Recipe: Smoked Mozzarella/Prosciutto Cotto/Basil Sandwich & (Somewhat) Spicy Tomato Soup
Coffee: Pure Black cold-brew
We are declaring this to be a soup and sandwich spring, mainly because it gives us a chance to use our Stanley Thermos. With its patented hammertone green exterior, the Stanley is an icon of the American workforce, with a utilitarian elegance that never goes out of style. We feel a certain kinship to Stanley as the century-old brand is headquartered in Seattle, where we met and started our own modern workingman’s staple: La Colombe Torrefaction. And with any luck, we’ll be around just as long.
The soup yields 6 cups.
Ingredients
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 medium onion, peeled quartered and thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
1 medium carrot, peeled and thinly sliced (about 1-1/2 cup)
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
Three finger-sized pinch chili flakes
Pinch dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon tomato paste
1 28-ounce can chopped San Marzano tomatoes, along with their liquid
2 cups chicken stock
Method
In a large soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion and carrot with the salt, chili flakes and thyme. Sweat together until the carrots are very pliable, about 7 to 10 minutes. (Don’t brown the vegetables, just heat until they release their moisture.) Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute, stirring to prevent the tomato paste from sticking. Add the can of tomatoes (their liquid) and chicken stock. Increase temperature to high until everything comes to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and cook at a constant simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off heat, and let stand for 15 more minutes (in part to finish the cooking and in part to let it cool down to a point where it is safe to blend without whipping lava all over the kitchen). Blend in a bar blender or with a stick/immersion blender. Adjust seasoning, and bring back up to a simmer and pour into thermos, reserving extra soup for later use.
The sandwich is for two.
Ingredients
1/2 long baguette, split in half and drizzled with olive oil
6 1/4-inch slices of smoked mozzarella
1/4-pound prosciutto cotto (spice-cooked Italian ham)
6 big fresh basil leaves
Olive oil
Method
Layer bottom half of the baguette with overlapping slices of cheese, folded prosciutto cotto and basil leaves. Close with top half of the bread, press down to seal, and cut in half.
1 comment