Here’s a little piece of San Francisco that only a local would know about.

Riviera ‘Authentic San Francisco’ Minestrone has been around since 1934. The green cans used to show up in drug stores and markets. Made from an old Italian family recipe.

It’s a rustic, bean-based soup with Swiss chard, noodles and a deep meaty flavor. It’s owned by the Birds Eye food company – and recently, they were even carrying it with a Nalley label (above, right).

Unfortunately, any form of the Riviera ‘Original Recipe’ Minestrone has been off the market for a few months now – and the Riviera ‘Authentic San Francisco Soup’ brand is now selling more mainstream canned soup flavors.

Luckily, I have a recipe of my own.

Soup ingredients, today

Almost 20 years ago, I decided to craft my own take on this ‘San Francisco’ soup. With can label in hand, I took apart the ingredients – thumbed thru a few cookbooks – and came up with a decent substitute.

Interesting to note, the ingredients on the 1990 label were a bit different than what’s been available recently. Less  . . .  ‘artificial flavoring.’

My own version is not quite a clone. The result is a similar dish, a bit more chunky and just as hearty. Tho as I was once making the soup, my friend Ray Savage wrote another name for it across the top of my recipe:

mehallo’s san francisco minestrone
or ‘how ray died’

ingredients

2 1/2 pounds pork chops
3 or 4 boneless chicken thighs
2 strips good bacon

Juice of 1/2 lemon
Sugar, salt, black pepper to taste

to make

Put the meats, garlic and carrots in a roasting pan – drizzle with olive oil – and throw in the broiler until browned.

Chop the meats – remove the bones from the pork chops – and add the roasted ingredients to a large soup pot. Tie the roasted pork bones together and also place in the pot.

Add the rest of the fresh ingredients, plus the beans, lentils, bay leaf, seasoning and chicken/beef broth. Cover all with water and simmer for around 90 minutes.

Separately, boil the pasta in a pot of salted water per package directions, but slightly undercook. Drain and set aside.

After 90 minutes, remove and discard the pork bones and bay leaf from the soup. Transfer about a third (or half) of the soup to a food processor and blend. Add the thick mix back to the pot, add the lemon juice, sugar, salt (it may need a lot) and black pepper to taste. Simmer a bit more, stir in the cooked pasta and enjoy.

Variants: Try adding Italian sausage, chopped hard boiled eggs, some peppers or different types of beans.

Serving suggestion: Cover the final soup with mozzarella and broil in oven

The post San Francisco Minestrone first appeared on the mehallo blog. beta..

‘a side dish that gave Kraft Macaroni & Cheese a run for its money in the 1950s’

Pailadzo Captanian and her Armenian rice pilaf became ‘The San Francisco Treat.’

Here’s NPR taking a look at where this Armenian/Italian treat comes from. Original recipe included.

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Here’s the recipe for Jamie Oliver’s Mad Moroccan Lamb, as prepped by Lauren Soutiere of East Village Kitchen.

(If you’re a herbivore, you might want to stay away from my blog today. Tomorrow will be much safer.)

(Probably want to stay away yesterday too.)

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A few weeks back I got together with a bunch of cool font designers for a Typnic (type picnic) in Golden Gate Park. Of course, I had to bring my type pasta salad.

The recipe is inspired by both Jamie Oliver and Tom Colicchio – in that I’m borrowing a few of their ideas. Alphabet pasta can be found (in California) in the Mexican section of the supermarket, or there’s online sources.

For the recipe, I’m just going to list what I start with (sometimes I make it overly complex if I have a lot of ingredients on hand); simply add whatever you want, have fun with it  . . . . 

mehallo’s type pasta salad

ingredients

Alphabet pasta
Use a package or two. Prep it by directions, then let cool before adding to salad. Note: It can help to lightly fry the pasta in olive oil before boiling, the pasta will hold up better in the salad.

Fresh veggies
I use a bunch of crunchy stuff: Chopped carrots, shallots (or onions), peppers, celery. Fresh cut corn, shaved off the cob gives the whole thing a hit of sweetness, balances out the other flavors. You can also add fresh green beans, chopped parsnips, cooked artichokes, whatever’s on hand.

Canned ingredients
Try different beans, kidney, garbanzo, black-eyed peas. Black olives, sliced are great; I use Musco’s Mediterranean Pearls which are marinated in wine vinegar and other cool stuff. Drain everything before adding to the salad.

Dressing
As a base, I use Ken’s Steak House Lite Caesar; it’s a really good oil-based Caesar with aged romano. I also mix in a store-bought balsamic dressing and a really good olive oil. And you’ll need a basic vinegar for the fresh veggie marinade.

Seasonings
Fennel seed is key to the recipe. So are smoked paprika (McCormick makes a great one), dried oregano, fresh ground pepper and some grated lemon peel (sliced lemons make a good garnish). Fresh cut parsley and oregano also work well.

Cheese and meat
These are finishes: Grate a nice hard cheese over the whole thing. And prosciutto – roasted, cut small and mixed in with large cuts thrown on top – adds the final touch. Try experimenting with different cheeses, bacon, different types of ham, salami, chicken, tofu.

to make

Veggie marinade
Marinate the crunchy stuff (carrots, shallots, celery). Throw in a small bowl filled with vinegar – and throw in some fennel seeds. Let sit for 20 minutes or so while you prep the rest of the salad. The vinegar does a great job of taming the shallots (or onions) and slightly pickling the carrots and celery.

Pasta
Prep pasta and set aside.

Roasted ingredients
Take any of the veggies that’ll roast well – such as the peppers and corn – and throw it in a roasting pan, sprinkle the smoked paprika on top and add the chopped prosciutto. Broil until browned (do not blacken the prosciutto). Cool with ice. Save the large cut prosciutto for garnish. Drain everything and add to salad bowl.

Finishing up
Drain the veggie marinade and add to bowl with pasta and roasted stuff. Add the canned ingredients.

Mix in a whole bunch of the caesar dressing, a slosh of the balsamic dressing and coat everything with the olive oil.

Stir in the rest of the seasonings, black pepper – taste for flavors (if not sweet enough, add a hit of sugar; though the corn tends to do its job). Grate cheese over the dish and add the large cuts of prosciutto on top. Chill a bit.

Eat when hungry.

The post Recipe for my type pasta salad first appeared on the mehallo blog. beta..

One more dish. But it’s for tomorrow. You have to soak the beans overnight.

Recipe here.

Recipe by José Andrés; photo by Patricia Heal

The post Or fucking try this first appeared on the mehallo blog. beta..

Fucking go here.

Found via Robynne Raye
Recipe by José Andrés; photo by Sang An

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