MINEST, classic Brooklyn-Italian winter soup of greens

Photograph of fresh Greens via Wikipedia under GNU Free Documentation License

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Minest: It's unlikely that you will find this recipe in a cookbook or even on-line.  It's classic Brooklyn-Italian, great winter comfort food, a soup lush with mixed greens and rich with flavor.  If your kids generally don't like to eat greens, there's a good chance they will eat them this way. 

Serve the minest with warm slices of a quality gluten-free bread that you have made or purchased at Whole Foods.

A salad of fresh herbs, grape tomatoes, and cubes of fresh mozzarella. Dress the salad with a savory vinaigrette. You can substitute extra-firm tofu for mozzarella if you are vegan. Just cube and marinate the tofu for about an hour in some vinaigrette first. 

Follow the soup and salad with a light dessert such as fresh orange sections drizzled with Amaretto and topped with a sprinkle of chopped almonds or shredded coconut. Wind it all up with a cup of smokey, black China tea like Russian Caravan Tea from Peet's.  

Traditionally minest was made by first boiling a prosciutto bone in water for a broth and then adding the other ingredients after several hours.  I always used to make the broth and then refrigerate it so that I could skim the fat and proceed after that. I have not included it here for a few reasons: 1.) Given the times, it just won't be budget-wise for many folks.  It used to be you could get a prosciutto bone from the Italian Pork Store for nothing.  I'm sure they come dear these days.  2.) I don't know if they are gluten-free. 3.) Many of us are cutting back on or forgoing meat for reasons of health, and/or ethics, and/or compassion.  I don't think the recipe suffers from this modification.  I have enriched the veggie broth with a base of sauted minced vegetables, extra virgin olive oil, and the addition of pesto (for those who have no nut or cheese allergies) or pistou for those who do.  Although some folks add cheese to pistou, the traditional version does not include it. 

If you must have meat and can't afford or don't have access to prosciutto, you could substitute smoked turkey legs or a hunk of gluten-free American ham. Whatever you use, check the packages or contact the manufacturer to be sure that whatever you buy is gluten-free.  Other variations:  you could add polpetti (tiny meatballs) or take a page out of the French cookbook and top each serving of minest with a fried egg.

This post includes recipes for minest, pesto, pistou, and vinaigrette salad dressing. 

GLUTEN-FREE MINEST

The Recipe

Serves six as a main course

1 large onion, peeled and minced

6 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

1 carrot, shredded

1 celery stalk, minced

1/2 green bell pepper, minced

4 mushrooms, minced

Olive Oil (doesn't have to be first press)

1 small head of savoy cabbage, washed, cored and cut into wedges

1 bunch of escarole, washed and torn into small pieces

1 bunch of swiss chard, washed and torn into small pieces

1 - 32 ounce container of  Imagine gluten-free vegetable broth

1 cup of cold, filtered water

1/2 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, the best you can afford

Sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Saute the onion, garlic, carrot, celery, bell pepper, and mushroom in the olive oil in a pot large enough to accommodate all the greens. When they are lightly browned and beginning to soften, add the both to the pot and follow with the greens.  Simmer until the greens are tender.  Add the extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.  Stir.

After you dish out the soup, pass around the pesto or the pistou so that each person can add what they would like to flavor their own bowl of soup.

Pesto: Process the following in your food processor, everything but the basil leaves at first.  Once the rest is processed, add the basil.

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, washed and dried
• 1/2 cup freshly grated sheep's milk pecorino romano
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, best you can afford
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Pistou: Process the following in your food processor, everything but the basil leaves at first. Once the rest is processed, add the basil.

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, washed and dried
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
• 6 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 4 to 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, best you can afford
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

GLUTEN-FREE VINAIGRETTE, adapted from Charles Virion's French Country Cookbook
The recipe
Makes 1 1/2 cups
3 tablespoons wine vinegar
9 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, best you can afford
1 tablespoon Annie's Gluten-free Dijon Mustard
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon fresh parsley, minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh chives, minced or 3/4 teaspoon dried chives
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano

Place all the ingredients except any fresh herbs into a mixing bowl and beat vigorously with a wire whisk until well mixed.  Add fresh herbs just before dressing the salad.

Actual product ingredients may be other than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read package labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product. 

ROMAN EGG DROP SOUP, La Straciatella

Yet another luxurious farmers’ market haul with a few veggies from a friend’s garden, providing a wealth of vegetables to flavor the soup and nourish the body.

Picture it:  Brooklyn, New York, early 50s and my first intro to Roman Egg Drop Soup (La Stracciatella, i.e., torn or ragged, which is the way the eggs look) came courtesy of my Aunt Mildred, a world-class cook and a world-class lady.  Though she made all the usual Brooklyn Italian dishes from scratch and the best-ever meat sauce, for this particular recipe she actually used Lipton soup. It made an ersatz but quick and kid-friendly version.  The recipe that follows, though, is the real deal.

Note: If the broth is purchased not homemade, be sure that it’s gluten free.

Roman Egg  Drop Soup

Serves six

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large white onion, chopped
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 6 cups of rich wheat-and-gluten free broth, vegetable or chicken, homemade or packaged
• 2 celery stalks including leaves, minced
• 2 small hot (mince) or sweet peppers (rough chop)
• 2 green squash, shredded
• 6 cups of baby spinach
• 1 cup of fresh parsley, minced
• 2 omega-3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon of water
• 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, best quality you can find and afford
• Sea salt and freshly grated black pepper to taste

Put the oil into the stock pot and then sauté the onion.  When it begins to get golden add the garlic.  Sauté both to golden brown, being careful not to burn the garlic or it will be bitter.  Add broth and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and add the celery, simmering for two or three minutes. Add the rest of vegetables, except the spinach and parsley. They can be added after about five minutes. Continue to simmer until the vegetables are almost tender, about ten minutes. Meanwhile, whip the two eggs with the tablespoon of water, the nutmeg, and the Parmesan cheese. When the vegetables are almost tender, bring the soup to a boil and slowly poor in the egg mixture while stirring the soup with a fork.  This will break up the egg mixture so that it cooks in pieces (i.e., little rags).

The finished product, La Stracciatella (Roman Egg Drop Soup), wheat-and-gluten free and chock full of vegetables.

This is a very free-form, very forgiving soup.  You can be quite creative with it.  You can use any combination of vegetables that appeals to you or added cooked diced, chicken or turkey or tofu. You can top each serving with a basil chiffonade or some pesto or pistou or even a dollop of top-quality extra virgin olive oil.

Actual product ingredients may differ from than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product. 

STRAWBERRY SUMMER

Anna Cerova, Public Domain Pictures.net.

I am fortunate in the location I've picked to live now that I've downsized to one person (me) and small place. I've chosen a very Brooklyn-spot here in Northern California. By that I mean, everything I need is in walking distance: groceries, pharmacies, restaurants (several Zagat rated), theatre, library, town square, Saturday Farmers' Market, a museum (tiny - not like New York), and a public transportation hub were bus lines and train lines intersect. I love it. This is very un-California like where you have to get into a car to run the slightest errand. Right now we are having unaccustomed heat. Yesterday it was up to 110. Today 107 is predicted. No air conditioning. Usually the weather here is temperate and we all make do with fans.

I walked into Whole Foods yesterday and there was a wealth of organic strawberries, bright red, plump, and cheerful. What is a summer without strawberries? I rarely have them with cream as in Simic's poem above, but I do love them on top of cottage cheese with a sprinkle of slivered almonds. Unadultured strawberries are fine too ... Mother Nature's fast food. Mom would do with Jell-O, so here's another retro recipe for a too-hot-to-cook day, though I see it 66° now with a high of 75° predicted along with some rain in Brooklyn. It must be humid though.

MOM'S RETRO STRAWBERRY SUMMER JELLO DESSERT

The recipe

Serves six

• 1 1/4 cups boiling water
• 1 3-oz. package of strawberry flavored gelatin
• 10-oz. of fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 1 8 3/4-oz. can of pineapple
• 1 fresh banana, sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Empty the package of gelatin into a bowl. Pour the boiling water over the gelatin and stir until it has desolved. Add the juice from the pineapple. Partially chill until the mixture is cook and starting to thicken but is not set. When the gelatin is cook, add the fruits and nuts. Pour into a one-quart mold. If you spray it with a cooking spray, it will be easier to unmold. When it is firm, unmold the gelatin dessert onto a pretty plate. Serve with fresh, unsweetened whipped cream.

LASAGNA, BEST BROOKLYN MEMORY

Photograph by PD Photo.org

I have such an unrelenting food-trivia tracker, that I don't know how I missed National Lasagna Day . . . or Month . . . your choice . . . in July.  It finally crossed my radar while I was checking my favorite Brooklyn picture blogs. I haven't found any official source of information.  Well, after all, what industries could claim it?.  So many . . . pasta makers, tomato growers, cheese manufactures, purveyors of frozen foods, spice growers, and the restaurant industry.  Perhaps there are too many players for any one to lay a claim. The articles and postings I've found are inconsistent with regard to length.  Is it a one-day celebration or a month-long celebration?  I guess it depends on the depth of your devotion. At any rate, I doubt that Brooklyn needs an official day to celebrate this wonderful ethnic dish.

I'm surprised that whomever started this tradition, scheduled it in July.  Too hot!  A good, properly made lasagna takes hours to prepare.  Although there are shortcuts. One innovation layers ravioli for what is certainly a quick - and probably a tasty - alternative.
I used to make a "mock lasagna" in the summer time. I would gather together some of my own frozen tomato sauce or some prepared sauce,  full-fat ricotta, hard mozzarella, Ronzoni ochi de lupo (a wonderful, large macaroni), and various spices. I'd chop the cheese, cook the pasta, and warm the sauce.  Then I'd put all the ingredients together in a large pot on a medium gas, stirring well until the mozzarella was melted and the lasagna was hot.  Not particularly attractive, but the flavor was right. Add a green salad, some vino for the husband du jour, and we were set to go. It was quick.  The kitchen remained bearable.  I never had any complaints.

As I look back, I don't think I've ever encountered a lasagna I didn't like; but, quality ingredients and a good, classic, homemade meat-sauce, produces the best product. This means using homemade or artisan noodles, fresh high-quality cheeses, fresh herbs and spices, a variety of meats, good extra-virgin olive oil, and your own garden tomatoes or canned Italian plum tomatoes with basil. A superior lasagna requires a willingness to invest considerable time and money for something that will be immensely enjoyed, but pretty quickly polished off by family and guests, not to mention you.

My childhood and youth were rich in good cooks. A significant number of them were from Italy or were first generation Americans of Italian decent.  My schoolmate, Fran V., and her mom made trays of lasagna on a regular basis and brought them from their home in Rego Park, Queens to our convent school in Brentwood, Long Island on Sunday afternoons. Mrs. V. would use imported noodles, which had a wonderful bite.  Her sauce and her lasagna included a lot of delicious pork sausage with fennel seed.  Mrs. D., another friend's mother, lived near the Russian embassy in Glen Cove, Long Island.  She would always stud a large white onion with cloves and put that in her sauce as it simmered, removing it before serving. Nice flavor.
Everyone did something that made their sauce uniquely theirs.  Some used wine. Mrs. D. felt there should be some heat and added dried red pepper.  My high school sweetheart's mom didn't agree.  She added a pinch of sugar to her sauce. One family added cinnamon, which strikes me as quite a Greek thing.  Most added nutmeg to their ricotta. I knew women who thickened their sauce through long-hours of simmering.  Other's speeded the process by adding a can of tomato paste.  I think the latter makes for a highly acid sauce.  I have found through time that the addition of meatballs with their breadcrumbs serves well as a thickening. Everyone used Locatelli brand Romano. No dry, tasteless cheese from little, round, green containers.

My Aunt Mildred (see also the post on Roman Egg Drop Soup) was the best of the Brooklyn cooks.  She was a first-generation Italian-American. She used chicken in her sauce along with the other meats.  The meats included a small tenderloin of pork, Italian pork sausages (sweet and hot) and braciole (top round, sliced thin and pounded, rolled around a savory filling, and tied with cotton string).  Meatballs were standard additions to everyone's meat sauce, and my Aunt Mildred's were the gold standard. They were made from beef, sometimes from a combination of beef, pork, and veal. Generally eggs, seasoned Italian breadcrumbs, generous amounts of fresh, minced parsley,and grated Romano were incorporated into the ground meat, which was then formed into balls and browned in a fry pan before going into the sauce to simmer.

When assembling the lasagna, these wonderful old-world cooks would crumble meatballs and sausages and layer the crumbled meats in the lasagna along with the noodles, cheeses, and the sauce.  Most of the time, the sauce and the lasagna would be made a day or more ahead.  When this dinner was finally served, usually on Sunday, it started with a voluptuous vegetable salad with plenty of salty, oily olives . There was wine for the adults and water for the children. The meats were set out in a side dish. Extra sauce was served in a gravy boat. Big chunks of Locatelli Romano would be passed around the table along with a Muli grater, enabling each of us to have freshly grated cheese on our noodles. There were always dense, fragrant slices of Italian bread fresh from small, local, family-run bakeries. Sopping up extra meat sauce with the bread was a must and a delight. Dessert might be a selection of pastries, or fresh fruit that had been macerated or simmered in wine, or Amoretti cookies. There was espresso coffee too, often with grappa or a slice of lemon peel.

Lasagna Day or Lasagna Month, it's an interesting concept, but in the Brooklyn of my childhood, we didn't need an event. Many, many Sundays were lasagna day. It was quite a regular thing. I think it has probably become more and more difficult for people to come up with the time and money for such memorable civilities.

Actual product ingredients may differ from than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product. 

RETRO DESSERT RECIPE

Library of Congress photograph of Mamie Eisenhower.

Gelatin has been around for almost forever and used in both sweet and savory dishes. Apparently, though, the ubiquitous, jiggly dessert we now know, is relatively new culinary treat. When I was growing up, it was popular because it was sweet, cheap, and easy to make. Non-cooks like my mother loved it.
Apparently so did such prestigious homemakers as Mrs. Dwight Eisenhower. When the first lady’s recipe for “Frosted Mint Delight” was published in one of the women’s magazines, my mother decided that this pedestrian dessert was, in fact, quite elitist. By God, if it was good enough for Mamie, it was good enough for us.
So, that Christmas, we had Mamie's Frosted Mint Delight. Can you imagine? We were living on 90th and Fort Hamilton Parkway in Bay Ridge then, just one-half block from Louisa's Italian Restaurant and Louisa's fabulous Biscuit Tortoni. A short train-ride would have taken us to Junior's and N.Y. Cheesecake.  We were a twenty-minute walk from the Syrian Grocery and the honey-sweet delight of fresh baklava. But we had jello for Christmas dessert.
Mom was irritated when the recipe went missing and she was unable to make it ever again.  Well, she just didn’t look far enough for it.  It was in my junk box, which is why I can share it with you today. Sorry, Mom!
Click here for Mrs. Eisenhower’s so-called “Red Scare” Jello Dessert and background info. It’s a funny, but it does go to prove Mamie was famous for gelatin desserts.
If this old-time recipe appeals and you need to go gluten-free, you know the drill. Be sure to find the brands that are wheat-and-gluten free.

Mrs. Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Frosted Mint Delight
The recipe
Serves 10-12

• 2 1-lbs. cans of crushed pineapple
• 3/4 cup mint flavored apple jelly
• 1 pint whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons confection’s sugar
• 1 package unflavored gelatin

Have all the ingredients chilled.  Melt the jelly and mix the crushed pineapple into it. Dissolve the package of gelatin in one cup of the juice from the pineapple.  Mix the gelatin mixture into the jelly mixture.  Whip the cream, sweeten it with the sugar, and fold it into the mixture.  Put it into the freezer until firm.  Do not freeze solid.

PASTA FAZOOL, Brooklyn Soul Food

PDClipart.org.

No matter where we live or what we seek in our hunger and loneliness, food is necessary for life.  It's the great common denominator. We all have to eat.  This unassuming soup (Past Fagioli) - in Brooklyn slang it's pasta fazool - is made of pasta and beans in tomato broth is true Brooklyn soul food.  You can feed an army with it on a few bucks.  It's comforting and tummy warming and can be thrown together quickly when you are pressed for time.

Back in our Brooklyn days - when we were slender and young and unconcerned with cholesterol and saturated fats - we saved bacon fat to sauté the garlic, a custom left-over from the Depression, I suspect.  You can still do that if you are not fighting the battle of the bulge. It does add a nice, smokey flavor and, if you've saved it from your breakfast bacon, it's certainly a cheap fat. Nonetheless, we use olive oil these days and tend to avoid bacon.
If you have time, the most economical way to make this dish is prepare your beans from dried beans.  Follow the package directions. In the interest of speed, I use canned beans here. Back home, I would only have used Progresso beans if I didn't do the beans from scratch. These days in California, I'm more likely to use canned beans from Eden Organic Foods. Times, people, and priorities change, but both brands taste good.

Photograph courtesy of Eden Foods.
Warning: Do not use quinoa or corn pasta in this dish.  Brown rice pasta works best.


PASTA FAGIOLI (Pasta with Beans)
The recipe
Serves six

• 3 tablespoons of olive oil, does not have to be first press
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 small can of tomato paste
• 1 quart of water
• 2 cups of brown rice pasta, cooked and rinsed
• 1 can of cannellini beans or red kidney beans, drain the beans and rinse
• 1 teaspoon of oregano
• 1/2 cup of fresh parsley, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 small white onion, slivered
• 1/2 cup of store-bought or homemade pesto (optional)
• sea salt to taste
• freshly grated Romano cheese

In a soup pot, gently sauté the garlic in the olive oil being careful not to burn it. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon.  When it begins to color, add the tomato paste and fry the paste and garlic together for a minute or two on a low-to-medium heat continuously stirring the mixture.  Add the water slowly, mixing well to dilute the paste.  Add the parsley, oregano, red pepper flakes and salt,  but reserve the pesto and the slivered onions. When the soup begins to simmer, add the beans and pasta and heat through. Taste to adjust seasoning.  Ladle into soup bowls and pass the onions, cheese and pesto around the table so that each person can season their bowl to taste. If you are not using pesto, you can top each bowl with a spoonful or two of raw high-quality extra-virgin olive oil before serving.
Variations: If you have left-over carrots, or meat, or sausages, they are easily and happily added.

Photograph courtesy of Progresso Foods.
Progresso soups are not wheat-and-gluten free. 

Actual product ingredients may differ from than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product.