Enjoy the Delicious

I am of the mind that the best things in life are simple and very easy to attain.  That's always been my philosophy with food too; for an amazing meal I say, the simpler the better.  Dinner tonight was the leftover bean soup, but looking for additional sustenance, I decided I needed a side dish.  Looking around my kitchen I found all the makings for Molletes Bolillo. This traditional and exceedingly simple Latin breakfast of bread smothered with black beans and creamy cheese partnered with the earthy soup was a perfectly delicious pairing.

Ingredients:

2 open faced pieces of crusty bread

1 can of black beans

Shredded monterey jack cheese

Sprinkle of queso fresco

Preparation:

Heat up the beans.

Lightly toast the bread place, buttered, on a bake sheet and cover with a spoonful of black beans and top with a generous dose of the jack cheese.  Sprinkle the queso fresco over it and place in a 375F oven for about 10 minutes or until cheese is gooey and melted.  Pair with your soup and enjoy.

When it comes to food, I never like to be caught out.  There are certain things I like to keep stocked in the pantry just in case I need to whip up a simple, no-thought meal.  This week is very busy and I feel a cold coming on so I needed to throw some comfort food together that will yield a couple of days worth of leftovers.

In my kitchen you will usually find a few things that I stock all the time: bags of beans, boxes of stock and liquid concentrate stock, tubs of prepared mirepoix...on days like today I can just rummage around and usually I will find some inspiration for a one pot meal.

Bean and Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

8 cups of chicken or vegetable stock

1 lb of navy or cannellini beans

4 oz. of chopped pancetta

I tub of sliced baby bello mushrooms

1 cup of mirepoix

6 cloves of smashed garlic

2 shallots, chopped

8 sprigs of thyme

1 sprig of rosemary, chopped

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Red Devil hot sauce

1 lemon, zested and juiced

2 tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar only if you have it

Preparation:

Start by preparing the beans. Add the beans to a large pot of water and bring it to a rolling boil.  Cook on low for 10 minutes and then take off the heat, cover and let sit for an hour.  Drain and rinse.

Coat the bottom of a large soup pot generously with olive oil. Once the pan is heated add the pancetta and cook for a couple of minutes and then add the mirepoix, shallots and garlic.  Cook together for about 15 minutes.  Add the stock, herbs, salt and pepper and lemon zest and juice.  I also add the lemon rind to the pot for flavor.

When it comes to adding extras to soup I say it's all about your taste.  I love spicy food and I adore hot sauce.  I specifically like the Red Devil brand hot sauce but Tobasco or any other brand is fine.  I add several shakes of hot sauce and about 3 tablespoons of the vinegar.  Add your beans and cook, covered on low heat for 45 minutes.

Taste the soup and add any extra flavor then add the sliced mushrooms.  Cover again and cook for an additional half hour.

Presentation:

Spoon out into a soup bowl and serve with a huge piece of buttered crusty bread.