From Faith: It was a bitter cold afternoon, and I was testing recipes at Orient Point on the North Fork of Long Island. Because the house is situated high on a bluff overlooking Long Island Sound and across the pond from Old Saybrook, Conn., the wind was howling. This was soup weather, only I didn’t want to set foot outside, and that meant it was time for pantry shopping. The attitude here is to keep your mind open to invention. Rummaging around, I found a large can of Muir Glen Tomatoes (my favorite canned variety.) Then I started grabbing this and that from the shelves… olive oil, fresh garlic, a red onion, a carrot, an old piece of parmesan cheese… fresh mushrooms… a splash of vodka. (Why not? It was in the freezer and we all love penne a la vodka.)
In this case, the canned tomatoes were the object of my doctoring, and it had the added benefit of being far lower in calories and salt than traditional canned soups. From this point on it was an easy ten minute assembly job to make a good hearty soup/stew. Feel free to add whatever you like, such as spices, ground meat, pasta or couscous, diced peppers, diced chicken or pork, olives, anchovies, mushrooms, or a variety of other vegetables that might be wilting away in the fridge. (I tossed in a bag of frozen broccoli rabe.)
- 1 28 ounce can canned tomatoes Muir Glen, diced
- 3 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
- 4 cloves garlic fresh, minced
- 1 onion red or white, chopped
- 2 carrots chopped
- 1 ounce vodka or white vermouth (optional)
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- red pepper flakes crushed, (optional)
- chicken or beef (optional)
- parmesan cheese grated
- Smash four cloves of peeled garlic with the flat of your knife. Dice the carrots, onion, and whatever other vegetables you might have hanging around.
- In a saucepan, add the onions, carrots, garlic, and other vegetables you have. Cook, stirring on medium-low, until the garlic and carrots soften a bit; careful not to burn the garlic. Add the can of diced tomatoes and the splash of vodka (or vermouth.) Let it simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding any cooked meat, if using, about half way through. You can also toss in uncooked pasta or couscous half way through. My soup thickened so I added a quarter cup of water to make it more like soup instead of stew, though stew would have been fine. Serve with a liberal amount of grated parmesan on top.
