hothouse cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled
• 2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
• 4 plum tomatoes
• 1 red onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 23 ounces tomato juice (3 cups)
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not overprocess!

After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.

Quick Tortellini and Spinach Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 ounces pancetta, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
9 cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons dried Italian herb blend
9 ounces spinach or cheese tortellini
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
8 ounces fresh spinach chopped
salt and pepper
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions


1.  Heat the olive oil in a stockpot over medium-high heat.  Add the pancetta, garlic and onion;  cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, 10 and 15 minutes.

2.  Add the chicken broth and Italian herbs.  Bring to a boil and stir in the tortellini.  Simmer uncovered until the tortellini is cooked, 10 to 12 minutes.  Stir in the crushed tomatoes and simmer another 5 minutes. Add the spinach and cook just until wilted, about 3 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3.  Ladle the hot soup into bowls and top with a liberal sprinkling of grated Parmesan.

Cold-Weather Cooking by Sarah Leah Chase

Pasta e Fagioli: Pasta and Beans

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons (2 turns around the pan) extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/8 pound (about 3 slices) pancetta, chopped
• 2 (4 to 6-inch) sprigs rosemary, left intact
• 1 (4 to 6-inch) sprig thyme with several sprigs on it, left intact
• 1 large fresh bay leaf or 2 dried bay leaves
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 small carrot, finely chopped
• 1 rib celery, finely chopped
• 4 large cloves garlic, chopped
• Coarse salt and pepper
• 2 (15 ounce) cans cannellini beans
• 1 cup canned tomato sauce or canned crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups water
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cups ditalini
• Grated Parmigiano or Romano, for the table
• Crusty bread, for mopping

Directions

Heat a deep pot over medium high heat and add oil and pancetta. Brown the pancetta bits lightly, and add herb stems, bay leaf, chopped vegetables, and garlic. Season vegetables with salt and pepper. Add beans, tomato sauce, water, and stock to pot and raise heat to high. Bring soup to a rapid boil and add pasta. Reduce heat to medium and cook soup, stirring occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes or until pasta is cooked al dente. Rosemary and thyme leaves will separate from stems as soup cooks. Remove herb stems and bay leaf from soup and place pot on table on a trivet. Let soup rest and begin to cool for a few minutes. Ladle soup into bowls and top with lots of grated cheese. Pass crusty bread for bowl mopping.