Silky Shallot Soup with Crispy Pancetta

For the last few years, I have been engaged in a wonderful relationship with shallots. I've found their sweet, sophisticated flavor has improved my cooking immensely, and they have, in many cases, replaced onions in my kitchen.

When food52 recently chose onion or garlic soup for one of its contests, I considered French onion soup, a garlic chorizo soup (need to pursue this idea one day), but then, it became apparent that I needed to create a shallot soup. It's unique -- certainly not something I've seen in cookbooks or restaurant menus -- and it fits my cooking sensibility right now.

This light-bodied soup contrasts the delicate profile of shallots with earthy rosemary and a touch of cream for a velvety texture. Top with pancetta and frizzled shallots for a burst of salty crispness and to echo the soup's essence. The end result is a subtle, yet intensely flavored dish.

Serve this silky brew as a first course for beef or chicken dishes, or as a main course with the obligatory crisp green salad and crusty bread.

Note: this recipe was a food52 Editors' Pick.

Silky Shallot Soup with Crispy Pancetta

Serves 4-6

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
5 cups shallots, thinly sliced, plus a half cup
Salt, pepper and crushed red pepper, to taste
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tablespoon rosemary, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
20 ounces good quality chicken stock
1/4 cup heavy cream
5 1/2 inch slices pancetta, cubed

Heat olive oil and butter in a large soup pot over medium, add 5 cups shallots, sweat until soft for several minutes.

Add salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and bay leaf. Cook until golden and beginning to caramelize, stirring often, about 20 minutes. Add garlic and rosemary.

After another five minutes or so, deglaze with wine and reduce. Add chicken stock and simmer for at least 10 minutes, longer if you have the time. Remove bay leaf.

Meantime, saute pancetta in a stainless steel pan until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Add remaining 1/2 cup shallots to pancetta fat and cook until crisp. Place on paper towels.

Remove soup from heat and puree with an immersion blender or in a food processor. Stir in cream and serve, topped with pancetta and frizzled shallots.

Gingery Turkey Meatball Soup with Spinach and Tomatoes

When it's cold and blustery, as it is just about all over the country these days, I head to the kitchen to fire up a big pot of soup. Warming, soothing and comforting, a steamy bowl of soup eases the indignity of winter's grey, sodden days.

This rendition blends the concept of Italian Wedding Soup with Asian flavors such as ginger, sesame oil and spicy sriracha, to create an entirely new dish. The result is an assertive, vegetable laden broth with a burst of citrus and a streak of heat, studded with savory, tender meatballs. 

Gingery Turkey Meatball Soup with Spinach and Tomatoes

Serves 8-10

For Soup:

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 large carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 heaping cup of shallots, sliced thinly
4 cloves garlic, minced
Sea or Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon sriracha
1/4 cup fresh basil, minced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced

64 ounces good quality chicken stock
Zest of half a lime
Zest of half a lemon, preferably Meyer

5 oz. baby spinach leaves

1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half

For Meatballs:
2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
1/2 teaspoon sriracha
2 teaspoons sesame oil
3 tablespoons fresh basil, minced
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced
Zest of half a lime
Zest of half a lemon, preferably Meyer
3/4 cup bread crumbs (I used whole wheat)
1.25 pounds ground turkey

1/2 pound ditalini, cooked al dente

For soup: In a large stock or soup pot, saute celery and carrots over medium heat for about five minutes. Add shallots and continue to cook, until vegetables begin to soften. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add garlic, stirring often.

After another 10 minutes, add ginger, sriracha, basil and cilantro. Combine well and add stock. Allow to simmer while you prepare meatballs. 

For meatballs: In a large bowl, add ginger, garlic, shallot, sriracha, sesame oil, basil, cilantro, lime and lemon zest. Combine well, then stir in breadcrumbs. Add ground turkey and fold until combined. Shape into 1.5-inch meatballs and drop into soup.

Gently stir in tomatoes and spinach and let soup to simmer until meatballs are cooked, about 20 minutes. Just before serving, add lime and lemon zest. 

In the meantime, cook ditalini in boiling salted water until very al dente, usually at least three minutes less then the package calls for, and add a small handful of pasta to each bowl when serving. Store leftover pasta separately from soup to preserve texture.

It's a Winner -- Roasted Bagna Cauda Broccoli on food52!!

I'm thrilled to report that my Roasted Bagna Cauda Broccoli was the Week 31 winner on food52. The recipe will be included in the upcoming food52 cookbook, and has been featured on the site. Thank you to everyone who voted, made the recipe or otherwise showed their support. And, of course, thank you Amanda and Merrill for creating this fabulous site, and to the food52 community for cooking up such wonderful recipes week after week.

And, in other terrific news, my friend Abbie's Barbacoa Beef Check Tacos have been selected as this week's finalist -- so please go vote for her terrific dish. 

Finalist on food52!

photo by Sarah Shatz

If you regularly read this blog, surely you've heard me talk about food52, the great community that's creating a crowd-sourced cookbook. Well, I'm excited to report that my recipe for Roasted Bagna Cauda Broccoli is a finalist on the site this week! If it wins, the recipe will appear in the upcoming food52 cookbook.

Roasted Bagna Cauda Broccoli combines the nutty toasty flavor of roasted broccoli with the complex flavors of anchovies, garlic, butter, olive oil, fresh lemon juice parmesan, and toasted almonds. Don't let the anchovies scare you -- they melt into the sauce and offer rich depth of flavor.

So, if the spirit moves, take a look at food52, and if you like the recipe, vote for it. Check out the slide show and video of site founders Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs cooking the recipe.

And, even if you don't vote, stay a while and check out the site -- and maybe you'll be inspired to enter a recipe!

Thanks, A&M!

food52 Editors' Pick -- Antipasto Couscous Cakes

Recently, food52, one of my all-time favorite food sites, selected couscous for one of their weekly contest ingredients.

I've enjoyed many couscous dishes over the years, but thought it was time for me to try something a little different. So, I decided to take the best components of an antipasto platter, mix in a little couscous and fry them up into little crispy cakes. I used kalamata olives, parmesan cheese, roasted tomatoes and sopressata, toasted pine nuts and, the kicker, red wine vinegar. The strong, salty flavors mingle with the mellow cheese, and the red wine vinegar adds a tangy bite. You can serve these Antipasto Couscous Cakes as appetizers, on top of salads or as a main dish.

I was pleased and excited to see that the dish was an Editors' Pick on the site, which is kind of like an honorable mention. Thanks, Amanda and Merrill!

Even better, my friend Abbie's recipe for Cedar Plank Grilled Loup De Mer is a finalist on the site this week! If she wins, her great dish will be featured in the food52 cookbook. So, please take a moment to go to the site and if you like her recipe, and I think you will, vote for her! Abbie is an excellent, creative cook and never fails to inspire me.

Antipasto Couscous Cakes

Serves 8-10

1 cup grape tomatoes
2 cups couscous, cooked and chilled (I prefer whole wheat couscous)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup diced sopressata
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup kalamata olives, sliced
1.5 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
pinch crushed red pepper flakes
salt and pepper, to taste
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
2.5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
olive oil, for frying

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place tomatoes into a large plastic freezer bag, drizzle in olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, then arrange tomatoes on a parchment or Silpat-lined cookie sheet, and roast for 20-30 minutes. Cool and slice in half.

Toast pine nuts over medium heat in a small pan, then cool.

Put couscous into a large bowl. Mix in garlic, sopressata, parmesan, olives, roasted tomatoes, red wine vinegar, pine nuts, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper.

Beat egg and egg yolk with a fork, the fold into couscous mixture. Gently add basil and sprinkle in flour, stirring until well combined.

Chill couscous for at least 30 minutes. Heat a large skillet over medium flame and add enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom. Scoop couscous with a 1/4 cup measure, press firmly into cup, then tap gently into your hand and mold into cakes with your hands. Place carefully into oil.

Repeat. Add more oil only if needed.

Fry couscous cakes until golden and crisp on both sides, drain on paper towels, let cool a few moments and serve. These are tasty at room temperature, as well.

Dinner at El Barzon

So we had dinner at El Barzon the other night, and my lingering thought is this place is Detroit's best-kept secret.


El Barzon, on Junction, just south of Michigan Ave., is owned by Norberto and Silvia Garita. Norberto spent eight years at Il Posto in Southfield, perfecting pastas and other Italian specialties. Silvia focuses on the traditional recipes of their native Puebla, Mexico. The couple has been in the States for 30 years, much of that time working at restaurants in New York.


The secret to El Barzon is everything is made from scratch, and the Garitas' source many ingredients locally. The simple, unassuming atmosphere is casual and comforting. Come as you are, feel free to bring the family, and relax.

On our menu:

-Housemade tortilla chips with spicy, fire-roasted red and creamy, cilantro infused green salsa. Best chips and salsa in town. Pair with a Mexican beer.

-Perfectly cooked crisp calamari with zucchini strips and tomato sauce. The zucchini strips are a thoughtful touch, and the sauce is spiked with herbs, olive oil and a touch of garlic. So flavorful.

-Veal chop stuffed with prosciutto and cheese, topped with a truffle sauce; potato gratin and sauteed spinach. A decadent, gorgeous dish. Truly memorable.

-Squid ink linguine with shrimp, crab and red sauce. Sweet and savory all at once.

The veal and linguine were specials, but the regular menu is vast and tempting. The portions are generous -- we ate half of everything and brought the rest home -- and the prices modest. For more on El Barzon, see Nicole Ray's piece in the fall issue of edibleWOW (the story's not online, sorry).

If you haven't been to El Barzon yet, I encourage you to go. Soon. Let's not keep this secret to ourselves any longer.

Short Ribs over Pappardelle

If you're looking for a special, decadent meal, look no further than these short ribs over pappardelle. We welcomed 2010 with this meal on New Year's Day, and found it the perfect way to mark a new decade.

Beef short ribs are a tender, succulent cut that lend themselves to long, slow cooking. They are versatile and adaptable -- you can infuse them with all manner of flavors, including French, Korean and Italian.

We went Italian this time, adapting Giada De Laurentiis' recipe. It combines rich, savory flavors like pancetta, rosemary and red wine with onion, garlic, carrot, beef broth and more.

This recipe calls for braising, a simple technique that coaxes maximum flavor and tenderness out of any cut. You brown the meat in a big pot, add your aromatics, herbs and braising liquid -- usually wine and/or stock) and then leave it alone for a few hours to work its magic. The result is meltingly soft and silky.

I started by crisping up some chopped pancetta, then removing it from the pot. Next, I seasoned the short ribs with salt and pepper, dredged them lightly in flour and browned over medium heat on all sides.

Meantime, I pulsed onion, carrot, garlic, tomato paste and tomatoes in a food processor until finely minced. I love this technique -- it made the sauce smooth and intensely flavorful. Once the short ribs are browned, you add the vegetable mixture back into the pot, add the pancetta, season with salt, pepper and various herbs, beef broth and wine. Cover the pot and go do other things for 75 minutes.

Then, remove the lid and stir occasionally for another 90 minutes. Remove the short ribs, shred the meat and return back to the pot. Cook up your pasta al dente and you're done. You can also let the shredded meat chill overnight and reheat the next day for even more flavor. We were supposed to grate a bit of dark chocolate over the finished dish -- chocolate intensifies the flavor of beef -- but we forgot. Next time.

This is rustic comfort food at its best, suitable for entertaining and great for a family Sunday supper. It was also one of the best things to come out of my kitchen in a long time -- this recipe really works.