Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes from the New York Times (3 page)

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: ABOUT 30 MINUTES

IF STRACCIATELLA IS
egg drop soup’s less-well-known cousin, avgolemono is its neglected stepchild and it can be prepared easily, quickly, and almost effortlessly from ingredients that most of us always have on hand.

1.
Put the stock in a large, deep saucepan or casserole and turn the heat to medium-high. When it is just about boiling, turn the heat down to medium so that it bubbles but not too vigorously. Stir in the rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice is cooked, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add the tomatoes if you’re using them; turn the heat under the soup to low.

2.
Use a whisk to beat the eggs in a bowl with the lemon zest and juice; still beating, add about ½ cup of the hot stock. Gradually add about another cup of the stock, beating all the while. Pour this mixture back into the soup and reheat, but under no circumstances allow the mixture to boil.

3.
Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding salt, pepper, or lemon juice as necessary. Garnish and serve.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 30 MINUTES

MOST SOUPS HAVE
simple origins, but none more so than this Mediterranean one of France, whose antecedent is usually called something like
boiled water.
At its most impoverished, this is no more than garlic simmered in water to give it flavor, with a few crusts of bread added for bulk. Simple as it is, boiled water is the perfect example of how an almost absurdly elementary preparation can be converted quickly and easily into one that is nearly grand.

Use stock in place of water if you have it. This is a fine place for canned stock, because the garlic-scented oil will boost it to a higher level.

Remember to cook the garlic very gently to add complexity and color; by then browning the bread in the same oil, you increase its flavor immeasurably. Also consider doubling the amount of bread given in the recipe here; like me, you may find the allure of bread crisped in garlic-scented oil irresistible.

1.
Combine the olive oil and garlic in a deep skillet or broad saucepan, turn the heat to medium, and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Cook, turning the garlic cloves occasionally, until they are tender and lightly browned all over, about 10 minutes; lower the heat if they seem to be browning too quickly. Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon.

2.
Turn the heat to low and add the bread (in batches if necessary); cook on each side until nicely browned, a total of about 4 minutes. Remove the bread, add the stock, and raise the heat to medium-high.

3.
When the stock is nearly boiling, add the shrimp and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the shrimp are pink, about 4 minutes. Put a piece of bread and a portion of garlic in each of 4 bowls, then ladle in a portion of soup and shrimp. Sprinkle with the parsley if desired and serve.

VARIATION

Thai Garlic Soup

Like egg drop soup, a simple soup like this has relatives from around the globe. This is one of my favorites. To make it, add a minced fresh chile, or a few small dried chiles, to the oil along with the garlic (discard dried chiles after cooking). Omit the bread; add 2 cups cooked rice to the soup along with the shrimp. Substitute fresh cilantro for the parsley, and serve with wedges of lime.

NOTE

To make a stock from the shrimp shells, put the shells in a pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, and simmer for about 5 minutes; strain. (The liquid can be used in many shrimp dishes or in place of fish stock in most recipes. You can accumulate shells and freeze them over a period of months if you like, and there’s no need to defrost them before making the stock.) The amount of stock made by the pound or so of shrimp in this recipe isn’t enough to complete the soup, but its volume can be increased with water or enhanced with chicken stock; the combination is wonderful.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 30 MINUTES

WATER-BASED SOUPS
are great, but many soups are indisputably better when made with meat stock. Of course you don’t always have stock, and there are short cuts that produce in-between soups. One of the easiest and most effective ways of making a potent soup quickly and without stock is to start with a small piece of prosciutto or other dry-cured ham. The long aging process this meat undergoes—almost always a year or more—ensures an intense flavor that is quickly transferred to anything in which it is cooked, including water.

To save time, chop the vegetables and add them one at a time while you’re rendering the ham; by the time you’re done chopping, you’ll have added all the ingredients except water. And if you bring the water to a boil before you begin chopping, you really minimize cooking time, producing a thick, rich soup in less than thirty minutes. Do not omit the final drizzle of olive oil; its freshness really brings this soup to life.

1.
Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a pot or kettle. Put 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in the bottom of a saucepan and turn the heat to medium. Chop the prosciutto (remove the fat if you must, but remember that it has flavor) into ¼-inch or smaller cubes and add to the oil. Brown, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, while you prepare the garlic, onion, and greens.

2.
Peel the garlic and chop it roughly or leave it whole. Peel and chop the onion. Wash and chop the greens into bite-sized pieces.

3.
When the prosciutto has browned, add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to color, about 2 minutes. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until it becomes translucent, 2 or 3 minutes. Add the greens and stir, then add the boiling water. (You can prepare the dish in advance up to this point. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days, then reheat before proceeding.) Stir in the pasta and a good sprinkling of salt and pepper; adjust the heat so the mixture simmers.

4.
When the pasta is done, taste and adjust the seasoning. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and serve.

VARIATIONS

The basic recipe, though delicious, is on the meager side, the kind of soup people make when times are hard or no one’s been shopping lately: a small piece of meat, some common vegetables, a little pasta. But you can make it as elaborate as you like and even convert it to a stew by doubling the amount of meat, vegetables, and pasta. The chopping time will be extended slightly, but the cooking time will remain more or less the same.

• Add more root vegetables, like thinly sliced carrots or chopped celery, or diced potatoes or turnips.

• Vary the greens: Shredded cabbage is perfect for this soup and will cook as quickly as kale. Collard, mustard, and turnip greens are also appropriate. Some peas and/or corn will work nicely, too, even if they come from the freezer.

• Use any starch you like in place of the pasta: Rice and barley, each of which take a few minutes longer than pasta, are good choices.

• Add tomatoes, either fresh, canned, or paste, for color and flavor. To use tomato paste, just stir a couple of tablespoons into the sautéing vegetables before adding the water. Tomatoes should be added with the onions so they have time to break up.

• Leftovers are great, like a bit of chopped chicken or some vegetables from a previous meal (rinse them with boiling water if they were sauced).

• Consider the chopped-up rind of hard cheese, like Parmesan, which will not only soften enough to become edible during cooking but will add great flavor to the soup.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 40 MINUTES, PLUS TIME TO CHILL

IN ITS TRADITIONAL
form, this cold potato-and-leek soup borders on boring: potatoes, leeks (or onions or a combination), water or stock, salt and pepper, butter, and cream. What little complexity the soup has comes from butter, lots of salt and pepper, good stock, and, of course, cream. But if you add other vegetables, like garlic and carrots, things become more interesting. And you can nudge the soup over into gazpacho territory by adding a tomato to the mix, along with basil. Some protein, like shrimp, can turn it into more of a whole-meal soup.

1.
Combine the water or stock, potatoes, leeks, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste in a saucepan, cover, and turn the heat to high. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat so the mixture simmers steadily but not violently. Cook until the potatoes are tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Cool or chill, then season to taste.

2.
Puree in a blender, then chill fully. Stir in the cream, then adjust the seasoning and serve, garnished with parsley.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 30 TO 40 MINUTES

ANYONE WHO’S EVER
had a garden or raided a corn field knows that when corn is young you can eat it cob and all and that the cob has as much flavor as the kernels. That flavor remains even when the cob has become inedibly tough, and you can take advantage of it by using it as the base of a corn chowder—a corn stock, if you will. Into that stock can go some starch for bulk, a variety of seasonings from colonial to contemporary, and, finally, the corn kernels. The entire process takes a half hour or a little bit longer, and the result is a thick, satisfying, late-summer chowder.

1.
Shuck the corn and use a paring knife to strip the kernels into a bowl. (Catch any liquid that seeps out and add it to the soup.) Put the cobs in a pot with 1 quart water; bring to a boil, cover, and lower the heat to simmer while you continue.

2.
Put the butter or oil in a saucepan and turn the heat to medium-high. When the butter melts or the oil is hot, add the onion and potatoes, along with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens, about 5 minutes; add the tomatoes if you’re using them and cook, stirring, for another minute or two.

3.
After the corn cobs have cooked for at least 10 minutes, strain the liquid into the onion-potato mixture; bring to a boil, then turn the heat down so the mixture simmers. When the potatoes are tender, after about 10 minutes, add the corn kernels and milk and heat through. Adjust the seasoning, garnish with the parsley if you like, and serve.

VARIATIONS

Corn Chowder with Bacon and Cream

In step 2, substitute ½ cup chopped bacon for the butter or oil; cook over medium heat until it renders some of its fat, then add the onion. Proceed as directed. In step 3, use heavy cream or half-and-half in place of milk.

Curried Corn Chowder

In step 2, use oil and add 1 tablespoon curry powder, or to taste, and 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger to the onion as it cooks. Proceed as directed. In step 3, use sour cream in place of milk; garnish with minced cilantro in place of parsley.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 30 MINUTES

ALTHOUGH CLAM CHOWDER
takes many guises, the best is a simple affair that has as its flavorful essence the juices of the clams themselves. And as long as you begin with fresh clams, these juices are easily extracted and reserved; the minced clam meat becomes a garnish.