Excerpt from Ari’s Top 5 enews
A magical combination of vegetables and Mediterranean-cured meats

Cold weather came on quickly last weekend in this part of the world, which, around our house, calls for heart and hearth warming soup! Tammie put this one together. It’s perfect for the season, easy to do, and super tasty.
To get the ‘nduja and chorizo soup going, wash and slice the white part of two or three fresh leeks. Coarsely chop a good amount of fresh vegetables—really almost anything will work. The dish, like most of our home cooking, doesn’t use onion or garlic though of course you can add it as you like. Tammie’s take: “My theory is that so many people default to onion and garlic for aromatics and base of flavor, but there’s peppers, fennel, carrots, a little celery, fresh herbs, and other things that impart flavor.” Leeks, sautéed as they are in this soup, she says, are much gentler. I completely concur! Small pieces of potatoes, parsnips, or turnips are great as well.
To start the cooking, sauté the sliced leeks and the chopped vegetables gently in really good olive oil (we use the exceptional extra virgin olive oil from the Mahjoub family in Tunisia—see below for more about the Olive Oil Coffee Cake we use it in). While they’re sautéeing, sprinkle the vegetables with a small bit of sea salt.
Take a one-to-two-inch chunk of cured Spanish chorizo and cut it into small pieces. When the vegetables are starting to soften, add them to the sauté pan. Stir and cook for a few minutes more. Add water and some fresh parsley, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for about 30 minutes. Add a little sea salt to taste and a piece of Parmigiano Reggiano rind if you have one—it adds wonderful flavor to the broth. A fresh lemon cut into quarters would be good as well!
Not too long before you’re done cooking, add a few generous tablespoonfuls of ’nduja. If you don’t know it, it’s the spicy, smooth, spreadable, Calabrian-style pork sausage! We stock it at the Deli and the Creamery, and it will be back in stock at Mail Order at the end of the month. You might have had it at the Roadhouse—it’s the key to that crazy good spicy tomato sauce that we cook the mussels in! You can adjust the amount of ’nduja depending on how much spice you like. It will gently melt into the broth, adding a bit of color, along with richness and spice!
When the soup is done it should be moderately thick with the vegetables, but still brothy—if it’s cooked down too much, add a little water to thin it. Check for salt and pepper and adjust accordingly. The flavors come together beautifully to make what Tammie describes as a “harmonious” ‘nduja and chorizo soup.
I like to serve it with a ribbon of good olive oil (olio nuovo would be wonderful) added atop the steaming soup, and put a basket of Bakehouse bread on the table too. Serve a green salad on the side and you’ve got a remarkable meal! As Tammie says, “Simple and easy!”
> SHOP CHORIZO!