Roasted Shrimp and Orzo

This is not a soup but it is one of my favorite side dishes. I made some Saturday night for a pot-luck on Sunday afternoon for our fitness boot camp monthly recognition event. The recognition is an important part of the group dynamic of Brown's Boot Camp and one of the components making it special to me.

This recipe is from the Barefoot Contessa and Food Network. I saw her making this on one of her shows almost two years ago and have made it several times for potlucks and at home. I find the mixture of tastes very unusual and delicious. I love shrimp in any form so that sure helps. The first time I made it I did not know what Orzo was and looked for it on the rice aisle because the picture I found on the Internet showed what looked like rice. So you don't make the same mistake, I'll let you know that it is a pasta and that's where you'll find it. Here we go...

Some changes I made to the original recipe: 1) I used one pound of orzo not the 3/4 pound called for because the orzo comes in one pound packages and what are you going to do with a quarter pound of the stuff? 2) I always substitute cilantro for parsley in most recipes because I love the taste of cilantro. 3) When the final mixing is done be sure you limit your salt and pepper to your taste. The original recipe calls for 2 additional teaspoons of salt and 1 of pepper when doing the final mixing, this is a bit too much salt considering the shrimp and lemon mixture is already salted and the cheese also has some. If I think it's salty then it is really salty with the additional salt at the end.

INGREDIENTS

• Kosher salt
• Olive Oil
• 1 pound of orzo pasta
• 1/2 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice (2-3 lemons) note: I used a citrus squeezer I got at World Market, it makes the juicing much easier and only costs about $10. It is a 2 piece device with a bowl at the end of a handle and a matching piece that is hinged so you place a half of a lemon with the cut side down and you bring the top piece down and squeeze. It's a great tool.
• Freshly ground pepper
• 2 pounds (16-18 count) uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 cup of minced green onions, white and green parts
• 1 cup of chopped fresh dill (about 2 of the little packages they sell in produce with all the other fresh herbs)
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded and medium diced (slice the cucumber in half lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Then slice each half into fourths lengthwise and dice about 1/4 inch thick)
• 1/2 cup of red onion diced into small pieces
• 3/4 pound of crumbled feta cheese (the crumbled cheese usually comes in 6 ounce packages so you'll need two of them)

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F

1. Fill a large pot with water, add one tablespoon of salt and a splash of olive oil. Bring the water to a boil.
2. Add the orzo and simmer 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally, until it's cooked al dente.
3. Drain and pour the orzo into an oversize large bowl (be sure to use the largest bowl you can so you can mix well without spilling over).
4. Whisk together the lemon juice, 1/2 cup of olive oil, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper.
5. Pour the lemon mixture over the warm orzo and stir well.
6. While the orzo is cooking place the shrimp on a large sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
7. Toss the shrimp on the pan by hand to mix the seasoning and spread out in a single layer.
8. Roast for 5-6 minutes until the shrimp are cooked through, BE SURE YOU DON'T OVERCOOK!!! Tough shrimp is terrible.
9. Add the shrimp to the orzo and then add the green onions, dill, cilantro, cucumber, red onion, salt and pepper to taste VERY carefully.
10. Toss well.
11. Add the feta cheese and stir carefully so you don't mash up all the cheese.

Set aside at room temperature for 1 hour to allow the flavors to blend or refrigerate overnight.
If refrigerating be sure you bring the dish to room to room temperature before serving.

Italian Chicken Sausage & Artichoke

I have not brought soup to work for two weeks now due to being away from work. So, hopefully the enthusiasm is still there for Soup At Work Wednesdays.

This week's soup is one I got out of the January 2011 edition of Sunset magazine. I grew up with Sunset magazine. I remember looking at the great scenic pictures when I was very young and then reading the western travel and the home improvement articles when I was older. If you're not familiar with Sunset it is a lifestyle magazine that is focused on the western United States. There are different regional editions such as Southern California, Northern California, the Northwest, and the Southwest which covers Arizona. Some of the articles are common to all editions but there are unique ones to each region. There are usually very good and straightforward recipes and their gardening articles have really increased the last few years. I got the design for our wooden garden boxes from Sunset.

Anyhoo, I was getting caught up on my magazines the other night and came across this recipe which was part of a larger article titled "Chicken Soup For Every Occasion". Of course any article addressing soups always catch my eye. The Italian Chicken Sausage & Artichoke Soup recipe is extremely easy to make with only 5 ingredients and two steps to the preparation. The fennel in the sausage lends a great flavor and artichoke hearts are not a common ingredient in soups and I love artichokes so this one had to get made.

The recipe below results in about 6 quarts. My changes to the Sunset recipe were to use two Hot Italian Sausages just to spice things up, two 32 ounce containers of chicken broth (Sprouts had them on sale for $1.99 a quart) and three 14 ounce cans of Trader Joe's Artichoke Hearts rather than frozen ones. I use the TJ's Artichoke Hearts regularly on salads so I had a few cans in the pantry. These artichoke hearts are not marinated but rather packed in water. I used Red Swiss Chard because of the great color it adds. If you're going to use the Parmesan Cheese as a garnish I recommend getting the Parmesan/Romano blend from Trader Joe's. It comes in a 12 ounce container and is really good. I eat it by the spoonful it is so tasty. Let's go...

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lbs Italian chicken sausage, casings removed and meat broken up. This will be about 5-6 sausages depending on how large they are. I substituted 2 hot Italian chicken sausages for 2 of the regular ones just to spice things up.
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 32 oz containers of chicken broth
• 3 14 oz containers of Trader Joe's Artichoke Hearts (packed in water, not marinated)
• 2 bunches of red Swiss chard, stemmed and chopped

Garnish

• Grated Parmesan/Romano cheese
• Warm ciabatta bread

METHOD

1. Heat the olive oil in a large (at least 7 quarts) soup pot over medium-high heat. Cook the sausage until browned, stirring often. This should take about 10 minutes. Add the broth, artichoke hearts and 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Use your spoon to get any fond off of the bottom of the pot
2. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the chard and cook, covered, until the chard is wilted, about 3 minutes. If you're making the soup ahead of serving, hold off on adding the chard until the soup has been reheated in order to maintain the crispiness of the chard.

Serve with grated cheese and warm bread

Las Brisas Black Bean

The Swedish Meatballs were a big hit at work last Wednesday. The whole 5 quarts were gone in less than 5 minutes!. Lots of great feedback from folks too. They're really very tasty, give the recipe a try and let me know what you think.

I'm working on a really good Black Bean Soup for a special reason. A colleague at work asked about the Black Bean Soup I had brought in a few months ago. He was wondering if I was planning on bringing it in next week, not because he liked it because he actually doesn't, but because his wife loved it. He took some home to her and she is still talking about it. It turns out that she's going through a very rough time and not feeling well and he thought that some of that soup would pick her up a bit. Well, I can't think of a better reason to break out the pots and knives.

I found this recipe through the LA Times Food Section. The Times has a running series that responds to readers' requests to provide recipes for dishes from restaurants from all over the LA area. The Black Bean Soup is from Las Brisas in Laguna Beach. If you ever get a chance to visit Laguna Beach be sure you take advantage of it. It is a beautiful place. We spent a lot of time theregrowing up. I've never been to Las Brisas but I'll make a point when we're in Orange County again.

This is a simple soup to make with the ingredient prep time being pretty minimal. It does take a couple of hours for the beans to cook so be sure you plan for that. There are no exotic ingredients either so shopping is pretty easy also. You should be able to get about 12-16 servings depending on serving size. There's lots of protein and fiber in this soup along with being very tasty.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds of dried black beans, picked over and rinsed (I've yet to find anything but beans but picking through the beans is relaxing)
• 4 quarts of water (you might use more depending on how thick you want thesoup when you're done)
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 4 ounces of salt pork, rind discarded and cut into 1/4 inch pieces (most salt pork comes in 8 or 12 ounce packages so I end up using the whole thing. I don't use salt pork in many other dishes so it would just go to waste)
• 1 3/4 pounds of ham hocks, about 3 pieces
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (I've mentioned before that I use Spice World prepared garlic found in the produce section)
• 2 teaspoons white pepper, more to taste (a little goes a long way with white pepper so be careful)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons of salt, more to taste
• For Garnish:
• 1/4 cup of minced cilantro
• 2 fresh serrano chiles, seeded and minced (wear rubber gloves when working with chiles because your skin will burn and heaven help you if you touch your eyes or nose while working with chiles)
• 4 slices of bacon cooked crisp an crumbled
• 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese (I always use the Romano-Parmesan mix from Trader Joe's, it's great, I can eat it by the spoonful)
• 1/4 minced Bermuda onion

METHOD

1. In a soup pot that's at least 6 quarts but preferably eight, combine the beans, water, onion, carrots, celery, salt pork an ham hocks. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer and cook, covered for 15 minutes.
2. Stir in the garlic, white pepper, cumin, oregano and salt. Continue to simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally until the beans are very tender and the soup is reduced to about 4 quarts after the ham hocks are removed. This should take about 1 1/2- 2 hours.
3. Discard the ham hocks and puree the soup. If you've taken my recommendation andasked Santa for an immersion blender than this is where you'll fall in love with it if you haven't already.
4. Adjust the consistency with additional water if needed. Season with additional salt and white pepper as needed.
5. Serve with all the garnishes.

A Swedish Meatball Soup for The New Year

For the year's first Soup At Work Wednesday I'm trying out my Swedish Meatballs. Doesn't sound like a soup you say? Well the broth will be less thick for this batch to give it more of a soup feel and I'll make the meatballs a little smaller than usual.

This is one of the most delicious dishes I've had in a while. This is lick the bowl, turn it upside down and put it on your head kind of good. I posted this recipe a few weeks ago if you're really curious now but I'll also post it again Thursday or Friday after getting reactions from the folks at work. My friend Sam O made these over the holiday break and she loved them. She had some great ideas on quickening the prep process too. Thanks Sam!