Weekend Cooking: 2 Recipes to Beat the Winter Blues

Do you remember the old saying "March comes in like a lion . . ."? Boy it sure has, and winter has made a big comeback! The other half of the saying is ". . . and goes out like a lamb." Here's hoping!

In the meantime, it's still cold enough to encourage soup dinners, baking, and hot chocolate. I'm featuring two of these today. The soup and bread were among this week's winning recipes, and they come from magazines I have turned to time and again over the years.

Note: the photos are my own.

St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner, and I caught the fever early and baked Irish soda bread. I tried a new recipe from the latest issue of Eating Well, and it was so good, I doubt I'll ever make another version.

Irish Soda Bread with Dried Fruit & Caraway
Eating Well magazine, March-April 2018

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 4.5 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup currants (I used dark raisins)
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1 tablespoon caraway seeds
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2.25 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425F.

Warm a 9-inch cast-iron skillet in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and add butter, swirling to coat the bottom and sides.

Combine flour, currants, raisins, caraway seeds, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Gradually add the buttermilk, stirring just until the flour is fully incorporated. Do not overmix. The dough should be sticky and a little shaggy.

Transfer the dough to the prepared pan, using a spatula to spread it evenly. It's OK if it doesn't reach all the way to the sides. Use a sharp knife to score a deep X in the top of the loaf.

Bake until cooked through and golden brown, about 40 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

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The original recipe for this delicious bean soup was written for the slow cooker, so if you don't have a pressure cooker, click the link and follow the directions. I made a few other changes, most notably, I had some chorizos to use up, so I used them instead of pancetta. Also, I didn't feel like chopping the rosemary, so I just dropped the sprigs in whole. I made this in an electric pressure cooker, but you could use a stovetop cooker.

Tuscan White Bean Soup
Adapted from Cooking Light, March 2018

• 1 pound dried cannellini beans
• 6 cups unsalted chicken stock
• 2 links smoked chorizos
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1 cup chopped carrot
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 2 cups chopped kale
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (14.5-oz.) can unsalted diced tomatoes
• 1 (2-in.) piece Parmesan cheese rind
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups chopped kale
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Place beans in a heatproof bowl. Pour in enough boiling water to cover. Cover tightly with foil and let sit at least 1 hour to soak. Drain beans, rinse, and drain well.

Place all ingredients, except the vinegar, in a pressure cooker. Lock the lid, bring to full pressure, and let cook 27 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then manually release the remaining pressure.

Taste the beans to make sure they’re cooked. Adjust the seasoning, remove the bay leaf and rosemary sprigs. If the beans aren't cooked, either bring the cooker up to pressure again for a few minutes, or use the saute function to let them boil until tender. Stir in the vinegar right before serving.

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