Italian Onion and Bean Soup with Parmesan Toast

Tender cannellini beans, just-wilted fresh arugula leaves, and good white and red wines add flavor, color and depth to this Italian-style baked onion soup topped with crusty bread and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Not only delicious and a nice impression on your guests, this "minestra di cipolle e fagioli in crosta" is also very easy to make. It's also my entry for this month's onion-family themed No Croutons Required hosted by my wonderful friend Jacqueline.

If you have a rind left over from grating the Parmesan cheese, add it during the simmering stage of the soup. This or the rind of any other hard aged cheese lends a wonderful depth and base to the stock of any savory bean or vegetable soup, and they can be refrigerated or frozen for later use.

This recipe is loosely adapted from Marlena de Blasi's A Taste of Southern Italy — a unique and attractive collection of authentic dishes that are unfortunately almost uniformly non-vegetarian. But there's nothing wrong with a vegetarian using a little imagination to transform a salt-pork soup like de Blasi's original into a meatless delight.

Italian Onion and Bean Soup with Parmesan Toast (Minestra di Cipolle e Fagioli in Crosta)

Recipe by Lisa Turner Adapted from A Taste of Southern Italy: Delicious Recipes and a Dash of Culture Cuisine: Italian Published on April 19, 2010 Attractive and elegant soup of tender cannellini beans, caramelized sweet onions and just-wilted arugula leaves simmered with wine and served with broiled crusty bread and fresh grated Parmesan cheese Print this recipe Beans (Fagioli): 1/2 cup dried cannellini (white kidney) beans 4 cups vegetable stock 1 bay leaf 1 dried whole red chili Soup (Minestra): 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 lb (450 g) Vidalia or sweet onions, thinly sliced 6 cloves garlic, slightly crushed 1/2 tablespoon sea salt 3/4 teaspoon brown sugar 1 cup dry white wine 1/2 cup red wine 1 cup fresh arugula leaves, torn or shredded Toast (Crosta): 4 1/2-inch slices of crusty bread 1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese olive oil for drizzling fresh ground black pepper Instructions: Rinse the beans and soak for 8 hours or overnight covered in several inches of cold water with a little yogurt whey or lemon juice added. Drain and rinse the beans, and transfer to a medium saucepan. Cover with the vegetable stock, bay leaf and dried red chili. Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the beans are soft. Discard the chili. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid and bay leaf, and set aside. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large cast-iron skillet or stove-top safe casserole. When hot, add the onions and garlic and toss until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Turn down the heat a little and sprinkle on the sea salt and brown sugar. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are golden-brown and slightly caramelized, about 30 minutes. Pour in the white wine and 2 1/2 cups of the reserved cooking liquid from the beans. Add the bay leaf, and bring to a simmer. If you have a Parmesan rind, add this to the soup as well. Cook for 20 minutes. Now add the beans and red wine, and simmer gently for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and discard the bay leaf and Parmesan rind if using. Pre-heat the oven broiler. Toss the arugula leaves into the soup. Lay slices of bread over the soup, sprinkle the bread with Parmesan cheese, and drizzle olive oil over the bread and cheese. Generously dust the bread and soup with plenty of fresh ground black pepper. Place the skillet or casserole under the broiler to toast the bread and melt the cheese. Carry hot to the table and ladle soup and bread into warm bowls. Makes 2 to 4 servings

Other Italian-style soups you may enjoy:
Tuscan-Style Pinto Bean Soup with Kale
Cannellini Bean Soup with Fontina Gremolata
Tuscan Bean Soup with Fresh Rosemary
White Cabbage and Bean Minestrone

Black Bean and Goat Cheese Quesadillas

Sometimes it is difficult to find something suitable for vegetarians when they eat out, and I have often ordered quesadillas, especially when tagging along to pubs. There really is no comparison though between homemade versions like this, however, and the restaurant variety. I would also recommend quesadillas with mushrooms.

Black Bean and Goat Cheese Quesadillas

Recipe by Lisa Turner Cuisine: Mexican Published on April 18, 2010 Warm, earthy, spicy and filling black bean quesadillas Preparation: 25 minutes Cooking time: 1 hour 20 minutes Print this recipe Ingredients: 1/3 cup dried black beans (1 cup cooked) 3 tablespoons dried quinoa (1/2 cup cooked) 3 to 4 dried mushrooms 1 tablespoon olive oil 3 scallions, finely chopped 3 green chilies, finely chopped 1 tomato, diced 1 tablespoon vindaloo paste or salsa 1/4 cup black or green olives, pitted and chopped 1/4 cup goat cheese, mashed 1/2 cup cream cheese 1 teaspoon sea salt, or to to taste 8 to 10 7-inch flour tortillas 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped oil for frying sour cream Instructions: Rinse the black beans and soak overnight in several inches of cold water. Meanwhile, rinse the quinoa and soak overnight in 1/3 cup of water. The next day, drain and rinse the beans, remove to a medium saucepan, and cover with several inches of fresh cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and cover and simmer for 45 to 60 minutes or until the beans are soft. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, bring the quinoa and soaking water to a boil in a small saucepan, reduce the heat to low, and cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the water is absorbed. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork, and set aside. While the quinoa is cooking, soak the dried mushrooms in hot water for 20 to 30 minutes, then drain and chop. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add the scallions and green chilies and stir for a few minutes. Now add the tomato, vindaloo paste or salsa, and mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes. Combine the goat cheese, cream cheese, olives, black beans, quinoa, parsley and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the tomato mixture. Spread some of the mixture onto a tortilla, top with another tortilla and press firmly. Repeat for the remaining tortillas. Heat some oil in a frying pan over medium heat. When hot, fry each stuffed tortilla until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Keep them warm in a 200° oven while you finish cooking all of the quesadillas. Cut into wedges and serve topped with a dollop sour cream. Makes 8 to 10 quesadillas

More Mexican recipes from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen:
Tomato Corn Chowder
Baked Cheese and Tortilla Pie with Jalapeños, Corn and Pinto Beans
Guacamole
Quesadilla with Mushrooms

Chickpea Flour Dumplings in a Spicy Yogurt Sauce

My dear friend Jacqueline recently sent me a most elegant and beautifully presented Indian vegetarian cookbook entitled Pure & Simple by Vidhu Mittal. I've already bookmarked lots of recipes to try, but this recipe for chickpea flour dumplings in a spicy yogurt sauce immediately got my attention and so this was my first experiment with this lovely book. I certainly was not disappointed. Delightful dumplings smothered in a creamy yogurt gravy. How could I resist?

Corn and Pinto Bean Dip

Warm, creamy, slightly sweet and with a little hot pepper kick … this easy-to-make corn and bean dip is a crowd-pleaser at any time of year, and is filling enough to make for a delightful light warm weather lunch or dinner.

Spicy Lentil Rasam (Poritha Rasam)

As I have noted before, when I first started cooking Indian dishes, I would generally make dishes originating from the Northern region and those adapted for North American preferences. As I became a more accomplished and curious cook, I started to explore traditional dishes from Southern India. Dakshin by Chandra Padmanabhan has proved to be an essential addition to my extensive cookbook collection. Lots of beautiful photographs accompany recipes for sambars, rasams, poriyals, kootus, vegetable dishes, rice, spice powders, snacks and appetizers, chutneys and pickles and even menu suggestions. This book is invaluable to anyone looking to learn more about south Indian cooking.

Thai Tempeh Patties with a Red Chili Dipping Sauce

Although I have always enjoyed Thai cuisine, it has only been recently that I started to get passionate about it in my own kitchen. Armed with some wonderful Thai cookbooks, and of course the internet, I have recently made hot and sour mushroom soup, homemade massaman curry paste, and a massaman curry.

These tempeh patties are wonderfully nourishing and filling, and the earthy and nutty taste of the tempeh is delicious seasoned with Thai ingredients and dipped into a fragrant spicy chili sauce.

Creamy Mung Dal Curry

Craving mung beans, I was inspired to come up with this creamy mung bean curry that I served with lemon brown rice. My husband came home from work and was delighted with the aroma of the ingredients. A perfect meal, especially when served with some roti if you are particularly hungry.