HUNGRY GERALD

Yes, HG/BSK try to be as green as possible in terms of food, attention to the ecological environment in which HG/BSK are privileged to live, recycling, energy conservation (heating from natural sources etc.). No, HG/BSK are not voting for Green Presidential Candidate Jill Stein. The enemy, folks, is the Pupin Puppet, Der Trumperer. Enough politics. Let’s go on to a happier subject: HG/BSK’s New Mexico neighbors, Gary and Natasha Gundersen. The remarkable Gundersens are Santa Fe’s premier organic farmers and their stand, Mr.G’s, is an instant sellout at the Santa Fe Farmers Market. When HG/BSK arrived home from days of travel, Gary waved hello and presented a delicious welcome home treat–a big head of lush escarole, freshly picked from the soil. That meant heart and body warming escarole soup. BSK did a riff on the recipe from The Frankies Spuntino Cookbook (a must for your bookshelf if you love down to earth Italian-American-Brooklyn cooking). BSK enriched the soup with plenty of cannelloni beans and bacon. Hot red pepper flakes, a dash of olive oil, abundant Pecorino Romano grated cheese topped the bowls. Next day, HG added cooked Goya Melon Seeds (a small pasta shaped like orzo, but larger). This turned the soup into a version of pasta e fagioli. New York’s late, great Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia (“The Little Flower”) loved this dish and called it “pasta fazoole.” HG lifted a spoonful and bowed in memory of the wonderful man who reformed and invigorated New York in the later years of the Great Depression.

HG’s organic farmer neighbor, Gary G., provides HG and BSK with giant heads of escarole (hard to fit in the frig) at three bucks a bunch. This calls for one of the great comfort dishes — white bean and escarole soup. It all starts with a sofrito of olive oil, chopped onion, browned pancetta, chopped garlic, fresh rosemary and abundant red pepper flakes. Coarsely chopped escarole is softened in the pungent melange. Chicken broth, chopped canned Italian tomatoes are added. A couple of cans of rinsed cannelloni beans go into the pot at the end (Goya is the best brand but Whole Foods 365 is good). Google a recipe to find more exact proportions if you can’t figure it out.

Serve with a dash of good, virgin olive oil or more pepper flakes for fans of the incendiary. The two Frankies of the wonderful Frankies Spuntino restaurants in Brooklyn and Manhattan say the dish is good hot or cold. They often start off their busy cooking days with a cold dish of the soup splashed with plenty of olive oil. HG thinks this tops Cheerios.