Soup

Builds a simple meal around this very easy soup; just adds cheese and fruit to complete the menu.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

At Erna’s Elderberry House the ravioli-like dumplings are prepared with homemade pasta, but wonton wrappers make an easy substitute.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A version of posole, a Mexican classic.

The duck leg confit brings added richness to the bisque, but the soup is also delicious without it.

Straciatella are little rags or strings, which is what the eggs look like when they are cooked. It is these gentle shreds that make this soup so comforting. The essentials of this soup are the stock, or brodo, the eggs, and the cheese. The spinach or other greens are variants. Cooked peas can be used instead of the greens and Garlic Broth can be substituted for the brodo. The technique in this recipe is stolen, with gratitude, from Pellegrino Artusi, a brilliant cook and gastronome who wrote The Art of Eating Well. Use a pot that is large enough to hold the colander over the stock without actually touching it, so that the egg can flow freely into the soup to form the strings.

An ingenious new treatment for dill.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

Here's a light, fresh-tasting soup-stew from Hotel Château Erenstein in Kerkrade, the Netherlands.