Miserable day today. Cold, raining and windy. Like it was November already. Good day to grump around the house, really. Then I found beautiful swiss chard and leeks at the market. Instant inspiration. White bean swiss chard soup. This is an savoury soup, smoky from the bacon and earthy from the beans. Serve it with a bit of good bread and you have a meal in a bowl. A meal that warms from within. It’s even healthy. Loaded with legumes and dark greens. And it’s really not that much bacon after all.
appetizer
roasted beets and carrots with goat cheese and balsamic glaze
Roasted beets and carrots with crumbled goat cheese and balsamic drizzle. A fantastic side dish for almost any dinner.
panzanella – tuscan tomato bread salad
Panzanella is a tuscan tomato bread salad from the land of endless summer. If you like tomatoes and you like bread you owe it to yourself to try it at least once.
Where I live tomatoes are trucked for miles in winter. I think they’re tomatoes. That what the sign says. The taste says nothing. Nothing. Dust. In summer though, picked at the peak of ripeness from nearby farms the tomato is a magical thing. For me, it just screams summer and I work them into almost every meal for as long as they last.
truffled leek and potato soup
Without the truffle this soup is called potage parmentier when served hot and vichyssoise when served cold. I don’t think it has a name but truffled leek and potato is completely over the top.