It has been a long week, the weather has been abysmal, cold, wind and rain. Italy has essentially shut down on account of the protests that the truck drivers have been holding against the high gas prices and the costs of the autostrade. There hasn’t been gas at the gas stations, limiting everyone’s mobility, no milk delivered to the grocery stores, and in the town where my mother-in-law lives, they ran out of toilet paper. Classic.

My biggest complaint in all of this… being imprisoned in a 5 star hotel with an active 2 year old.

Roll your eyes all you want, but being being stuck anywhere in bad weather with a 2 year old is pure hell. She has been behaving, enjoying our leisurely breakfasts in the hotel’s cafè, eating delicious freshly made pastries, yogurt and fresh fruit while getting loads of attention from the staff and guests. Our new routine is a bit dull for me, but all very new to her. Little walks around the lounges of the hotel, returning to our room, coloring, reading, watching Kipper the dog on my computer, peanut butter sandwich, pear and then a nap.

Routines work for kids, she’s only behaving badly sometimes, the real problem with this isolation is me. I am bored out of my mind. I have the internet and Anna Karenina to keep me entertained, but it just isn’t enough, I need other humans, someone to talk to and laugh with. I need to see something other than these 4 walls. They say that the protests are over, that there will be gas again and it is Friday, so if we are stuck here tomorrow, at least my husband will be stuck with us.

Today was a beautiful day, cold and windy, but no rain. Despite the cutting winds, I decided that we should take a walk on the dirt roads that lead from the hotel into the countryside. We have taken this walk before, when the weather was more forgiving, picking flowers and observing the rocks, stones, olives and almonds that we found along the way. We didn’t make it all the way to the hot springs near the mar piccolo, but considering the fact that we didn’t have a stroller and my daughter is only two, we made it pretty far, just the two of us.

The land is rugged and arid, wild and beautiful. I love this landscape, can’t wait for the next sunny day to take our trek just a little farther.

One Year Ago: Meatloaf

Puglia’s greatest wealth is the land and the abundance of olives and wine grapes. Driving through the countryside you see kilometers and kilometers of vineyards and olive groves. Some of these olive trees have been here since the Greeks, with enormous gnarly trunks producing gorgeous olives. Though olives can be found in all of the regions on the peninsula, Puglia is one of the regions which provides the majority of the olive oil in Italy. The grapes are mostly used to cut wines produced in the north, where the wine has always been more prized and expensive, but where the vineyards aren’t as vast and the grapes not at strong. Pugliese wine has started to cultivate more interest and has becoming more refined in its production in the past few years, we have certainly been enjoying it these past two weeks.

These are photographs of the abundance that we have found on the grounds of the masseria, taking gorgeous walks on the dirt roads that surround it and lead down to the Mar Piccolo bordering Taranto. The manicured grounds of the masseria are ornamented with fresh herbs,  rosemary, thyme, marjoram and sage. The trees produce olives and almonds, prickly pears blooming off of cacti and in front of the main building sits the chef’s garden with fennel, lettuces, peppers and onions. I imagine that much of what we are eating in the restaurant is cultivated within the land of the masseria and what is ordered from both land and sea from only a few miles away. Not needing to claim any links to Slow Food, the food in this country is tied to the idea of slow and local more than any place I have ever been. No trends, just tradition.

One Year Ago: Potato-Mushroom Cake with Braised Lentils

Three Years Ago: pesce all’acqua pazza

Here we are, finally arrived at the first stop of our new adventure. It seems like only yesterday that we were even talking about Puglia and all of a sudden we find ourselves living in a luxurious hotel, like Eloise, trying to find a little permanence in this arid land. To say it is beautiful here is an understatement, we are spoiled by a small paradise outside of Taranto, which is far from paradise itself, at la Masseria San Pietro which houses the luxurious hotel and spa Relais Histò. A reality I never quite imagined for myself.

I’m not really sure how Eloise’s parents did it, living in the tippy top of the Plaza, she must have been a very well behaved little girl (I have to admit I am not familiar with these books, she may have been a terror). I say this because as luxurious this hotel is, how fabulous every meal has been (more on that later). The no fun part of it all is doing it with a 2 year old.

I think she is having a blast, she has her own little room off of our room which she loves. The staff has all become putty in her perfect little hands, surprised her with her very own, very pink, birthday cake on Sunday morning, she still hasn’t stopped talking about it! The grounds of the hotel are wonderful and there is ample space for her to run around, picking up pebbles and olives from the ground, wild flowers growing on the side of the road, it is all new to her and magical. How could it not be, it is purely majestic!

I look forward to the weekend when papà can take the bambina and mamma can go and relax in the thermal baths…..ahhhhh

One Year Ago: Zuppa di Pesce, Farfalle with Portobello Mushrooms and Arugula & Herb Crusted Pork Loin

Two Years Ago: Nasi Goreng & Spaghetti e Vongole

Three Years Ago: Panettone, Alici Fritti, Roasted Fennel Gratin, Zucchini Quiche & Polpo Affogato

We payed our last visit to Whole Paycheck and literally spent almost all of it on only a few items. We chose some pricey items, in the mushroom, the fish, the meat and the wine sections, but we were still shocked when got to the register. Fancy food!

I look forward to the equally fancy food (fancier because it will be local) that won’t have these prohibitively high prices. Nice bottles of wine for a few euros a bottle, fish as fresh as they come and freshly picked mushrooms in the fall. Italians may complain about the continual inflation in the cost of food, but they have no idea what Americans are willing to pay for quality foods.

I froze some gorgeous fish broth a while back and it would have pained me to throw it away, so we decided to make risotto for our dinner the other night. We were both looking for a some new flavors and paired chanterelle mushrooms and salmon, tossing chives in at the end, a risky surf an turf approach to a simple meal, ending up being delicious.

Risotto with Salmon, Chanterelles and Chives

• 1 cup of Carnaroli or Arborio rice (Italians measure rice by demitasse cups, 1 cup for each person and one for the pot)
• 1 fillet of salmon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 5 ounces chanterelles, sliced
• ½ an onion, chopped finely
• 5 cups fish or vegetable stock
• 1 cup of dry white wine
• 2 tbsp butter
• a small bunch of fresh chives
• salt to taste

Chop the onion into fine pieces and bring the broth to a simmer. Heat a large stovetop casserole pan over medium-high heat and melt butter at the bottom of the pan. When the butter is melted add onion and sauté until the onion is translucent. Add the rice and coat it in the butter, toasting it a bit. When the rice becomes opaque, after about 1 minute, add the wine to the pan, enough to cover the rice, stirring frequently.

When the rice has absorbed the wine, add the salmon and the chanterelles and add a ladleful of broth to the pan and continue stirring. Repeat. Continue adding the broth as the rice absorbs it, you want it to almost dry out before adding the broth each time.

When the rice is finished it should be al dente and all of the liquid should be absorbed. Remove from heat and toss in the chopped chives and a tab of butter. Serve immediately.

One Year Ago: Spaghetti With Roasted Cauliflower, Tomatoes and Olives, Stuffed Acorn Squash, Risotto with Pumpkin and Olives & Lentil Stew With Pumpkin

Two Years Ago: What to do with Leftover Meatballs! & Maple Pear Upside-Down Cake

Three Years Ago: Ristorante in Lavagna, Spaghetti with Calamari and Artichokes & Cornetto Salato with Prosciutto di San Daniele

I have managed to get really creative with the eminent leftover collard greens that always stick around after a meal. When I buy collards, I usually prepare the whole bunch; cleaning, blanching and braising them is a process and I am not going to do it more than once a week, or even that frequently. We love collards in this house and despite the fact that we eat like pigs, we can’t eat a whole bunch of collards in one sitting and usually don’t want them with the same face, reheated, the next night. It has made me get creative, making pizza, lasagna and now a baked pasta.

I have fond memories of wonderful baked pastas on Sundays that my host mother in Basilicata would make. They were so rich and complex, there were often baked eggs in the center, usually very meaty and abundant in goodness. I decided that I would go in this vein of an insane pasta al forno with eggs baked in the center, and a sausage ragù with roasted tomatoes from the farmer’s market (yes they are still growing in South Carolina). It was a meal fit for a king, the meaty sauce paired beautifully with the collard greens, but the eggs were lost, I probably needed to add a few more. I may try hard boiling them the next time I want to make a gluttonous pasta al forno.

Pasta al Forno with Collards & Baked Eggs

For the sauce:

• 3 Italian sausages, casings removed (I also had some artisinal guinea hog breakfast sausages and threw them in)
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 1 stalk of celery, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1 box of Pomì strained tomatoes (of course any high quality tomato will do for this)
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided

Heat a dutch oven or a heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add sausages, breaking them up with a wooden spoon as they cook. Once they have thoroughly browned, remove the meat to a bowl and set aside. Place pot back on heat and add the olive oil, add onions, carrots and celery and let cook until the onions are transparent, stirring frequently. Add the strained tomatoes and 1 cup of water to dilute. Bring to a simmer and lower the heat to medium-low. Stirring occasionally and adding water as the ragù starts to dry out, allow to simmer for at least 3 hours.

Preheat the oven to 400°. Wash and halve the tomatoes before tossing them on a baking sheet with 1 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt. Roast the tomatoes for 5 to 10 minutes, until they have shriveled and browned a bit. Add to the sauce when they are perfectly caramelized, this adds a wonderful depth of flavor.

Assembling the pasta:

• 1 lb penne or any short pasta on hand
• braised collard greens (recipe here)
• 8 ounces mozzarella, thinly sliced
• 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or pecorino cheese, or a combination
• 3 – 6 eggs (3 didn’t make enough of an impression, I suggest more, especially if this is for a lot of people and trust me, it will feed an army, we ate on it for days)

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until it is almost tender enough to eat, about 2 minutes less than usual.

Spread about ¾ cup of the ragù on the bottom of a 9- by 13- by 2-inch baking dish.

When the ziti is done, drain it well, then toss it with enough ragù to dress it, but not smother it.

Spread half of the pasta in the baking dish. Evenly spoon over it ¾ cup more ragù. Cover with collard greens, half of the sliced mozzarella and ½ cup of the Parmigiano. Top with the rest of the pasta, creating little cups where you will drop the eggs. Crack the eggs and drop them in the little cups, careful that the yolks stay intact. Add the rest of the ragù, covering the pasta and the eggs and the remaining mozzarella and parmigiano.

Bake for about 45 minutes, or until bubbling.

Let the casserole cool for 10 minutes before cutting it into portions. Serve hot.

One Year Ago: Torta di Riso e Zucchine & Risotto ai Funghi Porcini

Two Years Ago: Penne alla Boscaiola

Three Years Ago: Calamarata with Octopus Heads and Clams, Ligurian Shop Windows & Puntarelle

Meatloaf has become an annual tradition on Italicious. I’ve been mixing it up for the past two years, creating new recipes and steering clear of the  classic recipe with ketchup, but in the past few weeks I’ve started to become nostalgic for the foods of my youth and classic American food. I know that I will be able to easily make a meatloaf in Puglia, you can find ketchup just about anywhere, but it is the idea of it all that is making me nostalgic. Cheeseburgers, bbq, meatloaf, shrimp and grits and of course collard greens, tacos, bagels, cheddar cheese, the list is a long one. I may miss a few of these immensely, I know my daughter will miss her standard cinnamon-raisin bagel, but I promise you I will not go hungry. I probably won’t even think about 3/4 of this list while I am eating fish which had been swimming in the sea hours before I am putting it in my mouth, freshly baked breads and delicious homemade pasta. For this meatloaf recipe I didn’t get experimental, I went to the trusty Joy of Cooking and pulled out the ketchup bottle. With mashed potatoes and a green salad, it was the perfect meal for these cold winter days.

Classic Meat Loaf

adapted from the Joy of Cooking

Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Combine in a large bowl:

• 12 oz. ground beef chuck & 12 ounces ground beef round (I used 1 lb of beef chuck and 2 veggie burgers, it worked well!)
• 1½ cups finely chopped onions
• 1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
•  2/3 cup ketchup
• 2/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp fresh thyme
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Knead the mixture with your hands until everything is well blended. Do not overmix.

Drizzle the olive oil in a baking pan and make your meatloaf by creating a little mound in the center of the pan. Bake in the center of the oven for 1 hour. Pour off the excess fat and let stand for 15 minutes.

One Year Ago: Brasato alla Birra

Two Years Ago: Swedish Meatballs

Three Years Ago: Cotolleta alla Milanese & Polpo alla Luciana

My husband recently returned from a business trip to Grottaglie, Italy. Grottaglie is in Puglia, which is the heel of the boot, this is the easiest way to locate the region in people’s minds and I have been telling a lot of people where Puglia is lately. You see, my husband went to Grottaglie to meet his new coworkers because we will be moving there in January.

Bittersweet is the best way to describe our departure. We are so excited about our new adventure, the job opportunity is fantastic, it is place where neither of us ever imagined living, creating zero expectations (always a good thing), it is also a short trip from Matera and Marconia where I spent my 16th year and fell in love with Italy for the 1st time. Not to mention assuring that our daughter will really be bi-lingual and bi-cultural, which was our plan from conception. With all of that, the bitter sits at the bottom of all of that sweet, I’m sad to leave Charleston. The city finally got under my skin and made me love it, I’ve made some wonderful friends and have loved the close proximity to my family in Atlanta.

To get us excited for the delicious things that await us, he brought us back a few goodies, some dried figs which the cousin of one of his co-workers made. Of course you can find dried figs anywhere these days, but there is nothing industrial about these, you can almost smell the sun that touched them and they have an aroma of fennel and bay leaves from the scatterings in the bag. There is something magical about these figs and it prepares me for the magic that awaits us, that awaits all of you because Italicious is also moving to Puglia and we all know what that means.

Mushroom and Fig Risotto

• 1 cup of carnaroli or Arborio rice (Italians measure rice by demitasse cups, 1 cup for each person and one for the pot)
• ½ an onion, chopped finely
• 1 ounce of dried wild mushrooms (oyster, shitake, porcini, any dried mushrooms will do)
• 1 ounce of dried figs
• 4 cups warm water for soaking dried mushrooms and dried figs, separated
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 cup of dry white wine wine
• 2 tbsp butter
• a few sprigs of flat-leaf parsley
• salt to taste

Heat the water for the dried mushrooms and the dried figs. Soak them in the warm for at least 30 minutes for them to hydrate.

When the mushrooms and the figs are hydrated, removed them from the broth with a slotted spoon and roughly chop. Reserve the liquid from the mushrooms and add it to the broth.

Chop onion into fine pieces and bring the broth to a simmer.

Heat a large stove-top casserole pan over medium-high heat and melt butter at the bottom of the pan, covering the pan. When the butter is melted add onion and sauté until the onion is translucent. Add rice and coat it in the butter, toasting it a bit. When the rice becomes opaque, after about 1 minute add a cup of wine to the pan, enough to cover the rice, stir frequently.

When the rice has absorbed the wine, add a ladleful of broth to the pan and continue stirring. Repeat and once the rice starts to absorb the broth add the mushrooms. Continue adding the broth as the rice absorbs it, you want it to almost dry out before adding the broth each time. Add the figs to the risotto toward the end of its cooking.

When the rice is finished it should be al dente and all of the liquid should be absorbed. Remove from heat and toss chopped parsley in. Serve immediately.

One Year Ago: Turkey Tetrizzini

Two Years Ago: Linguine con Finocchio e Sarde

Three Years Ago: Sfogliatella,

I took a little Thanksgiving hiatus for a while there, spent a week with my parents in Atlanta while my husband was in Italy on a business trip. It wasn’t the most traditional Thanksgiving, of course we had all of the trimmings and ate like pigs, but it was stress free, hallelujah. My uncle had his son for the holiday and wanted to host dinner at his house, again, hallelujah and thank you David. We all contributed, he took care of the wine, cranberry sauce, collards and green bean casserole; my mother the Turkey and stuffing; my sister the mashed potatoes and cornbread dressing; and I provided dessert, a store-bought pumpkin pie and a maple pear upside-down cake, a recent Thanksgiving staple in our family. We didn’t have to clean up the house for guests, which always sends my mother into a tizzy. There was minor clean-up in the kitchen since there were two kitchens and we could work in happy stages during the day. The best part was that after making my cake in the morning, I spent the rest of the day in my pj’s, lazing around the house and napping, glorious glorious relaxation.

It was nice to take a little break from the kitchen, though Italicious is hurting as a result, I am lacking in new material and really need to get on a creative kick in the kitchen to come up with some new stuff.

After my return from Atlanta, I invited a few girlfriends over for dinner, this gave me a chance to try a new recipe and provide myself with some new material for the blog. I know that it is not advisable to try new recipes with guests, but I threw caution to the wind and tried this chicken and couscous dish that I found in my book of Jewish recipes. It was delicious, but I think it needed an extra kick to it, maybe a little lemon juice added at the end. Between the honey, the almonds and the apricots there was a whole lot of sweet, but no spark amidst all of that sweetness.

I do love a braised chicken, the meat falling off of the bone, so juicy and delicious. I made enough for an army, not sure what I was thinking. As one of my friends was calling me to cancel, I grabbed an additional chicken at the grocery store, not sure what was going through my head, fear of not having enough food. I have enough leftovers to feed another army.

Moroccan Chicken with Apricots, Almonds & Couscous

from 1,000 Jewish Recipes by Fay Levy

• 3 pounds chicken pieces, patted dry
• 2 medium onions, minced
• salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 cup chicken stock, broth or water
• a large pinch of saffron threads (about 1/8 tsp)
• one 2-inch cinnamon stick
• 1 1/3 cups dried apricots
• 2 tbsp honey
• freshly grated nutmeg to taste
• 2 cups water
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 2/3 cups couscous
• 1 tab of butter (we’re not kosher over here)
• 1/2 cup whole blanched almonds

Combine chicken, onions, salt and pepper in a heavy stew pan. Cover and cook over low heat, turning chicken over occasionally, 5 minutes. Add stock, saffron, and cinnamon stick; push it into liquid. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat, turning pieces occasionally, about 35 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate.

Add apricots and honey to sauce and cook uncovered over medium heat 15 minutes or until apricots are just tender. Transfer apricots to a heated bowl, leaving most of the onions in the casserole. Cover prunes.

Discard cinnamon stick. Cook sauce over medium heat, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes to thicken it slightly. Add nutmeg. Adjust seasoning.

Return chicken to stew pan and turn to coat pieces with sauce. Cover and heat over low heat 5 minutes.

Combine 2 cups water, oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Stir in couscous, remove from heat, and cover. Let stand 5 minutes.

Add a tab of butter to the couscous, fluff with a fork and mound it on a heated platter. Arrange chicken around couscous and spoon sauce and apricots over chicken. Garnish with almonds.

One Year Ago: Cappuccino Cheesecake & Sweet Potato, Pumpkin and Apple Puree

Two Years Ago: Grilled Chicken with Caramelized Onions and Pomegranate Glaze, Blackbean, Pumpkin and Leek Soup & Focaccia

Three Years Ago: Roasted Cauliflower, Raisins and Anchovy Vinaigrette, La Sicilia I, La Sicilia II, La Sicilia III, Fusilli with Swordfish and Pistachios & Salsicce sulla Pietra Ollare

I really miss artichokes, they are easy to find here, but they are prohibitively expensive. I feel like it would be a pity to reduce them to their hearts to cook with, so I simply never buy them. Charleston recently got a Trader Joe’s, which is a lot of fun. Not my favorite place to buy groceries, but they have a few products that I like and it is, well, fun. One thing that they sell are skinny little artichokes, they aren’t great quality, but they are marked at a good price. Not something to get excited about, but I did because I knew that we could shave them down to their hearts and toss them in a pasta and not have any feelings of guilt for how expensive they were and throwing 3/4 of them away. I am my mother’s daughter.

Then again I have to say, that as much as I love artichokes, I don’t enjoy preparing them that much. It takes a lot of work and that work is messy.

I was in a TESOL certificate class just about every weekend for the past two months and my dear husband was playing Mr. Mom. It was great, he loved all of the time he got to spend with our daughter, I know she loved it too and even though the house would always be a mess when I came home, he would have made something delicious for our dinner. A role reversal, he usually comes home to a delicious meal and a messy house, at least he can now understand why only one thing can get done.

He made this wonderful crema di carciofi over pasta for dinner one night, which was delicious. It was so delish that I bought more cheap artichokes to replicate the meal in order to share with you!

Fettucine alla Crema di Carciofi

• 4 medium sized artichokes, trimmed and cleaned
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1/2 cup of dry white wine
• 1 cup of crème fraiche or heavy cream
• ½ lb of fettuccine
• ½ cup of chopped fresh flat parsley
• 1 whole lemon
• salt to taste

Prepare a bowl with cold water and lemon juice.

Clean the artichokes by eliminating their outer leaves; you can do this by bending them and snapping them off. Do this until you get to the leaves that are lighter in color.  Cut off the tip of the central cone, to eliminate the tougher green end of the leaves. Cut the heart in half and scoop out the inside chokes with a knife or a small spoon. Cut the heart of the artichoke into thin slices and immerse in the lemon water. If your artichokes have stems, cut the stem off and peel it of its outer skin. Chop into small cubes to be used in the sauce as well, it would be shame to throw them away.

Heat oil in a deep skillet or a wide saucepan over medium heat and add onions. When the onion becomes transparent, add the artichokes and the white wine. Sauté for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the artichokes are soft, if the sauce starts to dry out, add water to the pan.

Pour the contents of the pan into a Cuisinart or a blender, add the crème fraiche and purée. Return to the pan and leave over low heat to keep warm until the pasta is cooked and ready to be tossed.

In the meantime, fill a large pot with water for the pasta. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once the water starts to boil for the pasta add a small handful of salt to the water and bring to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.

When the pasta is perfectly al dente, turn up the heat on the sauce and drain the pasta. Without shaking all of the water out of the colander pour the pasta into the pan and toss it with the sauce. This allows for the pasta to cook a little longer in the sauce and to absorb the flavor. Once you have plated the pasta, add the chopped parsley.

One Year Ago:  Summer Squash Curry

Two Years Ago: Phyllo Sweeties

Three Years Ago: Mushroom and Celery Salad, Risotto alla Milanese & Ricotta and Spinach Pie

I made this soup for dinner last night, delicious but totally inappropriate for the 80° weather that we’re having. I feel like I say this every year at around this time, it just doesn’t make any sense. The markets are filled with winter squash, broccoli, collards and the time of year tells me that I want hearty fall food, it hurts a little when you can’t go for seconds because it is simply too hot.

This soup was delicious, delicate and a full meal in one bowl. My daughter, who has been on a hunger strike for a week now, lapped it up over little stelline pasta and even went for seconds. I guess the heat wasn’t getting to her, but since has been surviving on crackers, yogurt and fruit, she was probably pretty hungry.

Pureed White Bean & Winter Squash Soup

from The New York Times

• 1 pound white beans (such as navy beans, small white beans, or cannelini), washed, picked over and soaked for 6 hours o overnight in 2 quarts water
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 1/2 quarts water
• A bouquet garni made with a bay leaf, a couple of sprigs each thyme and parsley, and 2 sage leaves
• Salt to taste
• 2 leeks, white part only, well washed and chopped
• 1 pound winter squash, peeled, seeds and membranes removed, and diced
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• A light drizzle of extra virgin olive oil for garnish

Drain the beans. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat and add the onion. Cook gently until tender, about 5 minutes, and add 2 of the garlic cloves and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir together for about 30 seconds, then add the drained beans and the water. Bring to a boil and skim off foam. Add the bouquet garni, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 1 hour.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a wide, heavy skillet over medium heat and add the leeks and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook gently, stirring, until tender, about 3 minutes, and add the remaining garlic and the squash. Cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant and the squash is coated with oil and just beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir into the beans. Add salt to taste and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes to an hour, until the beans and vegetables are thoroughly tender and falling apart. Taste and adjust salt. Remove the bouquet garni.

Using an immersion blender or a food mill fitted with the fine or medium blade, puree the soup. Heat through, taste and adjust salt, and add pepper to taste. Serve, garnishing each bowl with slivered sage leaves, (optional) garlic croutons and an optional drizzle of olive oil.

Yield: Serves 6

One Year Ago:  Farfalle with Calamari and Yellow Tomatoes & Risotto with Pattypan Squash, Kale and Grilled Sausage

Two Years Ago: Spanakopita, Peanut Butter Brownies & Polpettone

Three Years Ago: Lunch in Anzio, Mezze Maniche alla Checca, Squid Ink Risotto with Cuttlefish and Artichokes, Mezze Maniche con i Broccoli Romani, Braised Lentils With Spinach & Fish, Zucchini and Potato Gratin