Rich Garlic Soup With Spinach And Pasta Shells Food

RICH GARLIC SOUP WITH SPINACH AND PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a medium saucepan full of water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice and water. Separate the head of garlic into cloves and drop them into the boiling water. Blanch for 30 seconds, then transfer to the ice water. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then drain and remove the skins from the garlic cloves. They'll be loose and easy to remove. Crush the cloves lightly by leaning on them with the side of a chef's knife.
• Place the garlic cloves in a large saucepan with the 2 quarts water, olive oil, bouquet garni, and salt to taste, and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 1 hour. Strain and return the broth to the saucepan. Taste and adjust salt, and bring back to a simmer.
• Add the macaroni shells to the broth and simmer until cooked al dente.
• Distribute the garlic croutons among 6 soup bowls and top each one with a heaped tablespoon of cheese. Beat the egg yolks in a bowl. Making sure that it is not boiling, whisk in a ladleful of the hot garlic broth.
• Add the spinach to the simmering broth and stir for 30 seconds to a minute, until all of the spinach is wilted. Turn off the heat and stir in the tempered egg yolks. Stir for a minute, taste and adjust seasonings. Ladle the soup over the cheese-topped croutons, and serve.

CHILLED GARLIC AND SPINACH SOUP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place fresh garlic heads on parchment-lined foil, drizzle with oil, and season with salt. Wrap in foil, and roast until tender, about 40 minutes. Let cool, then squeeze out garlic, discarding skins. Place 1/4 cup yogurt in a bowl, and stir in 2 teaspoons roasted garlic.
• Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, and saute green garlic until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Let cool.
• Transfer broth mixture to a blender. Add remaining yogurt and half the spinach, and puree. Add remaining spinach, the basil, and 2 tablespoons roasted garlic (reserve remainder for another use), and puree. Add lemon juice, and season with salt. Refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 1 day. Before serving, top with a little roasted-garlic yogurt and basil.

SPINACH GARLIC SOUP

Steps:

• In a 5qt Dutch oven, bring spinach, broth and carrots to a boil.
• Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove from the heat; cool to luke-warm.
• Meanwhile, in a skillet, saute onion and garlic in butter until onion is soft,about 5-10 minutes.
• Add flour; cook and stir over low heat for 3-5 minutes.
• Add to spinach mixture.
• Puree in small batches in a blender or food processor until finely chopped.
• Place in a large saucepan.
• Add cream, milk, and pepper, heat through but do not boil.

GARLIC SOUP

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the smashed garlic and onion and cook, stirring, until soft and lightly golden, about 8 minutes. Add the wine, thyme, bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper to taste and the cheese rind. Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add 5 cups water, reduce the heat to low and bring to a gentle simmer; cook until the garlic is very soft, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the bread and let soak, 10 minutes.
• Remove the thyme, bay leaf and cheese rind from the saucepan; stir in the grated cheese, sour cream and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Transfer the soup to a blender in batches and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
• Combine the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, the sliced garlic and a pinch of salt in a skillet over low heat; cook until the garlic is golden and crisp, 12 to 15 minutes.
• Divide the soup among bowls. Top with the fried garlic, some of the garlic oil, and dill.

SPINACH-RICOTTA STUFFED SHELLS

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large wide pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, oregano, red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring, until thickened, 15 to 20 minutes; season with salt. (You should have about 4 heaping cups of sauce.)
• Make the stuffed shells: Preheat the oven to 375˚ F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta shells and cook as the label directs for baking, about 9 minutes. Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Spread out on a baking sheet.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the spinach and cook, tossing occasionally, until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to a large plate lined with a kitchen towel. Squeeze to remove any excess liquid, then finely chop.
• Put the spinach in a large bowl and add the ricotta, mozzarella, parsley, Parmesan, lemon zest, beaten egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Stir until combined.
• To assemble, spread about half of the sauce in the bottom of a 10-by-14-inch baking dish. Evenly fill the shells with the spinach-ricotta mixture using a spoon, or pipe it in using a pastry bag. Arrange the shells side by side, open-side up, in the baking dish on top of the sauce, then top with the remaining sauce.
• Cover the dish with foil and bake until heated through and the sauce is simmering around the edges, about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until any shells or cheese poking through the sauce are lightly browned in spots, about 10 more minutes. Let sit 10 minutes. Top with more Parmesan and red pepper flakes.

RICH GARLIC SOUP WITH SPINACH AND PASTA SHELLS

Steps:

• 1. Bring a medium saucepan full of water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice and water. Separate the head of garlic into cloves and drop them into the boiling water. Blanch for 30 seconds, then transfer to the ice water. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then drain and remove the skins from the garlic cloves. They'll be loose and easy to remove. Crush the cloves lightly by leaning on them with the side of a chef's knife. 2. Place the garlic cloves in a large saucepan with 2 quarts of water, the olive oil, bouquet garni, and salt to taste, and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 1 hour. Strain and return the broth to the saucepan. Taste and adjust salt, and bring back to a simmer. 3. Add the macaroni shells to the broth and simmer until cooked al dente. 4. Distribute the garlic croutons among 6 soup bowls and top each one with a heaped tablespoon of cheese. Beat the egg yolks in a bowl. Making sure that it is not boiling, whisk in a ladleful of the hot garlic broth. 5. Add the spinach to the simmering broth and stir for 30 seconds to a minute, until all of the spinach is wilted. Turn off the heat and stir in the tempered egg yolks. Stir for a minute, taste and adjust seasonings. Ladle the soup over the cheese-topped croutons, and serve.

PASTA E FAGIOLI SOUP WITH GROUND BEEF AND SPINACH

Steps:

• In a large pot (use a 10-quart pot for this) cook the ground beef with onion, garlic, celery, oregano and dried chili flakes until the beef is well browned; drain fat, then add in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese along will all remaining ingredients except the shell pasta, spinach and the Tabasco; bring to a boil and simmer UNCOVERED overlow heat for about 1-1/2 hours (or more).
• Add in the spinach and shell pasta about the last 15 minutes of cooking and continue to simmer over low heat until the pasta is cooked.
• Season with salt and pepper and Tabasco (if using).
• Ladle into bowls and top with more Parmesan cheese.