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Category: Recipes

Eduardo de San Angel’s Cilantro Soup

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For over 20 years Eduardo de san Angel was a coveted reservation during high season in Fort Lauderdale.  Authentic chilies, spices, and fresh, vibrant herbs enhanced the classic seafood, poultry, and meat dishes at this cozy Mexican enclave known for its hospitality.  The intimate, hacienda-style rooms invited romance, and my husband and I often dined here on our date nights, away from the children.

Skilled chef-owner Eduardo Pria prepared creative Mexican fare, and in recent years he redesigned many of his classic recipes to create more healthful options.  For frequent diners like us there was no need to see the menu, the dishes we loved were embedded in our taste memory.  Food memories are powerful and one of our favorite crave-worth dishes was Pria’s Cilantro Soup. It was not on the menu, rather offered as a special. Fresh, vibrant, clean and simply delicious! When prepared with vegetable broth it’s a vegan’s delight, and a lovely way for those on a plant-based diet to dine well. 

When we returned to South Florida this year and discovered that Pria retired, closing one of our favorite restaurants, we immediately longed for his Cilantro Soup.  Several emails and google searches later I pieced together the recipe for this delicious soup, the one we loved, where Pria uses squash to thicken the soup, replacing the heavy cream.  Our romantic get-away will be missed, as will many of Pria’s wonderful dishes, but knowing we can enjoy his Cilantro Soup is comforting and sharing this at home brought a little romance to our table. 

Homemade vegetable or chicken broth is best, and if using prepared broths be sure they are low sodium.  Fresh, fragrant cilantro will yield the best results. We always opted for the Queso Fresca and Crema, both of which add a creamy tang to the dish. 

Yield: Makes about 14 cups

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Aunt Marion’s Apple Dressing

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Food is an important ingredient in every family’s history, and revisiting recipes is an enjoyable way to discover lost traditions. Among my favorite food memories are the weekly luncheons I shared with my elegant aunt Marion. The daughter of Sicilian immigrants who came to American in the late 1800’s, Marion’s food was simple and delicious. Like other immigrants, her mother brought recipes, raw ingredients, even seeds from her homeland, and Marion learned to blend those precious gifts with their new American way of life.

I looked forward to her honest cooking, the delightful aromas that welcomed you as you entered her home, and the details of Marion’s perfectly set table—beautifully arranged, layered with fabric, and heirloom china, artfully mixed with something decidedly kitschy. Her gorgeous, but mischievous Siamese cats stood sentry in the entrance hall—they’d mark their territory by maneuvering in and out of a guests’ legs, and when they succeeded at tripping one, they’d dart away, with smiles on their rascally feline faces.

It is said that a family recipe can tell the story of who we are and where we’ve been. Perhaps that’s why I’m eager to collect my family recipes, and this one arrived just in time for Thanksgiving. In my aunt’s original recipe, she used Pepperidge Farm bread cubes and roasted chestnuts—a nod to the confluence of factors influencing the culinary world at that time, a rise in the number supermarkets and pre-packaged foods combined with a renewed fascination with classical European cooking.

You are welcome to use packaged bread cubes, but my preference is to make them from scratch using good-quality breads and seasonings that create an unmistakable Thanksgiving aroma—one that was most uniquely Marion’s. I also swapped out the butter for Ghee. On Marion’s lovely hand-written recipe, she labeled this recipe Apple Stuffing.  It’s just too good, too delicious to put inside a bird, and clearly intended to be dressing—with melted cheese overtop and slightly browned bread cubes, this is an aromatic side dish meant to soak up every bit of turkey gravy. My uncles were big meat eaters and so Marion had a note on the back of her recipe “sausage is optional.” She suggests removing the casing from one package of frozen Jones sausage, browning the meat, and draining it well before adding it to the dressing mixture. 

Yield: Serves 16

Annie’s Homemade Bread Cubes

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Easy, homemade bread cubes add texture and flavor to stuffing and dressing recipes.  They are perfect for breakfast casseroles, and add a delightful crunch when tossed with salads or served atop a hot bowl of soup. This recipe was inspired by my Aunt Marion’s Apple Dressing recipe, and included a Rye Hearth Bread and Spent Grain Hearth Bread both from Whole Foods, but you can work with any bread you like, including what you may already have in your freezer.

Store extra bread cubes in an airtight container for up to a week, or in the freezer for three months.

Yield: Makes 10 Cups

Baked Artichokes and Fennel with Spring Peas and Fava Beans

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As summer glides into full swing, you may stumble upon the last of the season’s fava beans. Like peas, favas are harvested when they are young, sweet, tender and have a distinct earthy pea-like flavor. So wonderful this time of year!

Early in their growing season, when the pods are no thicker than your pinky finger, you can cook them as you would green beans. Later, when the pods are the size of your thumb, it’s best to shell them out of their downy casings.

Americans typically shuck the beans out of their shells and pop them out of their delicate skins—which infuriates most Europeans, excluding the French.  I learned to cook in Mougins, France and was taught to leave the shells on in early spring when they are soft and sweet, and to remove them when the beans are large and the skins tough, generally in late spring—also the time when their earthy flavor shifts toward the taste of bitter wild greens. Toward the end of their season I remove both shells and skins, and pair these creamy beans with sweet peas to create an interesting balance of flavors.

As a child I loved pressing the beans gently between my fingertips until they popped out! Sweet like peas or wild and bitter, the flavors bring back fond memories of the Italian recipes my aunt Tina would create for Sunday dinners in the springtime. She usually served her beans with lamb. Like most legumes, favas pair deliciously with savory roasts, grilled lamb and spicy sausages.

This recipe was inspired by a basket full of favas I found in Southampton this past weekend, and by one of Ottolenghi’s spring recipes. It is a wonderful starter, and can also be served alongside grilled fish. If you are an aspiring vegan like me, you’ll love this version where savory fennel takes the place of meat, and crushed pistachio nuts add just the right crunch. It’s a celebration of spring!

Yield: Serves 4

Vegan Chocolate Brownie Cookies

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After an extended summer stay in the Hamptons filled with parties and lots of houseguests, I found myself in need of a little self-care at summer’s end.  Not the Instagram inspired face-mask-selfie kind of care, but more of an everyday healthy ritual – something to jumpstart a routine that would keep my mind and body in balance. 

The timing was perfect when I opened an invitation from my friends at Haute Yoga to join them in Costa Rica for their annual ladies’ retreat. I immediately accepted! The Haute Yoga tribe is quite a special and unique group. The women are genuinely encouraging of one another, and being with them is empowering in a very nurturing way.  Owner and founder, Holly Miller Weston, lives life authentically, and she inspires everyone around her to do the same.  Instructor Katherine Wilder’s joyful, playful approach to teaching and living is absolutely liberating and quite infectious. These ladies truly take their yoga off the mat and into their lives.

The Bohdi Tree is a little sanctuary in the jungle of Costa Rica where we shared nutritious, local food, daily yoga classes, meditation, a bit of surfing, and lots of belly laughs.  Being ensconced in nature and living a little closer to the Earth where I could be a bit more in touch with myself was exactly what the doctor ordered. 

The meals we shared at Bohdi Tree were delicious, and dinning alfresco added to the charm of our gatherings. The focus on fresh ingredients is something I embrace at home, but the emphasis on vegan options was particularly inspiring to me.  Some of us newbies fell in love with the scrumptious vegan chocolate brownie cookies that appeared on the buffet at breakfast, lunch and dinner!  The ladies who had been here before admitted to taking bagsful of cookies home.  I took both the cookies and the recipe back with me.

My Cosa Rican jumpstart worked! I’m now practicing yoga regularly, meditating as often as possible, and more than seventy-five percent of my meals in any given week are vegan.  But, I also reconnected with an idea I’ve often espoused – celebrate life often!  Sometimes that means belly laughs with your girlfriends and sometimes it just means a hot cup of tea and a scrumptious chocolate brownie cookie, vegan of course! 

Yield: Makes 35 cookies

Guacamole Dip

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An avocado-based dip or salad, guacamole was first created by the Aztecs in what is now Mexico.  In American cuisine we have mostly thought of guacamole as a dip, and in recent years it has gained popularity as a spread, served over warm, crusty bread and appearing in a variety of iterations; everyone has their favorite “avocado toast.”

This recipe is the most delicious, creamy avocado dip you will ever make and it’s super simple. It is bright and lemony with a little heat.  The recipe was given to me by Laura Campos Quintero who serves her Guacamole as a dip, side dish, a layer in any number of her wonderful taco recipes, and also tosses it with lettuce greens, water and olive oil to create a delightful salad.

Yield: Makes 4 ½ cups

Torta de Huevo en Salsa

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Most Americans are familiar with huevos rancheros  or ranch eggs, a classic Mexican breakfast of fried eggs on warm tortillas smothered with cooked tomato salsa (tomato sauce). I had these Yucatan style eggs for the first time in Los Cabos, Mexico, where the tortillas were served on the side and it was suggested I use them like spoons to gather all the delicious flavors on my plate to enjoy in one bite.  

This Torta de Huevo en Salsa is a beautifully refined version of the classic rancher’s style dish, with a more complex flavor profile and a fantastic presentation worthy of any table. When served with black beans, it is a meal hearty enough for brunch or an easy supper. 

Laura Compos Quintero taught me how to make these crave-worthy eggs which have quickly become a family favorite in our home.   She learned the recipe from her mother, Mercedes Cobian, who combined and refined recipes from her mother and mother-in-law to make this version.

My family loves to have brunch on Sundays, especially when entertaining weekend guests, and this dish is perfect for a big crowd. It can be prepared in advance of serving, and the longer the dish remains on the stove the better it gets – the eggs absorb all the flavors of the sauce. 

I am especially delighted to cook this when I have access to farm fresh eggs, locally grown tomatoes, plus garlic, chile peppers and fragrant cilantro from my own garden.   I love cilantro, but for the cilantrophobic this recipe works just as well with rosemary and parsley, and here’s a tip from Laura: “If your tomatoes are not as sweet as they could be, add a teaspoon of cumin to the sauce.”

Yield: Serves 4 

Pea Shoot & Asparagus Ribbon Salad with Asparagus-Pea Pesto

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After a recent visit to the Durham Farmers’ Market, I arrived home with armloads of asparagus, pea shoots, and hakurei turnips. Looking for ways to make use of my bounty, I came across an old recipe for asparagus-pea pesto and another for a Spring pea-shoot salad. I decided to combine both recipes to honor these deliciously fresh vegetables.

We seldom think of eating asparagus raw, but when shaved into long, thin ribbons, this spring vegetable makes a beautiful crisp and flavorful salad. Pea shoots are wispy and delicate, fragrant and flavorful—the perfect match for peppery arugula. Tossed together, these ingredients make a terrific salad but, when the vegetables are this good, I want to layer the flavors. Dressing the greens with pesto seemed like the perfect way to bring this dish another level of flavor.

Hakurei, a Japanese variety of turnip, do not need to be cooked. Thanks to their crisp and delicious flavor when left raw, these are often referred to as “salad turnips.” They have an even-textured density and pair well with a variety of foods. Sliced thinly on the mandolin they are the perfect addition to this spring starter. If you can’t find hakurei turnips at your local farmers’ market, substitute one of the many beautiful varieties of radish available now.

Yield: Note: Makes about 2 cups

Sweet Potato-Kale Soup

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Sweet potatoes and kale are two vegetables that continue to embody the movement of healthful eating and I never tire of either of them. I’m especially crazy for kale and recently served my favorite Tropical Kale Salad for a celebratory ladies lunch. Here in Florida the mangos are just beginning to pop up at green markets and I absolutely couldn’t resist! For a moment it seemed the cooler weather was behind us.

Then an unexpected storm delivered a cold front to Palm Beach and inspired me to make a big batch of this delicious soup, with a little coaxing from my daughter Kayla, who found herself suddenly snow-bound in New York. Sweet potato is a vegetable that has protein, which is fairly unusual, but it also has complex carbohydrates that don’t spike insulin. Combined with kale, a nutritional powerhouse, it serves up a soup that is satisfying and full of antioxidants. Kayla loves it! She’s a devout yogi and this is her go-to post-yoga dinner, especially on cooler evenings.

It was her younger sister Gigi who introduced us to the fantastic Farmer’s Market in Durham, North Carolina. One of the best green markets I’ve ever been to, it’s full of local, producer-only vendors who are located within 70 miles of the market. It was here I discovered the most fantastic, truly sweet, sweet potatoes. Unfortunately, they are hard to come by this time of year. (I later learned that 47 percent of the nation’s sweet potatoes are grown in North Carolina and farmers are glad everyone else seems to be catching on to a classic Southern culinary tradition. It’s a crop that helps replace the money formerly made from tobacco and cotton.)

Luckily, I found some sweet potatoes and toted a big bag full back to chilly Palm Beach. I made the soup there then toted a container to New York for Kayla. The things we do for love—and love of Sweet Potato–Kale Soup!

Yield: Makes 5 ¼ quarts

Strawberry Soup

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My friends at Swank Farms recently posted an enticing photo of their strawberry harvest and after seeing it, all I could think of was a deliciously refreshing strawberry soup I’d enjoyed a few years ago in North Carolina. After a bit of digging, I found that recipe, made a trip to the green market for fresh berries, and enjoyed the soup for lunch that day. The recipe suggested blending the ingredients, so it was very easy to prepare, but the taste and texture was more smoothie than soup. I substituted yogurt for the cream when I served it to my husband; that didn’t change much in terms of flavor and texture, but it was certainly more healthful. Still, the soup was not exactly what I had hoped for. The berries needed to take center stage, not be shrouded in cream. When strawberries are this fragrant and fresh, I really want to taste the berries.

Searching for just the right method, I came across a recipe created by Martha Rose Shulman for the New York Times, a soup she says would be called a concassée in France. The strawberries are crushed rather than pureed, like a tomato concassée (think bruschetta), so the soup has lots of texture. It was delicious, but my husband decided he’d rather enjoy it as a dessert. It was too sweet for him.

Determined to create a strawberry soup for a gathering with the girls, I changed little in Martha’s recipe, but topped it with a touch of cream (inspired by my North Carolina recipe), a delicious mint powder created by one of my cooks, and a few slivers of toasted almond. It added just the right flavors to balance the sweetness of the berries. I served this version as an appetizer to my friends and volunteers from the American Heart Association; it was the perfect beginning to a heart healthy lunch, and it was a big hit. I recreated it for another girl’s gathering to celebrate a friend visiting from Italy and everyone loved it! Finally! I had the perfect starter for a light spring lunch.

Strawberries are in season through April here in Florida; right now, they’re red, fragrant and delicious, so I intend to enjoy this soup a few more times. I can’t wait to share it with my daughters.

Here is my recipe for Mint Powder. You also can find mint powder in most Indian groceries, many gourmet shops, and online—just be sure it is mint powder and not peppermint powder. If using store-bought powder, you may want to add a little extra honey to your soup.

Yield: Serves 4

Prep Time: 1.5 hours