The Staff of Life and Substance of Rebirth

Art Culinaire, Fall, 2001

For the zucchini-tomato bread soup, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the bread slices on a parchment-lined sheet pan, drizzle with two tablespoons of the olive oil, season, and place in the oven until golden brown, about five minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside. In a large saucepan, heat the remaining oil over medium heat and saute the zucchini, garlic, and parsley until golden brown, about five minutes. Add the tomatoes and saute until tender, about two minutes. Add the tomato juice and vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, add the bread, and simmer until warmed through, about five minutes. Remove from the heat, add the mint and lemon, season, and set aside keeping warm.

To finish the red wine-onion bread soup, preheat the broiler to 500 degrees. Place the soup crocks under the broiler until golden brown about two minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside keeping warm.

To serve, spoon some zucchini-tomato bread soup into a soup bowl and accompany with ribollita and red wine-onion bread soup.

Ox Tongue and Ciabatta Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette and Parsley Sauce

cindy pawlcyn

ingredients

For the ox tongue:

1 beer tongue

2 quarts veal stock

2-inch ginger, thinly sliced

1 onion, peeled and sliced

1 carrot, peeled and sliced

2 stalks celery, sliced

6 cloves garlic peeled

3 sprigs thyme

3 sprigs savory

3 sprigs parsley

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

2 tablespoons coriander seeds

1 tablespoon allspice

Sea salt to taste

For the mustard vinaigrette:

1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed

1 small shallot, peeled and minced

1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and pepper to taste

For the parsley sauce:

1/4 bunch curly parsley, stemmed and chopped

1/4 bunch flat leaf parsley, stemmed and chopped

1/4 bunch mint, stemmed and chopped

5 sprigs dill, stemmed and chopped

5 sprigs tarragon, stemmed and chopped

3 anchovy fillets, finely chopped

6 cloves uarlic, peeled and minced

2 tablespoons capers, chopped

1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and crushed slack pepper to taste

For the ciabatta:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 loaf day-old levain bread, crust removed and diced small

Salt and pepper to taste

For the salad:

Wild arugula

Scallions minced

Capers

Salt and cracked black pepper to taste

For the garnish:

Mache flowers

Arugula blossoms

Note: Levain bread is made from a bread starter based on wild yeast and typically has a thick crust. The inside of the bread has a slightly shiny interior with large holes and a creamy taste.

For the ox tongue, in a large saucepan over medium heat, bring all of the ingredients to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until tender, about two hours, skimming the top occasionally. Remove from the heat, strain, and transfer the ox tongue to a cutting board to cool. Remove and discard the outer skin from the tongue. Cut into thin slices and set aside.

directions

For the mustard vinaigrette, in the bowl of a food processor, combine the garlic, shallot, mustard, lemon juice and vinegar and pulse to combine, about one minute, With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil in a thin, steady stream and puree until well combined. Transfer to a bowl, season, and reserve.