Rustic Guacamole

Martha Stewart rocks again. This recipe is excellent. I didn't have Serrano chilis, so I used 1 habanaro pepper and one or two jalepino peppers.

Rustic Guacamole

Ingredients

Makes About 2 1/4 Cups

• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 to 3 serrano chiles, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 2 ripe avocados, (preferably Hass), halved, pitted, and peeled
• 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
• 1 small green zebra tomato, (or any small ripe red tomato), seeded and chopped
• Tortilla chips, for serving

Directions

1. Stir together onion, chiles, and salt in a medium bowl. Roughly mash avocados into onion mixture, leaving the avocados very chunky. Stir in cilantro and tomato. Serve with tortilla chips.

Apple, Celery, and Walnut Salad

Parade had a nice recipe in it today . . .

Apple, Celery, and Walnut Salad

Fuji apples add great red color. For a zesty flavor, substitute low-fat plain yogurt for the sour cream.

2 Fuji Apples, diced (1/4 inch)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 ribs celery, diced (1/4 inch)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup reduced-calorie mayonnaise
1/4 cup low-fat sour cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Toss the apples with the lemon juice in a bowl. Add celery, walnuts, and raisins, then toss. Combine the mayo and sour cream in another bowl, then fold into the apple mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pack in tightly covered, small plastic containers.

Serves 4. Per serving: 250 calories, 26g carbs, 3 g protein, 16g fat, 10mg cholesterol.

Zuppa di Fagioli (Tuscan Bean Soup)

This bean soup, a version of the famous 'ribolita' (meaning re-boiled), may well have an even longer history than Brunello wine, and is best made the day before.

2 lb 2 oz/1kg fresh cannelli (small haricot) beans or 14 1/2 oz/420 g dried ones, soaked overnight
3-4 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and mashed
2 sticks celery, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 leeks, finely chopped
11 oz/300G cavolo nero (tuscan black cabbage) or you can substitute swiss chard, spinach beet or any dark green cabbage
7 oz/200 G savoy cabbage (sauteed separately & kept for topping)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 sprigs fresh thyme
6-8 T olive oil
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salt & pepper
6 pieces hard stale bread

Boild the beans in plenty of water until slightly softened. Cover, leave for an hour & drain. Sieve 3/4 into an equal amount of fresh water & reserve the rest. Put the oil in a large saucepan & cook the carrots, celery & leeks. When soft, add the tomatoes, garlic & thyme. After 5 minutes add the cabbage, salt & pepper. Cook about 10 minutes & add the bean puree and the bean water. Cook slowly for an hour, adding tepid water if the soup becomes too solid, although it should be fairly thick. About 5-10 minutes before end of cooking, stir in the whole beans to heat through & ladle some of the hot soup over the bread in each bowl. Serve with cooked cabbage on top, and a bowl of sliced red or spring onions and a jug of good green olive oil.