Portuguese Kale Soup

In line with my recent ode to fall over on The Humble Home, I was really looking forward to making soup last Sunday. Due to circumstances unforeseen (ahem, having way too much fun hanging out with friends in Boston drinking margaritas & watching stand-up), it was pushed back to Monday, which worked out well since my beloved Patriots were on MNF, and I had plenty of time to prep my soup so I could enjoy it while watching the lads “Squish the Fish”- which they did a hell of a job with in the second half!

Soup is an all time favorite food, a tradition that started with my childhood and continues through today. Kyle and I are big soup fans, and it is a great way to stretch ingredients to get more bang for your buck. Traditionally, most of the soups that I make have pretty humble roots- fish chowders, Hungarian mushroom, beef barley, and the likes all started as ways to feed a crowd on the cheap with whatever was on hand. I’ve always enjoyed sampling the local foods when living in different parts of the country, and the local soups are usually a pretty good example of the flavors and culture of a region. Most of the recipes I’ve picked up along the way come from working in kitchens and restaurants- while working as a lunch chef in the Virgin Islands, I picked up a great recipe for Caribbean Black Bean soup, my chowder recipe stems from my days in the kitchen at The Chowder House, Maryland Cream of Crab came from friends on the Eastern Shore, and while serving at a sushi bar in Colorado, I picked up a fantastic recipe for Mexican Tortilla soup from the immigrant workers in the kitchen.

Living in Rhode Island, I’ve started to pick up on the flavors that dominate the area around here, primarily influenced by the Portuguese culture. While I concede to not having a lot of knowledge about Portugal and the culture, I am really digging their food! Fried calamari is served with banana pepper rings, seafood chowders gain a little spice and a lovely pink tone from chorizo and fresh meats are slow simmered in wine and spices. One item I keep seeing pop up on local menus is Portuguese Kale Soup. I’ve tried it at a couple of places, and the flavors are wonderful and comforting- stewed kale, soft potatoes and onions and a little kick from the spicy sausage- all the makings for an ideal fall soup.

I started my quest for an authentic kale soup recipe online and found a lot of variations, each with their appeals. Most of the reviews offered up variations, as with many cultural foods, everyone’s mother or grandmother has their own spin on the ingredients. Building off of one recipe that seemed to have the basics down, I asked a couple of the Portuguese guys I worked with for their take. Much like the online comments, each had their own spin. With recommendations and a basic recipe in hand, I stopped by the store, picked up the components and a loaf of take & bake bread and headed home to get to work.

The end result was a wonderfully satisfying soup that wasn’t overly heavy, but can keep you full all evening or afternoon. Up until recently, kale has been a relatively underutilized green, and I am happy to see it making a resurgence in the food blogging and restaurant communities. It holds up well to the slightly spicy nature of the sausage, and doesn’t fall apart even after a couple of days in the stock. I made a huge batch, but have halved it so as to be a little more manageable. This soup will most certainly be in heavy rotation on my list, and is a welcome departure for the standard chicken noodle as a quick go-to one pot dinner.

PORTUGUESE KALE SOUP (adapted from cooks.com)

- 1lb. Fresh kale, well washed, stems removed, torn into pieces
-1 Large Vidalia onion, Frenched or julienned
-4 Large red skinned potatoes, diced large
-1 lb. Linguica loose or diced if in links (Chorizo works well)
-6-8 Cups chicken or pork broth (more or less, depending on how “soupy” you want the finished product to be)
- 4 tblspns. Olive oil
-3 large garlic cloves, minced
-1 Can Cannelloni beans, rinsed & drained
-1-2 Bay leaves
-1 hot pepper, seeded (I used a good sized Fresno)
-1 tspn. Smoked paprika
-Sea salt & fresh cracked pepper

In a large soup or stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add in onions and linguica and cook, stirring occasional for 10 minutes or until onions turn translucent and sausage begins to breakdown. Add minced onion & continue to cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add in potatoes, hot pepper, bay leaves, paprika, a little salt & pepper, stir well to combine, continue cooking for another 10 or so minutes until potatoes soften slightly (see note). Add in broth and turn heat to medium-high, and continue cooking until at a low boil. Add in torn kale a handful at a time, stirring in to wilt. Once all kale has been incorporated, simmer additional 10 minutes. Add in Cannelloni beans, season with salt & pepper to taste, and simmer for 5 more minutes. Serve hot with crusty bread.

Note: A great trick I picked up from making industrial batches of chowder while working at The Chowder House- when building your soup base, allow potatoes, onions and other components to hang out together for a couple of minutes before introducing liquids. Doing this will coat your potatoes and onions with the spices being used (as well as the delicious flavored fat from the sausage), which in the long run will infuse the veggies with more flavor, and make for a more cohesive finished soup.

German Potato Salad

(yep, camera still out of comission- thanks again Crackberry)

Some days, you just need a little bacon grease.

On the whole, I pride myself on doing my best to eat well and keep my desire to indulge in check. I actually enjoy a good workout, run or long walk with Kyle. But some days you just have to tell the health nut on your shoulder to take a hike.

Due to the offshore effects of one of the recent tropical storms, Ky’s ship ended up back at the docks for a few days last week while they waited for a better weather window. I was happy to have a couple of extra days with him, as we are on the cusp of deciding where to request for his next assignment. It is a big deal not only for his career, but the future of mine as well (more to come on that later). It’s a pretty big topic to take on, deciding where you want to spend the next three years of your life, and such big choices need big, comforting flavors. Our go-to on a cold night has always been German food. Very early on in my kitchen adventures, I used to make a casserole similar to this dish, and the potato salad recipe has been evolving over the past 20 years or so as a result.

Growing up, Kyle spent many hours helping out at a close family friend’s restaurant in downtown Brunswick, Richard’s. Richard himself is from Germany, and his dishes are beyond comforting. While helping out, the boys were always given a bite to eat, which commonly came in the form of stewed red cabbage, since there were at least a couple of them underfoot, and cabbage was inexpensive. From this, Ky has a wonderful stewed red cabbage recipe that I absolutely love, and am still working on convincing him to write down so I can post it. It’s such a perfect cold night dish, and it only gets better if left to come together overnight.

When we lived in Annapolis, there was a wonderful German restaurant we would sneak away to down in Edgewater called The Old Stein Inn. The beers were cold, the food thoughtfully made, and if you caught it on a warm summer night, there would be a live accordion player strolling through the beer garden out back (and you would gladly shell out $10 for her CD after a couple of pints!). Through all of these various experiences with some of our favorite German haunts, we’ve thrown together our own little routine for our German night- both of us standing over our respective bubbling pots, sautéing onions, having a beer or two while we talk and cook, the whole apartment smelling like apple cider vinegar and bacon- pure heaven.

It goes without saying that this is probably not a menu that you would want to eat everyday while trying to be health-conscious. But that’s what makes it all the more special- a compilation of dishes that are not only delicious, but spark memories of past dining experiences, and bring a little comfort at exactly the time when you need it.

(Footnote: the discussion was awesome, we are a united front on our hopeful next destination, and updates soon to follow when we get confirmation!)

Hot German Potato Salad

-6-8 Large red skinned potatoes (I used Irish Reds), cleaned, halved and sliced into even ½ circles
- 4-5 Slices thick cut bacon, diced
- ¼ Sweet Vidalia onion, diced
- ¼ +/- Cup all purpose flour
- ¼ +/- Cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ (ish) Cup water
- Sea salt & fresh cracked pepper
-Handful flat leaf parsley, chopped

In a large Dutch oven, heat salted water & cook potatoes until just fork tender, about 10-15 minutes, depending on thickness of slices. Drain in colander & set aside. Wipe out Dutch oven and heat over medium heat. Once to temp, add in diced bacon and cook, stirring frequently, until crisp. Remove with slotted spoon & drain on paper towels. Turn heat down to medium-low and add onions to bacon grease, cooking until translucent, about 10 minutes. Season onions lightly with salt & pepper. Add in enough flour to make a moderately thick roux (about the consistency of heavy cake batter), and continue cooking another 5-7 minutes, until flour has cooked out, turned golden brown and thickened a bit more. Add in cider vinegar a little at a time to loosen the roux, use a little more or less than called for, depending on consistency, and use water to thin to consistency of hollandaise sauce (overuse of vinegar can overpower the salad). Stir in potatoes, parsley & reserved bacon until potatoes are well coated. Serve while still warm. Salad can be made up to an hour or two in advance and be kept covered in a low set oven. Stir well before serving, and add bacon just before serving to keep crisp. This salad is best friends with a couple of good quality brauts, a little whole grain mustard, a pile of kraut and a pile of buttered spaetzle, and good friends should never be separated...

Dinner for a Comfortable One

As mentioned in my previous post, my husband spends a fair amount of time out to sea for his job (and occasionally "finds" some wonderful fresh fish filets all cleaned and ready to go on the dock. Strange, I know). As a result, I have gotten very good (and very comfortable) with cooking for myself. A lot of times, I'll make a large portion of something and eat off of it for a while, as with the Curried Vegetable Soup. Other times, I just really want to treat myself, which is exactly what I did last Friday. For the first time in the three months since moving to Newport, I had job interviews during the day. That's right multiple people were interested in employing me. Ok, so maybe it was only two, but it's better than a kick in the teeth. After a week of working on my fitness, eating well and preparing for said interviews, I wanted deliciousness. I wanted RED MEAT and CHEESE and WINE. And that's exactly what I had. And I could not have been happier with the end result, and even had the self restraint to not take down the whole steak in one sitting. The great part about this beautifully simple meal is that it can be completely adjusted for as many portions as you need, whether it be one or ten. Although, I have to admit, there's something really satisfying about treating just yourself to one really beautiful meal that suits just your personal taste, and not being embarrassed to eat it in your sweatpants. Go ahead- no one's there to judge you...

Perfect Steak with Pommes Anna and Sauteed Spinach with Crispy Shallots

* A quick note about Pommes Anna: This is probably my favorite application of potatoes to date for it's beautiful simplicity. It's amazing that four unassuming ingredients can come together and make something so unbelievable, it takes every ounce of restraint I have not to eat the whole pan! I'm not even going to try to lie: I made these on Friday night, and Sunday night I made a second batch. No. Shame. One of life's great pleasures is pulling apart these lovely crispy potato layers and savoring at your leisure!

For the ingredients:

-2-3 Small red potatoes, washed and cleaned

-3 Tablespoons of salted butter

-3 Tablespoons white truffle oil

-1-2 Teaspoons ground thyme

Heat butter, truffle oil and ground thyme in a small cast iron skillet over low heat until blended together, and pour into a small bowl. Don't worry about any left in bottom of skillet, it'll be the base layer of flavor for the potatoes. Carefully slice potatoes into very thin rounds (think thick cut potato chip slices). In bottom of the skillet, layer potato slices in a concentric circle, and fill in middle with any small slices. Using a pastry brush, generously brush each layer with truffle-butter mixture. Season layer with good sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. Repeat with rest of potato slices, and season top layer with salt & pepper. Make a round out of tin foil, place on top of potatoes and press down firmly. Weigh down top with large heavy can or dish of similar size. Set aside for 30 or so minutes. The starch in the potatoes will seep into the layers and form a cake. These steps can all be done ahead of time if prepping other elements of meal. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Remove weight and cook on upper-middle rack for 20 minutes with foil cover. Boost temp to 450 and bake for an additional 20 minutes uncovered. To finish potatoes, broil under med-high setting watching carefully for perfect browning and crispy texture. If you're feeling extra decadent, sprinkle with fresh grated parmesan before broiling for an outstanding crust.

Sauteed Spinach with Crispy Shallots

-3 Tablespoons good olive oil

-2 Tablespoons champagne vinegar

-1 Tablespoon lemon zest

-Fresh white pepper

-1 Shallot, finely minced

-1 Bag fresh spinach, washed and dried

Heat oil in a deep skillet or wok over medium high heat. Saute minced shallots in oil, making sure to keep shallots moving, and keep a close eye on their browning. Shallots are done when they reach a lovely golden brown and have a nice crunch (shallots can go from amazing to toast quickly, so stay on them!). Remove shallots with a slotted spoon and place on paper towel to drain. Turn down heat a bit, and begin to introduce (hi there) spinach into oil, moving quickly. Once spinach begins to wilt, add in champagne vinegar and white pepper and mix well. Just before serving, zest lemon over spinach, toss in crispy shallots and serve immediately.

Perfect Steak

There is no way that I could claim to have a perfect steak recipe, as there are so many factors to making a perfect steak, the most important of which is the chef's personal taste. With that in mind, I will share what I think to be a beautiful and simple steak recipe. I prefer a cut with with a lot of flavor and depth, which is why my go to for marbling and juicy finish is the rib eye. Season the steak with salt and pepper on both side and put aside to rest and let come up to room temperature. Heat 1-2 tablespoons of butter in a good skillet (cast iron is always a fan favorite in my house) until well melted over medium high heat, and a bit of smoke is produced. Sear tempered steak in hot pan for four or so minutes on each side (or whatever time for your desired level of doneness) basting exposed side with melted butter. Flip and repeat on other side. Steak can be served as is, or if you're really looking to knock it out of the park, top steak with large chunks of Gorgonzola, and melt to a bubbling crust under your broiler, which can conveniently coincide with the final step of Pommes Anna. Pull steak out of oven, plate and rest for a few minutes, pour a glass of wine, pair the steak up with the Pommes Anna and spinach and enjoy a lovely private meal.