Chiorba: Greens and Beans Soup (Spieler)*

* Exported from MasterCook *

Chiorba : Greens and Beans Soup (Spieler)*

Recipe By : BBC Vegetarian: "Best of the Med," (August 1998)*
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:50
Categories : Soups *Current

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
---VEGETABLE SOUP---
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 pound leeks; white only -- cut
into long thin strips -- rinsed and dried
1 small onion -- chopped
1/2 carrot -- chopped
4 garlic cloves -- chopped
1/3 pound savoy cabbage -- or a mixture
seasonal cooking greens -- thinly sliced
or shredded
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
3 ripe tomatoes -- chopped
1 teaspoon red harissa paste
6 1/3 cups vegetable broth -- approximately
15 ounces canned borlotti beans -- drained
or substitute pinto or a red bean
---ADDITIONS---
2/3 cup plain yogurt
1/2 lemon -- for the juice
1 pinch paprika -- for color
salt and black pepper -- to taste

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet and saute the leeks and onion for 3 to
4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add carrot and garlic.
Cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the greens, coriander and tomatoes, cover and
cook for 2 minutes.

2. Stir in the red harissa paste (see variation), broth and beans. Cook over
a medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the greens are
tender.

3. Combine yogurt and lemon juice. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in
the yogurt mixture. Season to taste. Serve immediately in large shallow
bowls, sprinkled with paprika. Good with warm pita bread.

[Per serving: 313 calories; 2g fiber, 34g carbs; 13g fat; 15g protein]

VARIATIONS. *Lowfat: use less or no oil to soften the onions. Switch to a
lowfat plain yogurt then reduce the lemon juice to taste. *Use parsnip,
sweet potato, or pumpkin squash instead of carrot. *TESTED with red kidney
beans and spinach, we used a Herbed Harissa instead of the red; mixed it
with the yogurt and added at table.

TIP: If you make extra soup, do not add yogurt to the reserve. Yogurt should
not be heated, only warmed by the soup.

PANTRY RECIPES: *Harissa is a chili pepper sauce with many variations: we
offer two. See the recipes: Harissa: Red Chile Paste (BBC) and Harissa with
Cilantro and Mint.



[The Kitchen Path http://home.earthlink.net/~kitpath 08/23/98(Sun)]



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NOTES : Marlena Spieler's version of CHIORBA is a basic greens and beans
soup, lightly creamed with yogurt. The soup gets color and sweetness from
tomatoes and carrots and fire from a red pepper sauce called Harissa. We
tested the recipe with red kidney beans and spinach. The HARISSA
[hah-REE-sah] sauce is a must! We used an herbed version but you could use
a red chili puree. Serves 4. Time: 10 mins prep; 20 mins cooking *Recipe by
Marlena Spieler. Published in "Best of the Med," BBC Vegetarian Good Food
Magazine, August, 1998.
Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3028 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0