SPICY SICILIAN SOUP
I can always count on a soup recipe by "Monkey and Me" to be delicious. Even though my sense of taste is still blunted post-Covid, I could still appreciate much of the flavor of this nourishing soup. My husband thought it was very good. I served it with southern maple corn muffins.
You can find the recipe at “Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures” recipe blog:
If you are not familiar with the term "al dente" read this short explanation from “The Spruce Eats”:
What Is the Culinary Arts Definition of Al Dente?
Here is how to pronounce "al dente":
How to Pronounce Al Dente? English & Italian Pronunciation
I had a patient who recently read a book by Dr. Gundry so asked me if he should avoid eating beans. I explained that the longest living people on the planet eat beans and he need not fear lectins as long as his beans are cooked. You can read this short article on the "Blue Zones" webpage to understand the bean/lectin issue:
Some specifics of what I did:
-My tablespoons of minced garlic were heaping
-The diced celery equaled 1 heaping cup
-The diced carrots measured 1 1/4 cup
-My diced red pepper measured 1 cup
-I used all broth, not plain water. I used half reduced-sodium vegetable broth and half prepared Orrington Farms Vegan Beef Flavored Broth Base
-My diced tomatoes were fire roasted since it's what my husband bought (I picked out most of the burned tomato skins)
-Used 1/2 tsp salt since the Orrington Farms broth was not reduced salt
-I added the baking soda when I added the spices...it foamed immediately.
-I cooked the soup on low simmer for 1 hour, then it sat for 2 hours as I waited for dinner time.
-I cooked 1 cup dry pasta until al dente. I would have preferred whole grain ditalini but my local store only had the white pasta option. Added a small amount of cooked pasta to individual serving bowls then ladled in the soup. I prefer this method over adding all the pasta to the soup pot.
