Oftentimes in the Bay Area, the weather doesn’t match up well with the season. Such as it was on November 1, 2011, when I made this soup. It was balmy, high 70s, no wind but I still wanted a winter soup. I couldn’t help myself. So here it is as we head into a weekend that promises to be rainy and chilly. Enjoy!
You can use any pinto, borlotti-like, or cannellini beans you want, and you can also play fast and loose with the sausage, even going so far as to use sausage in casings or lamb merguez or something like that. I happen to have used Rancho Gordo Good Mother Stallard beans and spicy, loose Italian pork sausage from Bi-Rite market. It was good, simple, and comforting, even on a warm day.
1/2 pound dried beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 dried chile, stemmed, seeded, and cut into strips or broken into pieces
3/4 pound loose Italian sausage
1 bunch kale, chopped
2 medium potatoes, diced
Other diced vegetables you may have like carrots, green beans, fennel (optional)
2 to 3 cups broth
Salt and pepper to taste
Soak the beans for several hours or overnight.
In a soup pot, over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, and chile and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Add the beans and enough water to cover by one inch and raise heat to high. Lower heat to a slow simmer, partially cover, and cook until tender (45 minutes to 1 hour for freshly dried beans; longer the older they are)
When the beans are nearly done, brown the sausage, breaking it up into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon. Drain the fat.
When the beans are tender, but still firm, add the drained sausage, kale, potatoes, and any other vegetables you want to use to the bean pot. Add 2 to 3 cups of chicken or vegetable broth to desired consistency. Bring to a simmer, and add salt and pepper to taste. Cook until vegetables are tender and flavors meld, about 20 minutes. Correct seasonings. This soup will be even better the next day.
Albacore Ceviche with Pumpkin Seeds and Persimmon
I’ve been on a ceviche kick lately. It’s the perfect appetizer…satisfying, yet light. And it perfectly suits my way of cooking…invent as you go. Every weekend I’ve been picking up some type of fish (sustainable only) and experimenting with different ceviche flavor profiles. Eventually I plan to go around the word with my ceviche experiments, so stay tuned.
As for this inaugural effort, I’m not sure where it hails from, exactly. But I know where it’s going: Smack dab in the middle of my Thanksgiving appetizer table. Serve with light crackers (like Mary’s gluten free or rice crackers), or homemade tortilla chips. If you’re part of the 99% and you’re feeding a crowd, you might want to sub out a less expensive firm, sustainable fish of your choice. I’m thinking tilapia, local rockfish, wild sockeye, or mackerel.
Measurements are exceedingly inexact. Eyeball it, play and taste as you go. Scale up (tee hee) as you wish.
Serves 2
Approx 6 ounces pole caught albacore tuna, (or other firm fish) diced
Juice of 3 or 4 limes to coat thoroughly (possibly more)
1/4 of a dried espelette chile (or a couple pinches of ground espelette, good paprika, Aleppo or any other moderately spicy, fruity ground pepper)
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger
1/2 of a red Fresno chile, seeded and diced very small
1 tablespoon finely diced red onion
1 tablespoon finely diced green onion
1/4 of a Fuyu persimmon, julienned
1/4 cup finely diced avocado
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
Mirin to taste (the purpose here is a little sweetness for balancing the tart limes. You could also use mild honey)
Salt to taste
Put the tuna in a medium bowl. Add the lime juice and toss to coat. The fish should be well covered but not swimming in lime. If you need more to thoroughly soak the fish, add it. Add the remaining ingredients by eye and toss. Let sit 10 to 15 minutes, tossing occasionally to mix well. Taste and correct seasonings. Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve within 6 hours.