From the Vaults: Part X

SORREL SOUP

Patches of this piquant green are common in home gardens around the world. Cafe Drake - situated as we are in the midst of a Polish neighborhood - is no stranger to sorrel either. Year round, day in and out, bunches can be found in every grocery store and corner market. As sorrel is beloved by Western Europeans as much as their above-mentioned Eastern cousins, the recipe below was given to us by a French friend of Cafe Drake. As they say, If you make only one recipe from Cafe Drake's website this week or month . . .

2 tsp. kosher salt/ 1 large russet potato, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch dice/ 1 stick of unsalted butter /1 large shallot, finely diced /1 pound sorrel, washed well /4 cups chicken stock /Pepper 1 cup heavy cream

• Add kosher salt to one cup of water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Add potato and cook until water begins to return to a boil (pieces should be neither crunchy nor mushy and should hold their shape). Drain and reserve water.
  
• Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a soup pot over medium-low heat, and sweat shallots until translucent.
• Chop sorrel and add to shallots. Cook briefly, until sorrel changes color from bright to drab green. Add chicken stock, potato cooking water, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to boil and shut off.
• Carefully blend in batches while hot, adding a chunk of butter to each batch, until silky smooth. Return blended soup to pot, add cream, and adjust seasoning.
  
• To serve, distribute potatoes among soup bowls and pour liquid over them.

EASY MEXICAN RICE

Utterly simple and one of Cafe Drake's most beloved side dishes. Often we let it take (near) center stage by serving as an entree alongside slow-cooked black beans and slices of avocado and red onion.

3 cups long grain white rice (brown doesn't work here - sorry) / 1/4 cup olive oil / 5 garlic cloves, chopped / 2 onions, diced / 3 serrano or jalapeno peppers, chopped / 3 bay leaves / 3 tomatoes, diced / 2 T. butter / salt and black pepper

• Rinse rice very well under running water. This should take about 2 minutes.
• In a large saucepan, heat the oil and add garlic, onions, peppers and rice. Cook over medium heat for 8 minutes.
• Add 6 cups of water, the bay leaves, tomatoes, butter and salt and black pepper to taste.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes or until water is fully absorbed.
• Take off heat, let rest for 5 minutes, fluff gently with a fork and serve warm.

STUFFED TOMATOES

No ordinary stuffed tomato, this makes a cozy partner to most fish or could be served on its own, with a salad and good bread, for a light luncheon.

6 ripe but firm tomatoes / salt and black pepper / 3 cups of any smoked ham, chopped finely / 2 shallots, minced / 1 bunch of curly parsley, chopped roughly / 1 T. butter (softened)

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly oil a baking sheet.
• Carefully cut a thin bit of the top of each tomato off and with a teaspoon, hollow out most of the core and inside. Reserve for another use.
• Generously salt the insides of tomatoes and place on baking sheet.
• In a large bowl mix well: ham, shallots, parsley and butter. Place inside tomatoes, filling to the top.
• Bake filled tomatoes for 30 minutes (maybe more) or until stuffing is bubbling and browning a bit and tomatoes are quite tender.
  
• Serve hot.