Week 18: Green Tomato Soup

Last CSA pickup of the season, and what did we get? A bouquet of Swiss chard.

The chard was the best dish of the week, but you don't need a recipe for it. Just wash the chard, remove leaves from stems, chop the leaves, and saute them with garlic in a little olive oil, as you might do with spinach. Sprinkle salt on top before serving. Perfection.

The rest of the week's cooking seemed to revolve around just a few items:

• Butternut squash -- in a stew with turkey meat; roasted with green tomatoes and onions; and roasted alone and mashed;
• Green tomatoes -- roasted with the squash, as mentioned above; and in soup;
• Red cabbage -- braised with apples and caraway; and turned into slaw;
• Apples -- with cabbage; and in cake.

The soup was a quick solution to too many green tomatoes. I don't know why it took me all season to come across this idea.

Quick Green Tomato and Bean Soup

(Inspired by this Gourmet recipe)

1 Tbsp olive oil

4 scallions, sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 pounds green tomatoes, chopped

2 cups water

1 can (15.5 ounces) small white beans, with liquid

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp smoked paprika, or to taste

Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or soup pot. Saute scallions and garlic in the oil for a couple of minutes; watch that they don’t burn. Add the tomatoes, water, canned beans and their liquid, and the spices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 30 to 45 minutes or until the tomatoes break down to your liking. Adjust seasonings to taste and serve hot.