No. 513Recipe Card Posted on Leave a comment

Pappa al Pomodoro

Pappa al Pomodoro | BijouxsLittle Jewels

This simple soup is my year-round favorite, often made with canned San Marzano tomatoes when the fresh tomatoes disappear. Pappa al Pomodoro is a true Little Jewel.

THE RIVER CAFE

One of my favorite soups, hand down. I first tried this Italian classic in, of all places, London at the famed Rogers and Gray restaurant the River Cafe. I can not define the simplicity of this classic Tuscan Soup, but the flavor of that journey remains. This is really what Italian rustic cuisine is all about.

TOMATO & BREAD SOUP

What could be more basic that tomatoes, garlic and olive oil, built into a satisfying soup using day-old rustic bread. Italian genius. Tomatoes, fresh or canned, are simmered with garlic and olive oil, then day old rustic bread is added at the end to create an amazing bowl of soup. I think this about as close as food served in Italian homes.

SIMPLE AND RUSTIC

Chefs Roger and Gray created a window into Italian cuisine. The restaurant and their classic cookbook “Italain Country Cookbook” 1995 is one every home cook needs to have on their shelf. More than just a cookbook is speaks to a way of life and beautiful cooking in Italy. Nothing goes to waste.

 

No. 498Recipe Card Posted on Leave a comment

Roasted Heirloom Tomato Soup & Parmesan Toast

ROASTED HEIRLOOM TOMATO SOUP & PARMESAN TOAST | Bijouxs Little Jewels

The gray days of late winter are all about California’s fickle weather. Today it’s rainy and cold, even snow on our local mountains. Staying present my senses are telling me soup. Classic tomato soup takes on a Italian profile–Roasted Heirloom Tomato Soup with Parmesan Toast is a comforting little jewel. Continue reading Roasted Heirloom Tomato Soup & Parmesan Toast

No. 484Recipe Card Posted on Leave a comment

Fennel Fronds Pesto

Fennel Fronds Pesto | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Fresh Fennel is a little jewel to include in your garden. The fragrant green fronds create a rich green pesto, another little jewel from the Bijouxs kitchen.

FENNEL IN THE GARDEN

I have always included fennel in my gardens, even now in my tiny garden at my bungalow up the Central Coast. I was gifted a large fennel plant from a neighbor’s garden. Fennel bulbs multiple, so my neighbors dug up a large clump of bulbs to share. Turns out fennel is fussy about a transplant, there is a long tap root and you really have to keep if watered during its adjustment time. I cut back the fronds and planted in rich planting mix, after a few months my fennel is thriving.

 Fennel Fronds Pesto | Bijouxs Little Jewels

FENNEL IN THE KITCHEN

I have used the bulbs in a variety of recipes, cooked and raw in salads. Fennel has a mild anise/licorice taste. You will see many times fennel a part of Italian cuisine. The bulbs can be braised, with cream and cheese, also roasted and put into salads and pasta. One of my favorites is this Blood Orange, Fennel & Radicchio Salad. Thinly sliced fennel adds the crisp crunch to the beautiful salad made colorful with rich hues from Blood Oranges.

 Fennel Fronds Pesto | Bijouxs Little Jewels

FENNEL PESTO

So, what to do with all the luxuriant fronds that accompany the fennel plant? What came to mind was a pesto, which I have made with greens other than basil. After a checking the internet I discovered that you can basically just substitute fennel fronds in place of the basil-so simple. Many times, if I do not have pine nuts, I swap out walnuts in my pesto, as I did in this recipe. I used the basic ratios of my original basil pesto recipe.

There are of course many ways to use the pesto, just as you would use basil pesto. I liked this pesto as a dip for a steamed artichoke or spread on a sandwich or tossed with pasta. Fennel a little garden jewel.