Four Soups

Chef Myles Anton entertained a full house Thursday night at the first class of the "Soup to Nuts" cooking series offered by Left Foot Charley winery. Deftly whipping up four delicious soups while passing along his methods for doing so, Trattoria Stella's executive chef blended humor, technique and his penchant for "matching foods," as in, using parsnips instead of carrots in a chicken soup because "white goes with white." He can put together whatever he wants, because it all tasted great, including his surprise soup in honor of the night, Riesling Apple. Rounding out the evening were three wines from Left Foot Charley, the 2006 Pinot Grigio, 2006 Riesling and Murmur 2006.

With Stella donating the food and Anton his time, Left Food Charley owner Bryan Ulbrich said the $35 charge per person was being donated in full to the Fresh Food Partnership to help fulfill its mission to bring fresh, locally grown food to those in need. A second soup class was added that evening to meet the demand, so sign up early for the next class on January 17: Eggs with Chef Eric Fritch of Patisserie Amie.

Chef Anton kindly agreed to let us share his recipes here.

Pappa Pomadoro (Toscano) (serves 4)
Tomato and Bread "Soup"

This is, perhaps, the most ingenious use of day- to week-old bread ever invented--yes by the Tuscans--staling bread with tomatoes, herbs and their wonderful olive oil. It is cost efficient and more of a stuffing than a soup, but nevertheless absolutely magical in its simplicity.

2 quart diced day-old (or older) bread (large dice)
4 cloves garlic, shaved
2 cups tomato product extra virgin olive oil (Anton used Liohori, a flavorful Greek olive oil)
salt and pepper
water
10 basil leaves, torn up

In a hot pan, saute garlic in oil.

Add tomato and bread chunks. (Anton chose the term "tomato product" because this can be whatever you have laying around that you want to get rid of...some extra tomato slices, a half a jar of Ragu, tomato paste, etc. For the class, he used chopped fresh tomatoes with olive oil, and some tomato paste, and for the bread, he used the focaccia made at Stella.) Add olive oil, salt and pepper. Add basil right at the end. Taste, taste, taste. Cook until desired doneness (some like it like porridge; Anton prefers it with a bit of texture). Finish with olive oil.

Pollo & Pesto (serves 4)
Chicken and Basil Pesto

Harkening to the coastal area of Liguria (famous for its basil pesto and Vermentino wine), this is an extremely simple chicken soup. Anton's using parsnips as a substitute for carrots for color reasons alone.

1 large white onion
3 parsnips
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp dried thyme
1 quart chicken stock
2 cooked off chicken breasts or pulled chicken from your stock carcass
1/4 pound dried pasta (he used penne)
basil pesto

Sweat onions, parsnips, garlic and thyme in olive oil. (Don't brown, just saute slowly on low heat to release the flavor.)

Add chicken stock, add chicken meat, salt and pepper.

Garnish with warm pasta tossed in olive oil, and a dab of pesto.

For the pesto, Chef Anton mixes spinach and basil in a 2:1 ratio, blends with pine nuts, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.

Zuppa di Porcini (serves 4)
Porcini Mushroom Soup with Cream

Porcini mushrooms are used extensively in Tuscan food. This is Anton's play on a simple mushroom soup he had the extreme pleasure of sampling in Montacatini Alto, Italy, in the heart of Tuscany. It's a hit every time it makes it onto the menu at Stella. Fresh porcinis are very hard to land in the U.S., even for chefs and restaurants, so he substitutes the dried version. If by chance you do find fresh porcinis, don't under-utilize them in soups. Instead, highlight their freshness by simply grilling and serving with a salad or on a nice steak.

1 large white onion diced
1 tsp minced garlic
1/8 lb butter
1/8 lb flour
2 c. chopped fresh crimini mushrooms
1/2 lb dried porcini mushrooms
1 tsp dried thyme
1 quart mushroom stock (he makes it using mushrooms stems and water; can substitue chicken stock or water)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
salt and pepper

Sweat onions, mushrooms, butter and garlic (fresh, not pre-minced type in water).

Add flour and mix. Add stock and whisk. Bring to a low simmer. Simmer for 1 hour on low. Season to taste. You can leave chunky, or buzz with a handheld mixer or in blender until smooth.

Add cream and season to taste again.

Serve with chopped fresh chives, toasted crostini, or flatleaf parsley.

For a little extra richness and body, put a few drops of extra virgin olive oil into the bowl to finish.

Riesling Apple

This was a surprise soup Chef Anton whipped up in honor of the evening, and did not have a written version. But one of his main points was to focus on the method for creating various soups, whether cream-based or broth. Nail down the method and then you can just tweak the ingredients. So follow the method for the cream soup above, and tweak the ingredients as shown below. It'll be good practice!

butter
onions
garlic
flour
water
Riesling
salt and pepper
butternut squash, roasted with brown sugar and honey
cream
brown sugar
diced apples

Bring 1 bottle of Riesling to a boil, reducing in volume by half. In a separate pan, sweat butter, onions and garlic. Add flour. Add water (about 3 to 1 ratio of wine). Add wine. Add salt and pepper. Add roasted butternut squash. Add cream and brown sugar. Blend until smooth. Add diced apples right at the end and serve.

Filed under Recipes • Soups & Stews • Wineries