Basque Roasted Pepper Soup

piment d’Espelette

Basque Roasted Pepper Soup

This sweet, smoky pepper soup was adapted from “The Basque Kitchen” by Gerald Hirigoyen. His restaurant in San Francisco is a rustic joy. The inspiration came from our Backroads.com, Pays Basque, Rustic Inns hiking trip to Spain and France in 2005. In my considered opinion this beautiful hike through the provinces of Pays Basque in the Pyrenees Mountains is one of the great culinary experiences in the world.

The Basques would use their famous piment d’Espelette (peppers) for this soup - the entire town of Espelette turns red with garlands of these smoky red peppers when hung out to dry each summer. I have found that pimento peppers, New Mexico peppers or any pungent small red pepper works just as well. The Basques grind their dried peppers into a sweet powder that you can order on line. In this recipe I used Aleppo ground chili pepper. The wonderful result is a soup that can be served either hot or cold.

4      pimento peppers (medium size), roasted, peeled, deseeded and chopped

1      jalapeño pepper, roasted, seeded, skinned and chopped

2      banana peppers, roasted, peeled, deseeded and chopped

½     Vidalia onion, chopped

1      carrot, chopped

2      stalks of celery, chopped

2      cloves of garlic, minced

½     cup of olive oil

2      medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

1      tablespoon crushed Aleppo chili pepper (or any crushed red pepper)

1      28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes (preferably San Marzano)

1      32-ounce container of organic chicken stock

1      tablespoon Kosher salt

        ground black pepper to taste

        assorted fresh herbs, chopped finely

        sour cream or Greek yogurt, garnish

        chives, chopped for garnish

Preparation:   Roast the peppers in a 375-degree oven for 30 minutes or until just charred – reserve to cool. In a stockpot sauté in olive oil the onions, carrots, celery and garlic until soft. Add the chicken stock, crushed tomatoes and potatoes and bring to a simmer. When the peppers are cool, remove their skins and deseed – chop and add to the soup. Add the pepper flakes, salt, ground black pepper and chopped herbs. Bring to a quick boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. When the soup has cooled use a blender to puree the soup in batches.

Presentation:  If serving the soup hot, return the soup to the burner and heat for serving. Garnish with a tablespoon of sour cream or Greek yogurt and chopped chives. If serving cold put the soup in the refrigerator for at least three hours and present the same way.

Eating Well Inexpensively

One of the myths of healthy whole foods is that they are expensive. I take issue with this and present this recipe as a case in point.

Constructed Chicken & Baby Potato Salad – Two servings

Ingredients.

½               Cooked chicken breast, cut into quarter-inch slices [Buy an organic roasting chicken two-pack at Costco for $9.99 – ½ chicken breast equals $2.50]

2                Fresh farm eggs, hard boiled, shelled and split in two [I buy a dozen farmers eggs a week at the Farmers Market for $6.00 a dozen - $1.00 for two eggs]

1                Bunch farmers market red lettuce [$  .50].

10              Baby organic potatoes, boiled [$1.50]

½               Vidalia onion, sliced thin [$  .50]

                  Herbs to taste.

                  Salt and pepper to taste.

2                Tablespoons butter [$  .25].

Total entrée cost - $3.12 per person.

Preparation.

Roast your chicken as you prefer and bring to room temperature or reserve in the refrigerator. Boil the baby potatoes until tender, bring to room temperature and toss with half the butter, herbs and salt and pepper. Sauté the sliced onion in half the butter until just lightly browned. Add to the potatoes and toss.

Presentation.

On two salad dishes arrange the lettuce on half of each plate. Display the sliced chicken across the lettuce. Spoon the potatoes and onions on the other side of each dish. Place the egg haves in between. Sprinkle chopped herbs on top. Salt and pepper to your taste. Lightly splash with a simple vinaigrette and serve.

The Government Knew About Bacteria in Turkey


Find a butcher you trust and grind your own meat. Factory meat contains flesh from hundreds of animal or birds, increasing the odds of contamination.

Golden Corn Cakes

These light and succulent fresh corn cakes are adapted from the recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi, a chef with four cafés in London, and Nopi in Soho NYC - http://www.nopi-restaurant.com/ - Yotam celebrates Middle Eastern flavors and vegetarian virtues. These corn cakes are light, crunchy and flavorful and accent the best of fresh summer corn from your roadside stand.

                                Corn Cakes

½             cup quick-cook polenta or fine-ground cornmeal

1 ¾          cups corn kernels, cut from 1-2 ears of corn, blanched in boiling water for 1 minute

1              small shallot, diced fine – about 3 tablespoons

½             cup chopped red pepper

½             jalapeño, seeds and membrane removed (more if you like heat)

½             teaspoon cumin seeds, roughly smashed

¾             teaspoon salt, plus extra for seasoning at the end

¼             teaspoon black pepper, plus extra for seasoning at the end

¾             cup Greek yogurt

3              tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for frying

3              eggs, separated

Cilantro Salad

4              cups arugula

1              tablespoon lemon juice

½ - 1        cup cilantro leaves
                     olive oil to taste

Garnish

                Sour cream

Preparation:  (1) In a large bowl mix the corn meal, corn, shallots, jalapeño, cumin, salt and pepper. Add yogurt, 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil and one egg yolk (reserve the other two yolks for another use). Mix well with a fork. It will form a fairly thick paste.  (2) In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Carefully fold the whites into the corn paste in two stages. This will change the consistency to a batter. Let rest for 5 minutes.  (3) Make the dressing by whisking 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil with lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.  (4) Set a large nonstick frying pan on medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Pour in 1 teaspoon olive oil. When hot, spoon 2 tablespoons of batter per cake until the pan is full. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until they are golden. Flip and cook 1 minute. Transfer to a paper-lined tray.  (5) Toss the cilantro and arugula. Add the dressing and toss again and season.

Presentation:  Serve the corn cakes with a dollop of sour cream and the salad on the side. We served this with an heirloom tomato and mozzarella salad with basil vinaigrette, along with a crisp Italian white wine - Italian Gavi, Mosby Cortese.