light and easy

Tomato Soup on “Meatless Monday”

I love all kinds of tomato soups, even the kind in the can! Smooth and creamy tomato soup is fast and easy to make. This soup can be “accessorized” with garnishes like my cheese bread croutons, creme fraiche, or even some baked bacon bits with chopped hard boiled eggs. This is a versatile soup, it can be eaten piping hot or at room temperature. Any way you like to eat your Tomato Soup, here is a good, easy recipe to try. Let’s Cook!

Tomato Soup

Servings: 4-6
Difficulty: easy
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A fast, easy recipe for an all time favorite soup

Ingredients

2 large cans, 12 oz plum tomatoes with juices (note, I used San Marzano)

4 carrots, peeled and chopped

4 celery stalks chopped

2 sweet onions

1 small red onion

4 garlic cloves

2 tsp sugar

2 cups water

2 tbls extra virgin olive oil

small piece of fresh hot pepper (optional)

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

thyme sprigs to taste

Sea salt course grain and fresh ground pepper to taste

heavy cream (optional)

Directions

-In a medium size soup pot, add the olive oil, garlic, and chopped onions, lightly brown the garlic with the onions stirring, careful not to burn the garlic. (If adding heat add in the hot pepper here).

-Add the chopped carrots, celery and the plum tomatoes with their juices.

-Add the water, sugar, salt, pepper, basil and thyme

-Stir together, allow to simmer for at least 35-40 until all the vegetables (carrots and celery) are soft

-Using an immersion blender, or regular blender (in batches) blend until creamy and smooth

-Adjust salt

-If adding heavy cream stir in now

-Serve plain with Savory Cheese Bread croutons, creme fraiche, bacon and hardboiled egg or just with a sprig of fresh thyme

Buon Appetito!!

Mickey

“French Onion” Potato Salad

Hi everyone, I am sure lots of my American friends are getting ready for their Father’s Day BBQ’s. Today, I have a recipe for a potato salad that we made on my recent visit to Pittsburgh, it was so tasty we made it twice!! You might want to add it to your menu for tomorrow. It is easy and really, really good, it reminds me of a big bowl of potato chips with French onion dip, only lighter….Let’s cook!!

French Onion Potato Salad with Yogurt

Servings: 8-10
Difficulty: easy
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A light non mayo potato salad with lots of flavor

Ingredients

5 lb of new potatoes, note I used 25-30 little potatoes

5 medium sweet onions

3 tbls extra virgin olive oil

3/4-1 cup fresh flat leaf Italian Parsley chopped

3 cups plain greek yogurt i.e. Fage

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions

-Wash and scrub the potatoes, add to a large pot fill with cold water add sea salt and bring to boil, cook for 10-15 minutes depending on the size of the potato. A knife should be easily inserted when cooked, drain and let cool

-When potatoes are cool enough to handle peel and cut into quarters or eights, depending on the size of your potatoes, you will want large bite size pieces add to a large serving bowl

-While potatoes are cooking, peel and thinly slice your onions, cut the slices in half and add to a skillet, add olive oil and cook on a low heat, the goal is to gently cook the onions until they lightly start to caramelize. Be patient with your onions allow them to cook slowly, you do not want them to burn. When they are a light golden brown, take them off the heat and add them to the potatoes

-Add the salt, pepper and the parsley

Add the yogurt and mix well. Taste to adjust the salt

Serve and enjoy

Bon Appetito!

Mickey

Tuna Stuffed Peppers, Fish on Friday!!

Instead of stuffing your peppers with meat, try stuffing them with a flavorful tuna filling. This recipe is light, great for summer entertaining, easy to make and has few ingredients. Now when you see those lovely sweet (or hot) banana peppers at the farmers market bring them home and make this fun fish alternative. Let’s Cook!

Tuna Stuffed Peppers

Servings: 4
Difficulty: easy
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An alternative to meat stuffed peppers, light, easy and flavorful

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup of canned tuna, oil or water

4-6 depending on size, long, sweet or hot banana peppers

1 cup of ricotta cheese

1/2 cup of breadcrumbs (depending on the moisture of the ricotta you might need to add more)

1/2 cup Parmesan Reggiano

2 cloves of garlic

1 egg

1 1/2 cup easy tomato sauce

1/2 lb fresh Mozzarella cheese

Fresh thyme to taste

Sea salt and ground pepper to taste

Directions

-Preheat oven to 350F

-Clean and cut the pepper in half, if the peppers are large you can fill whole

-Drain the tuna and put in a mixing bowl, add the ricotta, garlic, parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, egg, thyme, salt and pepper mix well. If the mixture is too wet to hold a shape, add more bread crumbs and or parmesan cheese

-Fill the peppers with the tuna mixture