Was looking for a soup to do with a lasgne/schnitzel parmeasan dinner and found this .(.recipes )..

[elaine]

in my files from Gails posted by Marge.

I wanted to make the second one. Here are hers

REC Escarole soup with beans

Chickpea, spinach, mushroom soup.

Escarole soup with beans

2 Tablepsoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic crushed

1 onion chopped

2 carrots sliced

1 potato peeled and diced

2 cups broth (chicken or beef)

2 heads of escarole well washed and coarsley

cut

1 15 oz. can of ceci beans or chick peas not

drained

1/4 lb short pasta

In a large sauce pan heat oil and gently

brown garlic. add onion and carrots and

potato ( the potato will break up and help

thicken the soup.

after about 1 minute add the broth. Add

escarole , cover and let comr to a boil.

Lower and simmer for 1 hour, put in the pasta

and simmer till pasta is al dente

Variation: you can add spareribs or a couple

Italian sausages at the same time as the

garlic and brown the meat well, then add

everything else.

serve in soup bowls and sprinkle with fresh

grated cheese. I have found that if you add

the meat it becomes the main course, I

usually just serve it with hot Italian bread.

Ok here is the more complicated version, one

I trust Claire will enjoy.The girl loves a

challenge:

Chick pea,spinach and mushroom soup.

1 1/2 oz package dried porcini mushrooms

3 cups lukewarm beef broth

1 large can chickpeas

1 lb fresh spinach

salt

1 carrot cut up

1 potato diced

2 tablepsoons butter

3 tablepsoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons onion chopped fine

1/4 cup fresh ripe tomatoes peeled seeded

chopped very fine

1/4 lb stubby pasta

balck pepper in a grinder

3 tablespoons fresh grated parmesan cheese

Soak the dried mushrooms in the lukewarm

broth for at least 30 minutes. lift out the

mushrooms without stirring up the broth and

rinse them well in cold water. chop them

coarsley and and set aside for later.

Filter the broth that the mushrooms were in

through a wire strainer lined with paper

towel. set aside.

empty the can of beans with all the liquid

into a bowl.

remove the stems from the spinach and soak

the leaves in a bowl of cold water dunking it

several times. Lift out the spinach and

discard the water, repeat till the spinach is

throughly free of grit. Cook in a covered pan

with a pinch of salt and just the water that

clings to the leaves. When the spinach is

tender, (about 10 minutes) drain and squeeze

it lightly. chop coarse.

Put the butter, olive oil and onion in a soup

pot and turn on the heat to medium. When the

onion becomes colored a light golden add the

mushrooms, cook stirring or a minute or so

then add the tomatoes, cook an additional

minute. Add the salt chopped spinach and

several grindings of black pepper after one

or two minutes add the chickpeas drained of

their juice. stir for a little while then add

the filtered broth, the potato and the

carrot.taste and correct with salt and

pepper.

Turn the heat to a low simmer, add pasta and

cover and cook for 1 hour, the soup will end

up kind of dense but you can add additional

broth while it is cooking if you prefer it

lighter.

Turn off the heat and add the grated cheese

allow the soup to sit a few before serving.

I hope these were a help to you Sandy,

enjoy.

margaret

 

[elaine]

My tweak -REC: Chickpea, Spinach and Mushroom soup

This is one of the best I have made.



Chickpea, spinach, mushroom soup
1 box mushrooms (sliced)
6 cups beef broth
4 cups chicken broth (since I didn’t have enough beef)
1 can chickpeas –large
1 bag prewashed fresh spinach (about 10 0z.- 300 grams)
Salt
4 medium carrots –coarsely sliced
4 small potatoes (not tiny ones) coarsely diced
2 Tbs. butter
3 TBS. extra virgin olive oil
3 small scallions diced
2 small tomatoes, seeded,peeled
8 oz. pasta –stubby (I used fresh rigatoni since I had it and broke it up a bit after cooked)
Black pepper
1 TBS. dried herbs – province
3 TBS fresh grated Parmesan) I used pecorino since I had it on hand.

Since I had prewashed Spinach and fresh mushrooms, I eliminated the steps in the original recipe.
Put butter oil and onion in soup pot and cook until the onions are lite golden. Add mushrooms and cook for a couple of minutes. Add tomatoes, cook another minute.
Add spinach and pepper and salt and cook for about 4 minutes. Add chickpeas and their juice, stir briefly and add broth. Add potato and carrot, correct seasonings. Turn the heat to a low simmer and cook for 1 hour. Off heat add grated cheese.
This is a keeper and when I said I would have to write it down after dinner, my son said – go, now before you forget!