Three favorite soups have Keystone State connections
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Post-GazetteWedding Soup is a Pittsburgh tradition. Here's Carol Carmichael's famous wedding soup served hot at Carol's Restaurant, 410 S. Main St., West End.
Click photo for larger image.
Western Pennsylvania's connection to Italian wedding soup is fortified by the current issue of Cook's Country magazine, which includes a story about and recipe for "Pittsburgh Wedding Soup." We were alerted to this by former Pittsburgher, and former Post-Gazette food editor, Suzanne Martinson, who notes that her daughter, Jessica, really misses this soup that is so commonly served at restaurants and wedding receptions here. As explained in the Cook's Country piece, the "wedding" in the name comes from the soup's Italian origins and the "marriage" of the meatballs and the greens.
PITTSBURGH WEDDING SOUP
If meatloaf mix isn't available, substitute 1 pound of 85 percent-lean ground beef. Serve with extra Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.
Meatballs
- 2 slices hearty white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 pound meatloaf mix
Soup
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 large head kale or swiss chard, stemmed, leaves chopped
- 1 cup orzo (pasta)
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
- Salt and pepper
For the meatballs: Using potato masher, mash bread and milk in large bowl until smooth. Add remaining ingredients, except meatloaf mix, and mash to combine. Add meatloaf mix, and knead by hand until well combined. Form mixture into 1-inch meatballs (you should have about 55 meatballs) and arrange on rimmed baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes. (Meatballs can be made up to 24 hours in advance.)
For the soup: Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook garlic and red pepper flakes until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add broth and bring to boil. Stir in kale and simmer until softened, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in meatballs and pasta, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until meatballs are cooked through and pasta is tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
Note: Leftover soup can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Serves 6 to 8.
-- Cook's Country magazine
Any recipe involving leeks also is timely. This past Thursday, March 1, was St. David's Day, honoring the patron saint of Wales, the symbol of which is the leek. Celebrants not only eat leeks but also wear them.
That ethnicity figures into the spring tradition of ham and leek suppers at the fire halls and granges in Potter County, also known as Pennsylvania's God's County on its visitors association's Web site, www.visitpottercounty.com.
Up in those North woods in the spring, locals collect and cook with pungent wild leeks, also known as ramps, which some of the old-timers dig up using "leek hooks" that attach to their boots. The community suppers start popping up in April and May. We plan to pop up there then, too.
But until then, executive director David Brooks was kind enough to share the following leek soup recipe. It's from the "Potter County Leek Cookbook" (Leader Publishing, 1990) that was created and illustrated by Dottie Bajor. The visitors association sells copies for $10 (call 888-POTTER-2 or 1-814-274-3365). We adapted it to our newspaper style, but Mrs. Bajor's is a better read.
She says the soup can be made with beef, venison or elk, which makes sense up in the Pennsylvania Wilds, where elk still roam.
LEEK SOUP
- 4 quarts of water
- 2 to 2 1/2 pounds of beef, venison or elk meat on the bone (if venison or elk, remove all fat)
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 1 medium to large stalk of celery, including leaves, chopped
- 3 bay leaves
- 3 whole cloves
- 72 wild leeks, or 12 large leeks (cut off root bottoms, then cut off top leaves from the point they begin to separate; discard leaves and chop remaining sections into small pieces; divide into two equal portions of chopped leeks)
- 1 medium carrot, cut into slices
- 2 pounds of potatoes, cubed
- About 3 tablespoons butter
- Salt and black pepper for seasoning
Place water, meat and bones and salt into a large soup pot and bring to a slow rolling boil. After about 10 to 15 minutes, use a strainer -- or a piece of bread -- to remove the surface scum.
Add celery, bay leaves, cloves, and half the chopped leeks. Then add carrot and potatoes and simmer the soup just at boiling for 2 to 3 hours (don't boil too high or the soup will lose aroma).
Melt, but do not brown, enough butter to fill a saucepan about 1/16 inch and add the remaining chopped leeks. Cover pan and fry for about 10 minutes. Add one cup of your soup stock and barely simmer leeks for about 25 minutes.
Remove meat and bones from soup kettle. Run the rest of the soup through a food mill or sieve. Put soup back into the kettle with the fried leeks mixture and heat slowly for 10 minutes.
Serve the meat on the side. Salt and pepper the soup to taste.
Serves eight.
-- Potter County Leek Cookbook
Here's another leek soup recipe that comes from Jonathan Pomeroy, co-chef and co-owner at the Westline Inn in Westline, McKean County. He holds a Leek Festival each spring. This year, it's on April 29 (www.westlineinn.com or 1-814-778-5103). As he says, "Leeks grow throughout Pennsylvania and are very prolific around Westline, where they make a green carpet in April."
HAM AND LEEK SOUP
- 2 quarts water
- 1 ham bone with some ham left on it (about two pounds)
- 4 cups diced cabbage
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cups onion, diced
- 1 cup carrot, diced
- 2 cups chopped wild leeks (greens are OK, too; if you use milder, store-bought leeks, use more)
- 2 russet potatoes, cubed
- Salt and pepper
Place water in a large soup pot with ham bone and simmer for 1 hour. Add cabbage, bay leaf and onion and simmer for 30 minutes. Add carrot, leeks and potatoes and simmer 20 more minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
Add more water if needed. Remove bone from the soup, and remove the meat from the bone. Then dice the meat and add it back to the soup.
Serves about 8.
-- Jonathan Pomeroy, Westline Inn
First Published March 4, 2007 12:00 am
