Springtime Radish Top Soup

This soup is the perfect springtime soup that uses the fresh green tops of radishes that usually get thrown away.  It's a filling soup without a drop of cream in the recipe.  The creaminess comes from the typical potager recipe which is a puree of vegetables and potatoes.  I first had this amazing first-course at a cookbook event at Frank Bonanno's local Lou's Food Bar in which cookbook author (a personal favorite), Diane Morgan hosted a 6-course meal straight from her new cookbook, Roots.  This is one of the amazing recipes from the book that focuses on the under utilized vegetable family, roots.

Ingredients:

-2 Tbsp unsalted butter
-1 leek, white and light green part only, thinly sliced
-1 carrot, peeled and diced
-1 yellow onion, diced
-1 1/2 tsp salt
-1 medium russet potato, peeled and diced
-4 cups water
-1 1/2 tsp sugar
-1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
-5 cups radish tops (from 3 bushy bunches)
-5 or 6 radishes, trimmed and cut into matchsticks

Sausage, White Bean and Hominy Cassoulet

A typical white bean cassoulet is an amazing blend of flavors and textures, but a mistake in the kitchen took this recipe to whole new level. I thought I grabbed two cans of white beans from the pantry but accidentally opened a can of cannellini's and hominy! Oops.  Add a few Italian sausages, tomatoes, onions and herbs to make a succulent one-pot meal. I followed this recipe...except for my maize mistake.

Ingredients:

-1 pkg sweet Italian sausage

-1 yellow onion

-1 pint cherry tomatoes

-1/8 cup olive oil

-1/8 cup balsamic vinegar

-3-4 springs fresh thyme

-1 can white bean, drained and rinsed (like canellini) 

-1 can hominy, drained and rinsed

-1/2 cups dry white wine

-6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced