Peel onion and cut into quarters, then slice thinly. Cut green part off leeks, trim off bottoms, then halve lengthwise. Rinse thoroughly- they tend to have a lot of trapped dirt. Slice thinly into half-rings. Peel garlic and slice thinly. Chop celery into small cubes (1/4″). Peel and quarter carrots, then make crosswise slices about 1/8″ thick. Peel and seed tomatoes, then cut into coarse cubes.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, leeks, celery, and carrots. Stir and sautee until tender and starting to brown slightly. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add tomatoes and cook for another minute, stirring gently. Deglaze pot with the wine. Reduce by half, then add stock, half the basil, half the parsley and the herb sprigs (for convenience, you can tie the sprigs together to make a bouquet garni). Add parmesan rinds. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add potatoes, pasta, and kale. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper- but it’s ok to slightly undersalt.

Just before the pasta and potatoes are tender, add beans and the remaining basil and parsley. If soup is too thick, add a little more stock. When all is tender and ready, remove herb sprigs and cheese rinds. Serve in warm bowls. Top with some grated parmesan and decorate with parsley leaves.

This works very well with a fattish sort of white wine, but it’s versatile- I’ve paired it well with fino sherry, cremant d’Alsace, and even viognier.

For vegetable broth, if you’re rushed, the canned stuff from Swanson is surprisingly excellent and non-salty. Vary the vegetables, depending on what you’ve got laying around. Try to have a variety of textures. The pasta shapes can be orrecietti, bows, shells, little tubes… just about anything. Peeling the tomatoes is simplified by making a small cross-shaped cut in the bottom, then plunging into boiling water for 20 seconds or so.

Click to print this recipe as a PDF.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Batter – topping:
Cream together:
1 stick butter or margarine
1 cup sugar

Slowly add to the butter/sugar mixture:
2 tsp Baking powder
1 cup flour
whisk in 1 cup milk and blend until mixed

Fruit:
Peel 6-7 large peaches and cut into large wedges, or place the contents of 2 large cans of peaches in an 8″ x 8″ pan. (If fresh peaches are used, sprinkle with a little sugar and let sit for awhile to bring out the juice. If using canned peaches use juice and all.)

Assembly:
Pour the batter over the peaches and smooth out. It isn’t necessary to completely cover the peaches; in fact the open spaces let the juice bubble up.

Place in the oven on the middle rack. Bake for 50 minutes at 350 degrees. Top will be nicely evenly brown when done.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or even some creme anglais.

Note: This recipe can be easily doubled or tripled. Just make sure the bottom of the pan is well covered with peaches and make 2 or 3 batches of the batter. Cooking time should be about the same – just watch it and remove from the oven when the entire top is evenly browned.

Click to print this recipe as a PDF.

We adapted this recipe from David Rosengarten’s “Dean & DeLuca Cookbook.” Rosengarten is the Eric Clapton of the kitchen. His wine reviews are pretty damned good, too. Our version of this dish is a bit richer than the original, as if that were needed. The Raclette gives this a neat funky quality that matches better with wine.

2 lbs celery root, peeled and cubed
2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 c cream
1/2 c butter
1 tsp saffron
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 c Gruyere, grated
1 c Raclette, grated
Salt and pepper
1/2 c Italian parsley, chopped

Boil the celery root and potatoes separately in salted water until each is soft. Strain and set aside.

Heat the cream until it boils, then stir in the butter, saffron, and garlic. Reduce the heat, then simmer for 5 minutes until the saffron is extracted and the mixture slightly thickened. Set aside.

Puree the celery root (Rosengarten suggests a food processor; I prefer a hand-held Braun puree thingamabob), while gradually adding the cream sauce. Mash the potatoes coarsely, or use a ricer if you want a smoother texture. Combine the potato, celery root, and one cup of the Gruyere; season to taste with salt and pepper.

Spread the mixture in a greased oven-proof dish, top with the remaining cheese and the parsley, then bake in a preheated 400 degree oven until the top is browned.

Our favorite wine match is a non-oaked sauvignon blanc like a good sancerre, though a gruner veltliner would also be terrific. Acidity and a herbal/vegetal character is a plus.

Click to print this recipe as a PDF.