Souperbowl I: Eggplant, Beans, & Orange Zest
There is a game afoot under the twitter hash tag #souperbowl and to play along all you have to do is use the ingredients selected in the style of the culture selected and make something tasty (or torturous) to share with the group. The details are here on the blog of @nickelmoon.
The first challenge is to make something Italian using Eggplant, Beans, and Orange Zest. That orange zest is an odd ingredient but I had an idea. The eggplant and beans scream Minestroni and since I like a little fresh squeezed lemon in mine any way how could a little orange zest hurt?
Ingredients
- 2 carrots peeled and sliced
- 2 ribs celery sliced
- 1 medium to large onion diced
- 1 or 2 cloves garlic sliced thin
- 1 eggplant peeled and diced
- 2 small or one good sized zucchini cut lengthwise and sliced
- 2 small or one good sized yellow crook neck squash cut lengthwise and sliced
- 1 15 oz can cannellini beans (white kidney beans)
- 1 28 oz can San Marzano tomatoes.
- salt
- pepper
- basil
- extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup orzo pasta (I use a good handful)
Makes about 10 cups.
In a hot large pan generously coat the bottom with olive oil and add the onions carrot and celery. Season generously with salt and pepper. Stir while softening the onion. When translucent add your garlic and stir a few seconds more until you can smell it cooking. Add the remaining ingredients except the orzo pasta plus a tomato can worth of water to just about cover the vegetables. Simmer for about an hour and then add the orzo about 15 minutes before serving.
For the challenge I micro-planed some orange zest over the bowl and as my usual squeezed a little lemon over it as well. Served with a hearty sourdough with butter I could have asked for a better meal on a cold day.
I have to say that at first the orange zest seemed a bit much, but as I stirred it into my soup it added a pleasant dimension with a slight bitter note. I didn’t mind it at all.
