Страница 8

The Three B’s: Broths, Beans, and One Very Versatile Bread Dough

There are three “b’s” that form the backbone of many of the soup-and-bread meals in this book. Broth—vegetable, chicken, or beef—is the liquid of choice in most of my soup recipes; beans add protein and flavor; and my versatile olive oil bread dough is utilized in several bread recipes within these pages. In this section, I’ll show you how to take the reins and make these essentials from scratch.

Broth

The old adage “the better the broth, the better the soup” is true. Sure, you can use ca

ed broth or stock. But if you’ve got a slow cooker or a soup pot, making homemade broth is as easy as boiling water, and the payback for letting a pot of homemade broth bubble away for a few hours is great: Your home will smell absolutely wonderful and your soups will have a deep, rich homemade flavor. You’ll also be consuming a healthier food—homemade broths have a fraction of the sodium of packaged broths.

I’ve found that simmering ingredients over low heat for a long time produces the most flavorful broths, so I use my slow cooker, which requires minimal work. If you don’t have one, see the stove-top variation at the end of each broth recipe.