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you’ll have to simmer it far longer than it takes the lentils to cook: Sauté a mirepoix of 1 carrot, 3 stalks celery, 1 large onion, 2 fresh bay leaves, and 6 smashed cloves of garlic until tender. Add the ham hocks, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 1 to 1½ hours, until the meat is tender. Pull out the ham hocks. Strain the braising liquid, discarding the vegetables and bay leaves. Reserve the liquid and use for cooking the lentils, instead of the water. Pick off the meat from the ham hocks, discarding bones and tough cartilage. Add the meat with the puréed lentils.

Cook ½ cup of orzo according to the package instructions and stir in just before serving.

Serve with slices of day-old baguette, toasted and drizzled with olive oil.

Use any lentils of your choice; French green lentils and black beluga lentils will take a bit longer to cook.

Reduce the soup until it is very thick; then use it as a bed under a nice piece of fried fish. If you prefer it smooth rather than chunky, purée all the lentils. It will be almost like refried beans. Top this with a little strained Greek yogurt for coolness and tang; then throw on some torn fresh green herbs.

For extra pork flavor without cooking the ham hock ahead of time, as above, sauté a few ounces of finely diced smoked slab bacon with the mirepoix.

WHITE BEAN SOUP

FASOLADA

SERVES 6 TO 8

Here, I use a white mirepoix—one without carrot—for a faintly licorice flavor that is very different from the other soups in this book. If you don’t have a parsnip, use a small potato. As with all pulses and legumes, cooking time can vary enormously, depending on the age of the beans. Buy your beans from a supplier with good turnover, so you will know the beans are not too old. If you have any homemade stock around, go ahead and use it instead of the water.

2 tablespoons blended oil (90 percent canola, 10 percent extra-virgin olive)

1 parsnip, peeled and roughly chopped

1½ stalks celery, roughly chopped

½ bulb fennel, cored and roughly chopped

1 Spanish or sweet onion, roughly chopped

2 fresh bay leaves or 3 dried leaves

1 cup white wine

1 pound dry cannellini beans, soaked overnight and drained

1 leek, white part only, halved lengthwise and then sliced crosswise

Water, as needed

Kosher salt and cracked black pepper

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons Garlic Purée (page 264, optional)

3 tablespoons chopped dill, plus a few more small, picked sprigs

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

Extra-virgin olive oil

In a large pot, warm the blended oil over medium-high heat. Add all the vegetables (except the leek) and the bay leaves and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, to soften without browning. Deglaze with the white wine; simmer until the wine is completely evaporated. Add the beans and leek, plus enough water to cover everything by a good 1½ inches. Bring to a boil and season liberally with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat, partially cover, and simmer for 45 minutes to 2 hours, until the beans are very soft but not falling apart. Add water if the level drops more than half an inch.

Strain the solids, reserving all the liquid in a large measuring jug. Return the beans and vegetables to the empty cooking pot. Discard the bay leaves. In a food processor, combine about a third of the bean mixture with 2 cups of the cooking liquid and purée until completely smooth. Return this puréed mixture to the pot with the remaining solids.

Add enough of the reserved cooking liquid to get the desired consistency; I like it thick and hearty, but you may prefer a thinner soup. Stir in the lemon juice, Garlic Purée, and chopped dill. Taste for seasoning. Ladle into bowls and top with some crumbled feta, a few sprigs of dill, and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

PASTA WITH KIMA

MAKARONIA ME KIMA

SERVES 4 TO 6 AS A PLATED ENTREÉ OR FAMILY-STYLE

This is a classic Greek meat sauce, but a little different from an Italian Bolognese, because there are no carrots or celery and you have the traditional Greek flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. You can serve