On this winter day, we’re looking back at a story about must-try soups. Here’s one in Tuckahoe.
Broccoli Rabe Soup
Where to get it: Chianti, Tuckahoe
Story behind it: “When I was growing up, my grandmother did a lot of the cooking at home,” says Chianti Chef/Owner Paul Caputo. “I used to help out. I remember as a young child not being able to take the smell of the broccoli rabe. When you’re 7 or 8 years old, you really can’t appreciate it. But tasting her soup after it was all done, that was great. My grandmother would put the ends of the broccoli rabe in chicken stock and put them through the mouli (sort of an old world ricer), then boil the whole thing again with potatoes. Later, she would add fresh broccoli rabe. I remember seeing people’s eyes when they sat around the table eating it. That said it all. It was a peasant dish, sort of like minestrone — back then, whatever you had in the fridge went into a soup. Now making it brings me back to my grandmother’s kitchen. It reminds me a lot of her.”
Ingredients: Broccoli rabe, chicken stock, potatoes, and unlike his grandmother, Chef Caputo adds pasta to his version of the soup. “We use either capellini or tubettini,” he says. At the end, he adds fresh broccoli rabe sautéed in garlic, olive oil, and a little red pepper.
Why we love it: Because you get that rich broccoli rabe flavor without the bitterness. And talk about a healthy lunch! This soup lets you eat your greens without feeling like you’re eating your greens.
Great for: Lunch. Add bread and maybe a salad and you have an instant, amazing meal.
Also at Chianti: Big portions of red-sauce Italian: veal, chicken, eggplant Parmigiana, steaks, salads, pastas, you name it.
Grab a spoonful: Caputo makes it as a special soup every other week. Call to see if it’s on the menu. 174 Marbledale Road, Tuckahoe, 914-346-8844, restaurantchianti.com
— Mary Lynn Mitcham