Caldo Gallego

Someday, I would like to visit Spain. Until then, I will continue to eat at American tapas bars and watch Spain... On the Road Again (that PBS show where a chef, a cookbook author, and two gorgeous actresses drive around Spain in a convertible Mercedes). I will also continue to make caldo gallego, a comforting, filling soup that makes great use of all the turnips and potatoes we're eating this winter.

(recipe from Serious Eats)

1/4 pound pancetta or slab bacon, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 15-ounce can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 large baking potato or 1/2 pound smaller potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 large turnip, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/4 pound Spanish chorizo, casings removed, cut lengthwise then into 1/4-inch thick slices
1/2 pound turnip greens (or other dark leafy green, such as kale or spinach), stemmed and coarsely chopped

In a large soup pot, cook the pancetta or bacon over medium heat for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally, until the fat is rendered.

Add onion, potato, and turnip to the pot along with enough water to cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes until almost soft but not falling apart.

Add the beans, chorizo, and greens and continue simmering until the greens are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with crusty bread.

Herbed Potato and Sunchoke Home Fries

I'm back! Highlights from the past few weeks:

1. Ate good food. Slept. Read an article in the food issue of The New Yorker. (Repeated this cycle three times a day over the Thanksgiving break.)
   
   
2. Nearly had a nervous breakdown every time I entered the produce section of a supermarket or grocery store. $2.99 a pound for apples? Seriously. Unable to cope and unable to blog.
   
   
3. Visited a weekly farmer's market on the Upper West Side, and bought a squash, some onions, cabbage, baby greens from the greenhouse, fresh thyme, and sunchokes. Feeling saved.

And here we are, the first post-CSA season post.

The sunchoke, also known as the Jerusalem artichoke, is neither from Jerusalem nor a type of artichoke. It is a sunflower (we eat the tubers) whose Italian name (Girasole) sounds like "Jerusalem" and whose taste resembles that of the artichoke.

I made regular old home fries a little more interesting by adding sunchokes and lots of fresh herbs. You could also skip the potatoes and use only sunchokes for this, but be warned: they make some people gassy. Great with eggs and a salad, for dinner or for brunch.

4-5 small sunchokes
3 medium red potatoes
1/2 small red onion, chopped
3 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh herbs (I used mint and parsley)
a few squeezes of lemon juice

Peel the sunchokes with a vegetable peeler, and remove the knobby parts. Cut into 1/2-inch chunks, and place in a bowl of water with a little bit of lemon juice (this keeps them from turning brown). Par-boil for 5 minutes in salted water. Set aside.

Cut potatoes into pieces that are the same size as the sunchokes. Par-boil in salted water for about 5 minutes.

Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add chopped onion, sunchokes, and potatoes. Season with lots of salt (potatoes need a lot more than you’d think) and pepper. Add chopped herbs after a few minutes. Cook until potatoes are browned and soft, tossing occasionally. Finish with a bit of lemon juice.