Candi's Corner: Wanderlust and Passions

~1 Red Onion,chopped
~2 celery ribs, chopped
~1 carrot, chopped
~little extra-virgin olive oil
~1 (small) bunch of Swiss chard
~3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
~1 tablespoon tomato paste
~1 14 oz can of crushed tomatoes
~4 cups hot water
~2.5 cups coarsely chopped red cabbage
~1 piece Parmigiano-Reggiano rind
Equipment:extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling; cooked ditalini pasta tossed with oil (optional); grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

~Cook, onions, celery, and carrots in oil in a heavy pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, while preparing chard.
~Cut out stems from chard and chop stems, reserving leaves. Stir chard stems into mixture with garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, and 3/4 tsp pepper and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very tender and begin to stick to bottom of pot, about 20 minutes total. (Set aside chard leaves.)
~Push vegetables to one side of pot. Add tomato paste to cleared area and cook, stirring constantly, until it starts to caramelize, about 2 minutes. Stir paste into vegetables and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. (Paste may stick to pot, but don’t let it burn.)
~Stir in tomatoes with their juice, breaking them up with a spoon, then add hot water , scraping up any brown bits from bottom of pot.
~Bring to a simmer. Stir in cabbage, coarsely chopped chard leaves and parmesan rind. Simmer, covered, until greens are tender, about 25 minutes
~Discard rind. Season soup with salt and pepper. If using ditalini, stir in just before serving. ( I used mini wheels for my pasta as the store was out of ditalini).

Cooks’ note: Soup, without pasta, can be made 2 days ahead and chilled.

I found this to be a very easy soup to make, since you chop as you go and don't have to do all the chopping in advance.

This is what the Gourmet cook says:

Patience is the key to this soul-satisfying soup chock-full of winter greens. Its depth of flavor comes from cooking the soffritto—a mixture of pancetta, onion, celery, carrots, and the ribs from the chard—for a good 45 minutes and from browning the tomato paste. The result is so savory that there’s no need for broth; water, canned tomatoes, and a parmesan rind work beautifully. And because this soup must cook slowly, don’t worry about prepping all your vegetables before you begin—you can simply chop as you go.