Winter Doldrums or Excuse to Eat?

So, by now, you might be finished with winter, or you may be embracing it as an opportunity to eat comfort foods.  Today is Super Bowl day and while the traditional urges to eat snacky foods is there a little bit, we will be bucking tradition and eating some fresh-from-the-garden goodies in the form of comfort food goodness.  This is comfort food that doesn't do what most comfort food does: makes you feel uncomfortable.  We won't be watching the Super Bowl, either (gasp!), so we will be breaking all the rules today.  Yesterday I was the proud recipient of some fresh, just-picked produce from my friend James Henderson of The Brickhouse at Lilac Hill Farm.  Since I was gone during winter garden planting time period and returned to find my garden ravaged by stink bugs, I am having to depend on James for my regular winter produce.  He, or rather his dad, brought me some beautiful red oak romaine lettuce, some broccoli, kale, parsley and cilantro!  I was excited about the cilantro, so I will probably make some guacamole, but that is as close to football fare as we will get.  I also have some beautiful okra purchased at Fresh Market because I was craving it, so using that, some chick peas, bi-color eggplant and  cilantro, I will make a yummy Indian dish of some sort.  I usually just make it up and cook it in the crockpot.  Then the whole house will smell like an Indian market.  So comforting on a cold day.

Last night, I made some Italian comfort food, a ribollita.  This hearty soup is a great use of what's in the fridge and pantry already.  It always contains cannellini beans and leftover bread.  Other typical ingredients include: celery, onion, garlic, carrot, cabbage or other winter green, and tomatoes.  I had some ham that I added and used some leftover ciabatta for the bread crumbs.  For the greens, I used kale, since I had just gotten a delivery of it.  Had I been thinking, I would have tossed in the arugula I had that needed to be used.  Maybe I'll throw that in when I reheat it today for some bright green color, since the kale has lost it's vibrant green after simmering in the crock pot.

So while everyone else is eating 7-layer dip, salsa, wings, and whatever else people eat on Super Bowl Sunday, we will be feasting like Italian peasants.  I made some macaroni and cheese the other night, so maybe I will heat that up as homage to the day.  Then we'll curl up with a good movie and be glad we're not stuffed full of cheese and sauce, corn and beer!

For your pleasure, the recipe I used for last night's soup.  I used lots of carrot and am lucky enough to have tons of rosemary all over my yard.  The ham was good, but I think next time I'll just use bacon.  A nice crusty rosemary bread was good alongside this and a drizzle of some citrus olive oil (I used one with lemon) added some brightness to the soup and made for good bread dipping.  It's also a good idea to thrown some park rind in the soup while cooking it and then remove it before serving. Don't forget a grind of fresh pepper before serving!

Enjoy and mangiatta!

3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

1 small onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

4 ounces pancetta or ham, chopped

1/2 cup olive oil

1 15-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes

3 15-ounce cans cannellini or great northern beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups chicken broth

1 sprig fresh rosemary

1 bunch kale, roughly chopped

1/2 cup toasted bread crumbs

Grated parmesan

1 In a large pot over medium heat, sauté the first five ingredients in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil for 5 minutes.

2 Add the tomatoes and their juices, along with the beans, broth, and rosemary. Simmer, covered, until the beans break apart, about an hour.

3 Add the kale and cook for 5 to 7 minutes more. Stir in the bread crumbs and serve, drizzled with the remaining olive oil and sprinkled with the cheese.

Recipe care of: Epicurious.com