Soup Is Love
Pictured above: broth with onions, celery, carrots, beet greens and store bought gnocchi.
Soup, it’s an amazing support these days.
A steaming bowl provides deep nourishment, and a warm, soothing sense of well-being. Nearly every evening simple soups and stews are a standby for my family meal.
To make it easy, I always have delicious broth on hand. (You can buy broth as well—but it’s easy to make, and much less expensive than the “bone broths” sold in Health Food stores these days.)
If I have broth on hand fresh or frozen, I can walk into the kitchen and have supper ready in 20 min.
Make broth about once a week (it freezes beautifully) and then add whatever you like: spices, veggies, pasta, beans, rice, meat or tofu, to make endless variations of nourishing and soothing evening meals. Add some crusty bread, or cornbread or crackers, and you have a delicious and easy dinner; everyone gets to feel the love.
Here’s the recipe I use: Brodo, From The Splendid Table, by Lynne Rossetto Casper
8-9 lbs of chicken or turkey bones (you can use turkey wings)
2-3 pounds of meaty beef shank or soup bones trimmed of fat. (Leave these out if you’re not a beef fan.)
3 stalks of celery with leaves
3 large carrots chopped
4 very large onions, unpeeled (trim root ends) chopped
2 large bay leaves
3 or more sprigs Italian parsley
2 large cloves garlic, unpeeled and crushed
Working Ahead: This stock holds, cover in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Freeze it for up to 4 months in different size containers, from 2 tablespoon ice cubes to quart jars.
Starting Stock: In one 20 Quart or two 10 quart stockpots combine the bones you have. Cover with cold water by about 4 inches. Let the water come to a slow bubble. Skim foam off surface.
Simmering: Add the vegtables, bay leaves, parsley and garlic. Regulate the heat so the broth bubbles very slowly. (So you can say, “one hundred” between the bubbles.) Partially cover, and cook 12 to 14 hours. If necessary, add water to keep the solids covered.
The long cooking surprises many. This extended simmering draws all the flavor from the meat and bones, producing stock with exceptionally deep taste. You can start the stock after dinner and let it cook all night, partially covered, at a slow bubble. Make sure it’s bubbling slowly, because leaving it below that will cause spoilage. The next morning turn off the heat and strain the stock.
Finishing: Refrigerate the strained stock until fat hardens on the surface. Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the fat. (In Italy one sign of a proper broth is luminous pin dots of fat called the “eyes” of the broth. Although never greasy, that tiny amount of fat gives flavor. Pour into containers and refrigerate or freeze.