Anna Sultana's Soppa ta' L-Armla - Widow's Soup, Maltese Style

Hot drinks like Mulled Wine and Mulled Apple Cider are all well and good.

But, to paraphrase a rather famous saying, man does not live by hot drinks alone.

It's getting cold… it's time to make and serve some soups.

Sometimes Maltese recipes have some rather strange names.

I mean, cookies named Dead Man's Bones?

And then there's Soppa ta' L-Armla - Widow's Soup.

Not exactly the most cheerful name for a bowl of soup.

I notice Campbell's and Lipton's don't have it in their repertoire.

And what does a husband think when he sits down to a bowl of this?

Should he wonder if it's a hint, like she's hoping and planning her future?  

Should he eat it?

Well, yes he should, if he's Maltese.

And give thanks that his wife knows how to make a good homemade soup.

Hint:

If you can't find ġbejniet in your local store, substitute individual soft cheese balls.

Or more ricotta or cottage cheese.

                        Soppa ta' L-Armla 

Chop into roughly the same spoon-sized chunks

2 carrots

2 onions

1 medium cabbage

1 head of lettuce

1 endive (or a second head of lettuce)

1 cauliflower

1 celery stalk

In a large pot place

1/4 Cup margarine, butter or oil

Sauté the vegetables.

Add

2 litres of water

400 g peas

Simmer until the vegetables are done.

Slowly add, one by one

4 eggs

4 ġbejniet (fresh Maltese cheeselets)

4 Tablespoons ricotta

Simmer until the eggs have cooked.  

When serving, first place an egg, a ġbejniet and a scoop of ricotta in each bowl.

Then ladle on the vegetables.

Season with salt and pepper.

Carmela Soprano's Caesar Salad and Homemade Croutons (for 6 or 50)

There are salads... and then there are salads.

Caesar Salad is a classic.

And a potential slapstick comedy routine.

Who could forget Lucy trying to make one while in a moving trailer in

the 1954 movie The Long Long Trailer?

Even though Lucy's movie was one of the major influences on my life, I'd never gotten around to making a Caesar Salad.

No, I don't know why.

Charmaine Bucco, Artie's better half, also has a chapter in Artie's The Sopranos Family Cookbook.

Charmaine worked in their restaurants Vesuvio and its successor, Nueovo Vesuvio.

Her chapter is called Cooking for the Whole Famiglia.

And she isn't kidding.

Her recipes come with ingredient listings for your usual 4 to 8 and for 50.

I can relate to recipes for 50.

When I was a kid I'd been to quite a few multigenerational family gatherings.

Fifty was about an average family get-together crowd.

And I'm not counting pre-schoolers or infants.

These gatherings were usually in the summer, when we could sit outside.

McMansions weren't around in the 1950s.

Even if they were, we'd probably have been sitting outside.

We kids were in charge of turning the baby lamb on the spit.

Ah… those where the days.

Charmaine's recipe for Caesar Salad is fine as part of una bella mangiata.

A great meal.

Caesar Salad can also be a meal in itself.

Especially if you're still trying to get rid of those holiday pounds.

If you're making a salad for 50:

Place the prepared lettuce into a large clean plastic bag or two.

If you can fit 2 heads of lettuce in a bowl, toss it with 1/4 of the dressing.

Refrigerate the remaining dressing and prepare more salad as needed.

Yes, that's how they do it in restaurants.

                        Caesar Salad

Serves 6                                                                     Serves 50   

For the Croutons

Preheat oven to 325º F

Cut into 1/2 inch thick cubes

6 slices Italian bread                                                4 to 5 loaves

Place the cubes in a single layer on cookies sheets.

Drizzle with

1/4 Cup extra virgin olive oil                                 2 Cups

Toss the cubes well.

Bake, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.

The bread should be a golden brown.

Set the croutons aside.

For the Salad

Place in a saucepan

1 large egg                                                                      8 large eggs

Cover with cold water.

Over medium heat bring to a boil.

Cook for 1 1/2 minutes.

Drain and cool egg(s) under running water.  Peel.

In a large bowl combine

1 large garlic clove, very finely minced                8 cloves

4 anchovy fillets, drained and chopped               5  2-ounce cans

Mash them into a paste.

Beat in

the prepared egg(s)

1 Tablespoon lemon juice                                         3/4 Cup

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce                          3 Tablespoons

Salt and pepper to taste

Gradually beat in

1/2 Cup grated Parmesan cheese                         4 Cups

1/3 Cup extra virgin olive oil                                  3 Cups

Taste for seasoning.

Wash, dry and tear into bite-sized pieces

1 head romaine lettuce (about 1 1/4 pounds)    8 heads

(for salad for 50, see above)

Toss the lettuce with the dressing.

Sprinkle with the croutons.

Toss again and taste for seasoning.

Serve immediately.

Would I make Caesar Salad again?

Sure.

No, I don't know why it took me this long to try it.

One recipe down.  Forty-eight more to go.

Carmela Soprano's Red, White and Green Salad

No kidding.

This is a real recipe.

I didn't make it up for the Fourth of July.

Well, these are the colors of the Italian flag.

What could they use for the American flag.... blueberries?

Maybe not.

In the Graduation Parties chapter of Carmela's Entertaining with the Sopranos, there's a recipe for a Red, White and Green Salad.  

It's a nice, simple recipe.

Perfect for a holiday weekend.

Or a graduation party.

Anytime you have a crowd, I guess.

So why'd he pick a graduation chapter?

Who knows.

I still have my doubts about that editor. 

                             

                              Red, White and Green Salad 

Tear into bit-sized pieces and place in a large salad bowl

1 head green leaf lettuce, trimmed, washed and dried

1 large head radicchio, trimmed, washed and dried

(You'll have about 8 cups - this salad will feed 8 to 10 people.)

Cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces

3 Belgian endives, trimmed, washed and dried

Add to the bowl.

Shake together in a small jar with a tight-fitting lid

1/3 Cup olive oil

2 - 3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

salt

freshly ground black pepper

Just before serving, shake the dressing, drizzle over the salad.

Toss well.  Check seasoning.  Serve immediately.

Nice recipe to have when tomatoes aren't on sale.

Then again, the radicchio might be hard to find.

Well, nothing's perfect.

Would I make Red, White and Green Salad again?

Not exactly.

The radicchio was a hassle to find.

Life's too short to go crazy over radicchio.

Nice recipe idea, though.

Maybe with some red cabbage?

Another recipe down.  Fourteen more to go. 

Carmela Soprano's Chopped Vegetable Salad and Balsamic Oregano Salad Dressing

Okay... we've all got leftovers from last Sunday.

Hope you had a nice Easter.

Time to get back to normal meals again.  

Time to use up some of the leftovers. 

I mean, did anyone eat all the radishes?

In the Adult Birthday Parties chapter of Carmela's Entertaining with The Sopranos, Carmela has a recipe for Chopped Salad. 

This must've been a recipe Carmela had from her early days with Tony.

The days when she didn't have those long finger nails.

The days when they didn't live in a McMansion.

Carmela said, and I quote:

You can use other vegetables, like radicchio, fennel, radishes, celery, or carrots and whatever else is in season.

Or taking up space in the fridge.

Before they turn into compost.

Don't want that to happen.

Not at today's food prices. 

                             

                           Chopped Salad

                       

In a small jar, mix

1/3 Cup extra virgin olive oil

2 - 3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

Shake well, cover and set aside.

----

In a large salad bowl combine

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes

4 green onions, chopped 

2 small cucumbers, chopped

1/2 small head of iceberg lettuce, chopped

1/2 small head escarole, chopped 

(About 12 cups of vegetables, total, more or less)

Cover and refrigerate up to 3 hours.

When ready to serve, shake the dressing again.

Add the dressing to the salad and toss well.

Taste for seasoning and serve immediately.

Would I make Chopped Salad again?

Sure.

Especially when I have left over veggies sitting in the fridge.

Waste not, want not.

Another recipe down.  Twenty-three more to go.

Carmela Soprano's Arugula and Mushroom Salad and Anna Sultana's Mimli Vegetables (Stuffed Vegetables, Maltese Style)

It's funny how something that's just daily fare to one person is exotic to another person.

Carmela includes quite a few salad recipes in Entertaining with The Sopranos.  I have a little problem with her use of arugula, escarole and watercress.  They're just not carried by my local Safeway and Sobey's.  But Carmela throws in some basic iceberg lettuce every once in a while, just to show she's still a Jersey girl underneath all that hair and those nails.  

Her Arugula and Mushroom Salad is easy to make.  Arugula torn into bite-sized pieces and white mushrooms very thinly sliced, served in a dressing of 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice and 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, with a dash of salt and pepper.  

Nice and easy and the salad keeps Tony and the kids regular.

Okay, I make do with iceberg.  We are talking salad for a retired couple, not for a formal state occasion.

Ma was not big on salads.  I don't know why and it's too late to ask.  

Ma usually served canned vegetables.  The smell and taste of tinned peas and vacuum-packed corn make me feel like I'm sitting at Ma's table.  

When it came to fresh green peppers, globe artichokes, eggplants and late in the season, home grown, baseball bat sized zucchini, Ma had a favorite recipe.  Mimli or stuffed.  Ma dipped into her never ending supply of bread crumbs.  She then mixed the crumbs with eggs and bits of other vegetables.  Then she'd stuff, sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top and bake.

As I explained when I wrote about Ma's Timpana, Maltese go beyond simple into downright retarded when it comes to starches.  If you're trying to lose weight - problem.  If you're stretching a dollar - perfect.      

The Arugula and Mushroom Salad is easy and I'll make it again, with regular lettuce.

But, I'll make the Mimli vegetables, too.  They make me feel like I'm sitting at Ma's table, too.      

Another recipe down.  Sixty-two more to go.