Tomato and Green Bean Soup

With Parmigiano Regiano.

I have big load of tomatoes and beans, chicken stock in my pantry and few pounds of real Parmesan cheese. When the hunger pang struck I knew what will chase them away! With chicken stock ready this soup takes just minutes to prepare but I wanted to dress it up a bit, so, out comes my cheese grater. It smelled and looked so great and kind of Summery. When the bowl was almost empty I noticed that now melted Parmesan was not only stuck to my spoon but on the bottom of the bowl as well and it was quite a job to clean the spoon (I use ceramic Chinese spoon only) and the bowl. I do love the taste of hot tomatoes, beans and Parmigiano but next time I will grate it on a baguette toast instead. This way no cheese will end up in the sink.

There isn’t much of a recipe, really: Put stock, chopped beans and tomatoes in sauce pan and boil till beans are soft to your liking and serve J.

Baked Penne with Bocconcini

This comfort food dish is based on Mac & Cheese recipe with few twists. Instead of boring macaroni I used Penne Rigatoni. The milk based cheese sauce was replaced with tomato sauce in which I have melted shredded Italian four-cheese mix and topped with sliced fresh bocconcini. The pasta and sauce mix was ladled into oven-proof dish and baked at 450 °F till sauce bubbled and bocconcini was melted. Absolute delight when served with crusty baguette and plain lettuce and arugula on side.

Bolognese Sauce (Meat Sauce)

Ingredients:

2 medium onions, finely chopped

4 celery ribs, finely chopped

2 medium carrots, finely chopped

5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 pound chopped bacon

1 pound ground veal

1 pound ground pork (not lean)

1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste

1 cup whole milk

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup water

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Direction:

Cook onions, celery, carrot, and garlic in oil in a 6 to 8 quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add bacon, veal, and pork and cook over moderately high heat, stirring and breaking up lumps, until no longer pink, about 6 minutes.

Stir in tomato paste, milk, wine, water, and thyme and gently simmer, partially covered, until sauce is thickened, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Add salt and pepper and remove from heat.

Sauce may be made 2 days ahead and cooled, uncovered, before chilling, covered. Frozen, it keeps for 1 month.

Based on recipe from Epicurious.com