The New York Times must be following youmakethebestsoup...

Because they published a very similar recipe as my fish stew yesterday. Except mine forgoes the 'bouquet of garni' for 'handful of parsley'.

Take that, Gray Lady.

Cape Cod Fish Stew, a Summer Staple

The Story: When it's summer in Cape Cod, you know there's often a big pot of fish stew simmering away at my house. It's a relatively cheap, super healthy, and incredibly delicious way to feed the inevitable summer gatherings than gather on our back porch, drinking white wine and beer and demanding to be fed. Jerry, the resident old cantankerous perma-bachelor who often...uh...graces our table, even demands it in take-out form quite often. I like to make it with fresh cod, but any firm white fish will do-- I've made it with frozen tilapia and it's just as delicious. Garnish with some garlic bread, fresh Parmesan, and steamed mussels and clams and you have yourself one hell of a meal.

The Ingredients: (serves 6, modify as necessary, or enjoy the next day)

• 2-3 lbs firm white fish, rinsed and dried (it works with more or less, so do what you can afford)
• 3 cans stewed tomatoes, with liquid
  
• 1 zucchini, cut in thick chunks
• 2 handfuls baby bella mushrooms, cut in chunks
• 1 diced medium yellow onion
• 5-6 cloves of garlic, pressed
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup decent Italian red wine
  
• 2 handfuls fresh basil leaves
• A couple bay leaves
  
• 1 handful fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

The Cooking:

Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil with some salt until clear. Simultaneously saute the mushrooms in a splash of water and red wine until cooked. Set them aside, with their broth. Add the tomatoes, red wine and all spices to the onion and garlic, adding a bit more olive oil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms and broth and simmer 2-3 minutes while stirring. Add the fish and cook, breaking up into chunks as it cooks (will take only about 5 minutes, depending on fish type used). Add the zuccini, simmer for 8-10 minutes while salting and peppering to taste. A tablespoon of butter can be added for depth as necessary. After salting and peppering, you're done!

The Serving:

Down the cape, we serve it in shallow, wide bowls, with chunks of delicious garlic bread and freshly grated parm flakes sprinkled over it. Toss some steamed mussels and clams on top and you might as well be in heaven.

SoupFan in Gotham

This kid *loves* soup.



So do these ladies:
Yeah, soup!

Soup... in Jordan

I am heading to Jordan for the summer in a few days, to consult for UNESCO/Iraq on the Iraqi education system's 'decentralization strategic plan'. What this really means is, I'll be making soup in Jordan, in this kitchen:


Nice, eh??


I am thinking it'll be a summer full of lentils, chickpeas, goat, lamb, okra, mulukhiyya (no idea what it is in english, is sort of like a bastard child of swiss chard and spinach), and PRESSURE COOKING. Stay tuned...

Garlic Soup at Cafe Pomplona: Soup Rave

It was unseasonably cold and rainy night in Cambridge the other night, so I snuck down the road by myself to have a steaming bowl of the garlic soup at Cafe Pamplona.



This is my favorite review of Pamplona from Yelp:

"Perfect in many ways. Awkward space. Awkward acoustics. Service can be charmingly aloof. In other words, not even faintly pretending to be anything it's not. (If the atmosphere isn't what you like, just walk a block in any direction--you'll find your Starbucks soon enough.)

Genuine and lovely. Every time I go there I wish I went there more often.

The coffee? Fine."

What this almost-perfect review missed is the amazing garlic soup. I used to go to Pamplona as a high schooler and smoke illicit cigarettes and feel really cool, wincing as a took each sip of coffee that secretly totally grossed me out. It was that type of place. Not until this year, 8 years after my last high school cigarette, did I stumble again into Pamplona. The garlic soup has saved me many a time this year. It has a mild depth of flavor, not 'garlicky' at all, and if you ask, they'll put chunks of softly boiled egg in it, with the yolk all drippy and oozy and you spoon up a big chunk and YUM.

Maybe more eggs in soups? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm...

I know this is supposed to be about soup...

but I just moved back in w/ my fam (read: mom) for the first time in 8 YEARS, and it is_so_spooky.

I forgot the weird house noises and how she sleeps with the TV blasting. I also forgot what it's like to not have wireless internet. Makes in-bed blogging difficult.

To be continued...

Summer Soup

I've never been a fan of gazpacho, reminds me too much of V8 juice. Does anyone have a delicious gazpacho recipe that isn't super tomato-y? If so, please share!