Kinda nice and kinda nasty: chorizo and bean stew

Before Annalena begins, ragazzi, she has a question which  maybe some of you can answer:  WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE BRACIOLE RECIPE?    Just before logging on, Annalena checked to see who was reading what.  In first place, as it always is, is her braciole recipe, with 76 hits.   SEVENTY SIX.  The closest one after that, had 11. 

What is it about the braciole, bambini?  This is the way it is every week, every month, every year.  She simply does not get it. 

But to cooking something new.  Ragazzi, Annalena has been more than stressed lately.  Let us put it this way: when Annalena does not eat, and sleeps, she is in trouble.  And she has been in dire trouble.  She did not make it all the way through to the end of the Academy awards last night, which is a shame because her hero, Michelle O'bama was on, and she regretted missing that. 

It has been work stress. But, to be totally open with you, amici, Annalena offered to tender her resignation today.  It was answered with 'WHAT THE FUCK/ ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"  And no, it was NOT because her boss wanted to fire her.    Karma takes a while to come around, kids, and after 30 years of working for people who really are not fit to wash the socks of her new boss, Annalena has found hers.  So, just a bit of trite stuff you've heard before, but not from Annalena:  WAIT.  Things balance.  She will be lighting candles tomorrow.

So now we got to this "naughty but nice" dish, which is really, really tasty.  Naughty, because it has very fatty pork sausage in it (chorizo, which you can substitute with other really fatty sausage, although Annalena understands not why you would).  Nice, because it has beans in it, which are good for you and filling and make you feel like a good person.  And spinach, which we all know makes you feel good. 

Ultimately, this is a really, truly good dish if you keep things in balance. Don't eat too much of it - if you can.  Or treat it as a bad thang on your cheat day, if you have such things.  And again, its easy... if you got the beans. 

Annalena had the beans.  She had cooked a pound of them the week before, cooled them and froze them.  She urgently recommends that any of you who want to get more fibre into your diet, do the same thing.  If you have cooked beans in the freezer, you have food.  Yes, you can used cans, but....   Annalena cannot tell you to do that. 

You also need a pound of raw chorizo.  SMOKED chorizo is easy to find, fresh not, but try.  And if you don't find it, use a raw spicy or hot sausage of some kind.    You also need a large onion, slicd, and four cloves of chopped garlic. Maybe a sprig of thyme.  And a hefty quarter pound of baby spinach, or some other tender green.  And, finally, chicken stock.    Salt and pepper and olive oil too.  Let's get to work

You start by putting two tabelspoons of olive oil in a pan, and put in the sausages.  Don't wait for the oil to heat up and get hot. This works starting cold.  Just keep turning the sausage to keep them browning evenly.  How long it will take to cook them depends on the sausage, and how thick they are, but under is better than over here, because there's more cooking to come.    When you think they're done, pull em out.  

These are pork sausage.  You will have more fat at the end than you started with.  If it's chorizo fat, and you don't live with the Guyman, save it for cooking potatoes.  If you do live with a FAT nazi.... oh well.   Mi dispiace, ragazzo.  Save a few tablespoons, toss in the onion, the garlic and the thyme if you are using it.  Cook it at medium low heat until the onions color.    Now add three cups of cooked beans, and two cups of chicken stock.  Cook this until you get a simmer and, as it happens, press down on the beans.  They release their starch and thicken the liquid. And it thickens nicely.    It should take about five minutes.    Now taste, and adjust your salt and pepper, and start tossing in the greens, by handfuls,  waiting until one handful wilts before you add the next.  And, finally,  cut the sausage into small coins, stir it into the stew, and....

You got dinner. Or lunch.  The Guyman and Annalena had it with slices of broiled, left over polenta which wasn't the best choice in the world, but  "si chi e visto, chi e visto "    

This is a good one.  And  you can substitute the sausages, the beans, and the greens depending on what you have on hand, because we are NOT food nazis.

Next time around, carini, we're gonna WORK.  But its gonna be worth it. We're going to make chicken in vinegar sauce.  Unless you'd rather have the apricot squares first.  Talk to Annalena.  Let her know.  

Kinda vegan, kinda vegetarian: farro and leek salad

Ragazzi, this is one of those chameleon recipes that we all need.  Oh, bambini, it is truly and totally wonderful.  Very easy to make, using ingredients that you should use more often, and "versatile" in the true sense.  You can make this vegan, you can make this vegetarian, or you can bypass those labels and add animal proteins if you choose. And it is easy.  It really is.

You've seen articles, and read about farro, but you haven't tried it, have you?   Why not?  Seem intimidating to you? OK, Annalena is going to remove that intimidation right now:  here's how you cook it:  put the farro in a pot, cover it with water, at least 3 times the volume, and a teaspoon of salt.  Turn the heat on, bring it to a boil, and then lower it to a simmer,  and cook for about 20 minutes.  "About" is important here, because farro is like a vegetable: people like different degrees of doneness. So, after fifteen minutes, taste a grain or two, and keep it cooking until it's soft enough (or, firm enough), to your taste.  Drain it.

Now, while this 20 minute or so cook is going on, make your leeks.  Yes, leeks. Afraid of them, too? Ok, here's how you deal with them.  Get four large, or 8 small, leeks.  Cut them where the green part begins to get dark.  Toss that.  Make a long cut down each leek and check to see if it's dirty.  (The reason leeks are white is because they are banked in dirt, so it's possible.  At this time of year on the Northeast, the local ones don't need cleaning.  But they might.  ).  If they do, run them under water until the dirt is gone.  Then cut them into about half inch slices.  Some will fall apart, some won't. Worry not.  Put them on a baking sheet, and pour a quarter cup of olive oil over them.  Coat them, and then add  a teaspoon of salt.  Get them into a preheated, 425 oven, and roast for 20 minutes.  At ten minutes, stir them around.

So you've been cooking for twenty minutes, and you have your leeks and your farro.  But your hands have been free, right?  So, have you been working?  Well, this is what you should be doing:  get about 4 cups of cooked beans ready.  If you've been assiduous about cooking more beans than you need to when you cook beans, you should have them in your freezer, and  you can thaw them over very low heat.  If you did not do that, shame on you, and open up two cans of ORGANIC, light colored beans, or chickpeas.  The reason for the color choice, is because our other ingredients are l ight colored.  Kidney beans just aren't going to look right here.  Organic, because they don't overcook them.  Drain the beans, and wash them.    Put them in a bowl and, when the leeks are ready put them in with the beans.  Mix up the juice of a whole lemon, or more if you like acid, with half a cup of olive oil (and that's a cut back from teh original recipe), about half a teaspoon of black pepper, red pepper depending on how hot you like things, and another pinch of salt.  Pour all of this over the leeks and beans, and when the farro is ready, drain it, and add it, warm, so it will absorb some of the flavor.

Now, and don't leave this out, add a hefty half cup of currants.  NOT raisins, not sliced apricots, currants. Buy some.  Stir everything together.

This is all you need to do, and you have a lot of food.  But trust Annalena on this: notwithstanding all the oil, without "something else," this is not very satisfying.  Annalena adds crumbled feta cheese she buys from Karen the sheep goddess.  Find a nice sharp one.  Or put in shrimp.  Or diced chicken.    Or SOMETHING, and you have a meal.  Otherwise, put it next to a substantial entree, and you have a good side dish, with leftovers for stuffing a vegetable  - even cabbage.

Try it ragazzi.  We are all looking for new tastes.  And thanks to Annalena and the NY Times, you have one.

Quick, easy, non traditional: shrimp and escarole "salad

Annalena puts "salad" in quotes, ragazzi, because she is not sure that she considers this salad, even if it is called a "warm" salad.  She puts this up though, because it is a good dish and it gives us a chance to consider options.  Because this recipe, carini, is replete with things you can switch, leave out, add, etc.  And we will go over all of that.

Annalena's fans know that she loves escarole (shkarol as she called it as a bambino), so any recipe featuring this is going to get a look.   And during the winter, put in shrimp, and she's there (winter, because the local fish choices are limited, so shrimp is her "go to" protein).    But again, if you allergic to shellfish, she will give you an option. An easy one.      And for those who look at this kind of thing, with the shrimp, the total calories, in the WHOLE dish, are 1200.  So consider that as you serve it for 2,3, or 4  (Annalena thinks that three servings is right here.  So a 400 calorie dish).

We begin with our escarole.    Now, how big a head?  (Oh, so many answers there).  Let's say one about a pound, maybe a bit more.  Separate the leaves, and tear them into irregular pieces.  Ultimately, you will want about ten cups of raw green, which will cook down to almost nothing, as we will see.   No escarole?  You could try this with a hearty green, but really go with escarole. You can find it.   You also need a good "heavy" pound of quick cooking protein.  Shelled shrimp are such, and Annalena recommends the medium ones for this, as she does for all shrimp dishes.  Bigger than that, and she feels they become mealy and not so tasty.  If you are having problems with the idea of shrimp, use some cut up chicken breasts, or some scallops, or turkey cutlets, or pork cutlets, etc.  Essentially, any protein you would quick cook.  You could use beans also.

You are also going to need some garlic oil and butter: two tablespoons of the former, and one of the latter.  When you see dishes which combine the two fats, it is usually because the writer of the recipe wants the butter flavor, but does not want to burn it. Here, the combined flavors are wonderful, but if you have issue with butter, then go completely to olive oil. Don't go the other way though.

Now, here's where you can do some substituting.  You need two oil packed anchovies,  a couple tablespoons of capers, and eight radishes.  Let us look at what they do:  anchovies give you salt and that taste quality the Japanese call  "umani:"  they give a meaty flavor.  You don't have to use them.  You will taste a difference with them there, but if you don't have them, move on.  As to capers... well, Annalena feels that every home should have them, but if you don't.. SHAME ON YOU and use a few olives that you cut up until you go and buy the capers (which you were planning to do, weren't you?). On the radishes: they are adding crispness to the dish, and if you don't have them, use carrots or celery:  about half a cup sliced.  Incidentally, cooking the radishes eliminates their heat.  The Guyman is not a fan of radishes, but he likes this.

Ok, we have all of our options open?  Well, now we're going to cook, and Annalena is going to write as if there were no substitutions.

Put the cooking fat in a big skillet, and add the anchovies.  Over medium heat, stir and press them into the oil, and they will disappear.  They will - trust the woman on this.    Now add two cloves of chopped garlic and your capers.  Stir them in the hot oil for a minute.  No add the radishes, which you will have quartered.  Keep stirring, for about 3 minutes.  Now, add the shrimp, and cook em for about four minutes.

Here is Annalena's tip for cooking shrimp.  If you like that great "sear" on them, move the ingredients in the pan to a side, and toss in the shrimp.  DO NOT MOVE THEM for a minute or so.  Then stir them so the uncooked surface hits the metal  AND DONT MOVE THEM  for another minute.  You cook the shrimp for about four minutes.

Ok, you have tons of  escarole there.  Watch what happens.  Put half of it in.  Stir it around. Put a cover on the pan and count to thirty.  Take off the cover.

WAIT.  WHERE DID THE ESCAROLE GO?    Now put in the other half, and do the same thing.  And when it's all reduced, raise your heat as high as possible to drive off the juice , for about two or three minutes.

Off the heat, you can add a few tablespoons of grated parmesan, or pecorino if you like.  You SHOULD add the juice of about half a lemon.

Not too difficult here, huh?   Put some brown rice on your plate, if you like, or put this on top of pasta.  You're golden.  You made a really good dish.

And Annalena is dedicating this one, to a group of friends, who will be SO into this dish:  Ray, Daniel, Phil, Stephanie, Emily, this is for you, kids.  Annalena loves you and hope you make this.

GET TO WORK: Butternut squash and kale strata

Ragazzi, have you ever wondered 'are those timings on recipes right?"  You know, the ones that say  "20 minutes of active time, 600 minutes in total," or something along those lines?  And how often have you moved away from a recipe because it "took too long?"  Hmmm.  Thought so.  Well, now  you see HOW MUCH Annalena loves you in this recipe.  See, she thought it looked really interesting, really good, and really satisfying:  but it said that it took ONE FULL HOUR of work time, and then the cooking time.

Really?  Clearly, this was NOT for a night home from her office.  But it was for an afternoon away.  Annalena was sick and tired.  Not sick, not tired, but sick and tired, and came home from work early one day last week, and made this dish. And in so doing, she timed herself. Sometimes the timings are not accurate.  In this case, it pretty much was.  It took Annalena 45 minutes of pretty active work time, from start to finish, to get this in the oven.  And she's pretty adept in the kitchen, don'tcha know?   So, plan on an hour or so to  make this.  But make it, please.  It is SO good.  And if you need a vegetarian entree, well, this is it.

"Strata" is a dish that is distinctly Italian American.  At its origins, it was a way to use up left over bread (remember: it's a sin to waste bread amongst Annalena's peeps), and left overs.  You could put ANYTHING into  one.  Of course, this does not  take into account issues of how good it would taste, etc.  Most of the ones Annalena has experienced had sausage of some kind in them, and sometimes greens.  She may have had a vegetarian one or two, but can't remember.   And Annalena not remembering things, is nothing new.

OK, so let's go, bambini, because we have a  LOT to do, beginning with our  shopping.  Your main vegetables are two pounds of peeled, cubed, butternut squash.  A butternut squash weighs much more than you may think, so you'll probably be wanting to come up with something else to do with the left over squash you will have.  You also need one large, or two small, bunches of kale.  Don't use lascinato here. Use the Russian, or the  standard kale, and strip all the leaves off of the branches.    You will also want to s lice two onions fairly thin (size doesn't matter here), and chop a small one.  You also want to chop up about six cloves of garlic.

WHEW.  And we're JUST getting started.  Now get  2.5 cups of milk (2% or whole), a cup of heavy cream, and half a cup of creme fraiche.  Don't mix them together.. yet.  

Still with Annalena?  There's more.  You also need 8 large eggs, and you need a multigrain baguette loaf, which you will cube .  No taking off the crust here.    And... finally,  two or three sprigs of chopped thyme, a little hot pepper, and butter and olive oil.

NOW we start to cook.  Preheat your oven to 425, and spread 2 tablespoons of olive oil on a baking sheet.  Toss the butternut squash in this, and then sprinkle some salt over it.  Roast it for half an hour, and stir it after fifteen minutes.  You'll let that cool when it's done, but in the meantime...

Chop up those kale leafs, and toss them with the garlic into some HOT olive oil in a big skillet.  Probably 2 tablepsoons or so.   When the kale collapses, add the hot pepper, and half of the thyme.

NOW, put the kale into a bowl, and add some more oil to that pan, and add the  sliced onions.    Lower the heat, and cook them until they brown.  It may take about fifteen minutes.   Stir them every now and then, and when they're done, dump them in with the kale.

Now, we're gonna make a bechamela.  You need a heavy sauce pan, and you add 2.5 tablepoons of unsalted butter to this, and melt it at medium low heat.  Add your CHOPPED onion, the rest of your thyme, and cook for a minute.  Add  a quarter cup of flour, and stir, without stopping, until you get a very unpromising, slightly golden mess.   To this, add a cup of the milk.  Stir with a whisk, until you get something that looks a whole lot like wallpaper paste.     Take this off the heat, and add the rest of the dairy, and two teaspoons of salt.  Let THAT cool.

When the squash is done, mix that together with the veggies you've already cooked.  So, at this point you have a lot of dirty pots and pans, a bowl with vegetables in it, and a pot of bechamel sauce.  ALMOST  there.  When the bechamel is cool, add the eggs, and stir them together. (This is why it needs to be cool, ragazzi.  You don't want the eggs to cook. And now combine everything with the vegetables.

And.... now mix in the bread cubes.  (You better have a REALLY big bowl.).  Push the bread down, and let it sit for at least half an hour.  If you can , you can put this in the fridge overnight.  Most of us don't have the luxury of that much space though.

So after a half hour or so, grease a big enamel or glass baking dish (9x13), and pour the mass in.   Set the oven to 325, and bake this for an hour.

AND NOW.... increase the heat to 475, sprinkle a half cup of grated parmesan over it, and bake another ten minutes or so.

ARE WE THERE YET?  Yes, we are.  And you have a good, late night meal, a hearty breakfast, a dish for vegetarian lunch that does need a nice salad, and hopefully, someone to clean up your kitchen.

Don't complain ragazzi.  You got lots of quickies from Annalena lately (and the next one will be a quickie too, with everyone's favorite, shrimp).  So, go do yourself a good deed and make this strata.  You will be hard pressed to keep from eating it before you serve it,  and ultimately, you may say "that wasn't very hard at all."

But Annalena has her doubts...

Come with me to the casbah: Moroccan carrot salad

Yes, she's back on her Moroccan thing ragazzi, what can she say?    Things kind of happen that way.  One should not take this as a sign that Annalena is leaving her Italian roots and going to Northern African cooking, but still... everyone needs a change.   (Incidentally, Annalena has not forgotten about her challenging bread pudding dish.  It's coming.  But she made this today and felt it needed to be shared, as MFK Fisher once said and wrote "not now but NOW").

In the story on Moroccan monkfish, Annalena questioned the provenance of the dish. Not so here, as it comes from Paula Wolfert, who knows more about Moroccan food than perhaps the next five experts on the subject combined.  Normally, her recipes, which are spot on authentic, require enormous commitments of time and ingredients from the cook at home.  They ARE worth it, by the way, but you have to steel yourself for what will be a long stretch.  Not so this one. And it uses one of the vegetables which Annalena feels is subject to the old saying "familiarity breeds contempt."  Yes, we all KNOW carrots. We all LOVE carrots.  How many of us ever FEATURE carrots in a dish?  Annalena is as guilty of this as anyone.  So, here's an attempt to remedy that situation.  This is fairly fast, and easy, and of course, GOOD.

So, you start with a pound and a half of carrots. NOT the little skinny ones.  This is one where those monsters that you use for soup or stock will do. You'd be surprised how few of them you need:  Annalena had four.  Do not slice them.  Put them in a large pan and cover them with water, and add 3-4 whole cloves of unpeeled garlic.  IF the carrots are too long for your pan, then cut them in half, but pay attention while you're cooking.   Scrape them before you put them in the pot.

Bring the pan to a boil, and then lower it to a simmer.  You want to cook them until you can just put a knife through them.  If you've cut them in half, of course, the skinner segment will cook first.  So keep your eye on them, and test from time to time.

Now, make your dressing.  You need smoked paprika here, which you should have in your kitchen anyway. Half a teaspoon please, together with half a teaspoon of sweet paprika, which you should also have.  You can buy it as 'pimenton dulce."  Also, add a quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper, and half a teaspoon of salt.  Stir this all together.  Annalena also adds half a teaspoon of cinnamon.  This part is optional, but to Annalena's taste, it adds structure to your dressing, rather than sweetness.  Now squeeze in the juice of a lemon and stir this all together.  Taste it and see if it meets with your approval, and if it doesn't, add more of what you think it needs.

When the carrots are ready, let them cool until you can handle them.  Cut the bigger sections in half, lengthwise, and then cut the pieces into rough triangles.  ROUGH is a key word here, ragazzi.  This is simple food, and you want differences in texture and feel.  So put the surgical tools away.    Mix the carrot pieces in with the dressing you just made, and then add olive oil.  Be lavish, and stir as you add it.  Taste again, and once more, adjust the flavors as you like.

You leave this at room temperature until you're ready to serve it.  The cooking destroys some of the pigments that keep the carrots looking bright and golden, and brings out their red color.  This seems to work with the spices you've used, which are "red," don't ya know?

Annalena is presenting these on a plate with leeks vinaigrette and celery root remoulade.  You may have other plans for them, but do plan to use them, ragazzi.  Storage carrots are widely available this time of year, and if you've despaired of how to use them, well...

And she promises: the hearty bread pudding next time.    And Annalena dedicates this one, and the next one, to the Kale King, Jason

Not smoked, but fresh: marinated and grilled sablefish

Or, as we may call it, ragazzi, black cod.    Not enough of you know this fish, and that is a shame.  It is sustainable ( a very good point), it is delicious, and it is dense.  In fact, to Annalena's taste, the fish is about as dense as is swordfish.  If you like that kind of texture, you must investigate the fish.

Most of us know the fish in its smoked form, when it is always called sable fish.  "Smoked sable on a bagel." Ever wonder about it, or did you assume?  That's why we have dictionaries.

Two "negatives" here for us, amici, and Annalena should lay them out real clearly.  First, this is not a local fish.  It is arctic.  It's season is NOW, so if you're going to eat it, now's the time.  The second: this is a very expensive fish.  When Annalena bought this last week, it was 30 dollars a pound.  She can console herself with the fact that she is buying line caught, well managed catch, and is only buying the stuff once in a while, but these are, of course, factors that the cook must keep in mind.

Anyway, when you buy black cod, or fresh sable, you will probably get a large piece with the skin on.  Don't try to remove the skin, but when the fish is cooked, don't eat it.  Annalena did not find it that digestible, nor did the Guyman.  But it will separate very easily from the meat.  

You should also know that, given the density, you can probably eat a smaller portion of this than you would another fish - if you can.  It is very, VERY good.  BUT... again, ragazzi, it is very good, and very dense, because it is filled with oil.  And since these are oils from a coldwater fish, they are very dense, rather than the oils of , say, bluefish.  Still, don't let it sit around.  Use it the day you buy it, or the next day, if absolutely necessary.  No later.

In the last blog, Annalena gave you a very easy soup recipe.  Here comes one for fish.  You may not believe the simplicity of this, but here it goes.    You need two tablespoons of peppercorns (black ones), and two tablespoons of coriander seeds.  You also need a teaspoon and a half of salt, and two or three cloves of garlic, chopped.

Put the peppercorns and coriander seeds in a grinder, and pulverize them to rough.  Mix them with the garlic and the salt.  Now, take your sablefish/black cod, and skin side down, put that mix on the skin.  Put it all in the fridge, and let it sit there, for the day.

When  you're ready to cook, turn your oven to the broiler point, at least ten minutes before you want to cook.  In that time, get a glass or ceramic baking dish ( a small one), and rub olive oil over the bottom.  Dust the spice mix off of the fish.  Annalena's original recipe said that there might be accumulated liquid and to get rid of it.  Fair enough, but Annalena saw no liquid.

Put this into your oven, about 4-5 inches from the broiler, and leave it for a good ten minutes.   That seems like a long time, but you need that because of the thickness and density of the fish.  It will flake some, when it's ready.  Take it out of the oven, plate it in portions, and put some lemon with it.

And that's it.  Now could it get more easy? Well, yes it can.  Use this method for cooking the fish whenever you get it.  If you don't have coriander, use just peppercorns.  Or use nothing.  Just salt and pepper it.  Or make your own kind of music - OOPS - she means spice blend.

And as Ms Garten has said  "how easy is that?"

Now be warned, ragazzi. You have gotten a very easy soup recipe from Annalena, and now, an ABSURDLY easy fish recipe.  Next time around, to paraphrase Ms. Rupaul:  you're gonna WORK

Easy, comforting, good: "Cream" of chickpea soup

As Annalena looks out her window, she sees the start of yet another blizzard.  She is finding it difficult to keep the lyrics of Anne Murray's "Snowbird" in her head, and think of the unborn grass lying waiting for the cold to turn to spring.  AGGH.  Winter has gotten much harder for her as she's aged. 


When weather like this is here, let's face it ragazzi.  We all want SOUP.  And since we all want to be healthy, and nourished, and warm, and full, and everything else, we want our soup to be healthy.  And nourishing.  And filling.  And of course, warm.    Oh, and if we're making it ourselves, shouldn't it be easy too?


Ragazzi, that is why Annalena is here.  Yes, she is very much into "the big easy," and this one is.    There is in fact no "cream" in the soup, and it is perhaps a "veluttata."  A "veluttata"  as the name might suggest, is something with a velvety texture.  One obtains this, by pureeing.  The result is something creamy.. with no cream.  Now, you can add cream to this if you like, but Annalena hesitates to think why you would want to. 

And it is the easiest thing in the world to make.   Even easier if you follow the shortcut Annalena provides.  Oh, and one other thing:  it's ridiculously cheap.

We ready?  Ok, here we go. You need onions, garlic, chickpeas , thyme, salt , olive oil, and broth.   

Nothing too costly there, huh?  For your chickpeas, the shortcut is three 15 ounce cans, which you drain.  If you MUST use the canned stuff, get organic ones.  Try, ragazzi, to do it the "hard way:"  get a pound of dried chickpeas and put them under water overnight.   You can handle this.  And the dried stuff is even cheaper.

To make your soup, chop up enough onions to fill a one cup measuring cup.  That may be one really big onion, a few small ones, etc.  DO use onions, because leeks are too sweet for the soup.  You also need between 4-6 cloves of garlic, which you will chop up roughly.    and about 3-4 sprigs of thyme.

Put a slick of garlic in your soup pot, and add the onions and garlic.  Do it before you start heating the oil, and heat them together.  Medium heat, please.  When the onion gets translucent, throw in your chickpeas, and stir them through the aromatic vegetables.  Now, add your stock. Annalena really likes chicken stock, but if you are a vegetarian, or a vegan (YES... this is a  VEGAN soup), use vegetable broth.  You will want about a quart, at least.  (We shall come to the "at least" below).  Taste the mix and add salt.  Make it a little less salty than you would like, because the liquid will evaporate, and you can always add more.  Put a cover on the pot, leaving a little venting space, and lower the heat to a mild simmer.  And let it go for at least an hour and a half.  Check at that point, by tasting a chickpea.  It should be realy really tender (if you have opted for the short cut, it will take about half an hour).  When you get to a soft texture, stop the cooking, and let the soup cool.  Check your liquid level.  You want about an inch or two above the beans.  If you don't have that, add water, or more broth.

Now, ladle the soup into a blender, perhaps 2-3 cups at a time and puree it. Take your time doing this, because you want something really smooth.  Keep doing it until all your soup is pureed, and then correct for salt and pepper.

Wasn't too hard, was it?  Annalena likes this soup as it, but it does good by a garnish of greens.  Any greens.  So if you have, for example, some spinach in the house, or some escarole, or anything - even salad greens - chop em up, and have at em.

Can't beat it on these cold days.  Can't beat it anyway.  Good cold too.

Next time around, we look at what Mother Nature gives us when the swordfish have gone south.

Is it or isn't it? Moroccan monkfish

Ragazzi, on this one, Annalena needs your help.  She needs your help in determining : is it or isn't it Moroccan?
This is the issue with how we name food, ragazzi. Sometimes, there are standard names, which may very well be arbitary. Why "veronique" means white grapes, for example,  is lost in time.  Or, why "Florentine" means spinach is in the dish.  Annalena does not remember spinach as being especially prevalent when she was in Florence.  "In the style of..." is one of those things where, sometimes she wonders  "what part of .... has this as a style?"  Sometimes she does not.  She understands "paella valenciana" or as we've seen recently  "snapper veracruz."

But recently, for supper, she made a dish entitled "roast monkfish moroccan style."  Now, Annalena does not know enough about Moroccan cooking to know what makes it "Moroccan style."  Nor does she even know if monkfish is indigenous to Moroccan waters.  She did some research and learned that "angler fish" does inhabit Moroccan waters. BUT... "anglerfish" is used to describe a LOT of different fish.

So we do have a case of "is it, or isn't it?"  We also have a case of a delicious recipe, which will serve when you wish to expand your repertoire of fish dishes.  It is a bit on the spicy side - and let us clarify that "spicy" does not always mean "hot."  This one is mildly hot.  You could take all of the hot element out (the cayenne pepper), or increase it.  Increasing it may make you lose the nice flavor of the fish, but you'll still have the texture.  It is your call.  But it is your duty to (i) make this and (ii) let Annalena have your thoughts on the vexing question of the dish' origin.

So let's cook.  You need a pound or so of monkish.  Strictly speaking, Annalena should say "monkfish tails," but that's the only type of monkfish you can buy, unless you get the liver, and she thinks you can probably tell that liver is not a good idea in the dish.

Pat the fish dry and salt and pepper it, while you turn the oven to 450, and get a glass, or ceramic baking dish ready, by pouring a quarter cup of olive oil into it.

Collect your spices:  You need a quarter cup of minced parsley, a few cloves of chopped garlic, a quarter teaspoon of cayenne (Annalena doubled this), a TABLESPOON of ground cumin (does this make it Moroccan?), and a half teaspoon of ground coriander.  (Perhaps it is the combination of cumin and coriander.  Annalena has seen these combined in Moroccan food before, but always with orange rind).    You may wish to combine everything in a food processor to blend it.  Annalena did so, and was glad she did.

Take your fish, and roll it in the olive oil  . You may want to cut the fish into service pieces first, and that's fine.  You may need more oil if you do that.  After it's coated with oil, roll it in the herb paste you just made.   Put the fish in the roasting pan, and pour a 16 ounce can of chopped tomatoes, with their juices, all over the fish.

Bake this for about fifteen minutes, and check to see if it's cooked enough for you.  If not, cook it for 5-10 minutes more, but no longer.

It's "Moroccan," so make some couscous, or Israeli couscous, or get some flatbread.    It's a real tasty dish, whereever it is from.