We could have handed peak winter doldrums, however the blahness of March persists — and I’m nonetheless craving the dish that brings me probably the most nourishment, probably the most heat, and probably the most consolation: soup.
However making soup at this level? That’s a distinct story. Most recipes serve six to eight folks and on nights after I’m cooking only for myself, it seems like an excessive amount of. An excessive amount of to eat, an excessive amount of to buy, an excessive amount of to retailer in a freezer that’s at all times as jam-packed as my neighborhood park on the primary day of spring.
My resolution is a sausage, rice, and greens soup: it’s pretty quick and straightforward and is sufficient for 2 bowls. Everybody’s urge for food is totally different, however to my thoughts, that is simply the correct quantity. When you don’t eat all of it, the additional makes for a straightforward lunch the following day, however there isn’t a lot surplus that it’ll go to waste.
This experiment-turned-staple began with the sausage, a protein I flip to repeatedly as a result of it punches above its weight. It’s cheap, quick-cooking, and straightforward to purchase in small portions, however it incorporates severe taste due to all of the spices pre-packed inside. (Bear in mind, quick rib is for pals, sausage is for you.) The remainder of the dish fell into place with a couple of of the numerous pantry elements I at all times have readily available — the important thing to cooking nicely for your self.
Begin by heating 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a three-quart saucepan set over medium excessive warmth. Take the meat out of the casings of 2 sausages, which ought to weigh about 8 ounces in whole. Use no matter sausage you want. I’ve made this with each pork and rooster; generally I go for spicy, generally gentle. I’ve sought out extra uncommon choices from my native butcher (a broccoli rabe and garlic mixture involves thoughts) and picked up basic grocery retailer varieties, like gentle Italian.
Add the sausage to the pot and mash it down with a picket spoon. You need as a lot floor space as doable touching the underside of the pan to brown the meat correctly. Let that go for 4 minutes with out touching it, then break up the clumps additional till you’ve fashioned bite-size items. Stir and preserve cooking till the sausage is properly browned on all sides, one other 2 minutes or so. Switch to a small bowl and put aside.
Whereas the sausage is cooking, cube half of a small yellow or white onion (or 1 / 4 of a big one) and thinly slice 2 cloves of garlic. After the sausage comes out, decrease the warmth barely to medium, add the onion to the pot and season with salt, floor black pepper, and chile flakes. Let the spices bloom and the onion soften and tackle some colour, 4 to five minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic and let it sizzle, two minutes extra.
As your aromatics end cooking, you’ll see some fond — darkish and caramelized bits caught to the underside of the pot. Pour in 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. (You may sub white wine vinegar or rice vinegar right here, too.) This may deglaze the floor, releasing additional meatiness that will in any other case go to waste. Let the extreme acidity burn off for two minutes (as you’ll in the event you had been burning the alcohol out of wine).
Put the sausage again in and pour in 3 cups of water. Add 1 teaspoon of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of fish sauce. Neither shall be distinct ultimately; they only lend an total savoriness to your soup. Stir, style, and modify, following a rule not only for this recipe however everytime you prepare dinner: Begin small, realizing that flavors will intensify as time goes on. You may at all times add extra. Deliver to a boil, then flip the warmth to low, cowl the pot, and let it simmer for quarter-hour.
Add 2 tablespoons of lengthy grain white rice. I don’t hassle to rinse as a result of it’s such a small quantity, and I would like the starch so as to add physique to the broth. Cowl once more and let it simmer for 18 minutes extra. Take one other style to ensure your rice is cooked by way of. That is the second to tweak issues to your liking. Wants extra salt? Add some (or one other sprint of soy sauce). Wants extra depth? Add one other shake of fish sauce.
Throughout this final simmer, rinse a couple of leaves of any hearty inexperienced you want. Escarole, Napa cabbage, Swiss chard, collards, and kale all work superbly. Chop or tear them into massive bite-size items (about two cups, calmly packed). Add the greens to the pot and stir till they’re wilted however not limp, about 2 minutes. You wish to retain some structural integrity — and even a little bit of crunch within the rib.
When the soup is completed and ladled, I shave some Parmesan over prime so it melts onto the floor. Lastly, I add a beneficiant squeeze of lemon. In cooking phrases, this balances a wealthy meal. In soul phrases, it’s a wanted jolt of brightness.
Emma Wartzman is the kitchen and eating author at New York journal’s the Strategist.