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Wednesday, March 5, 2008
How do you reach for convenience?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Soup from a box? Who’d a thunk it! On the other hand, I guess once they started packaging upscale wines in a carton, other liquids were sure to follow.
It’s always a little exciting, as well as a little disconcerting, when a familiar product is given a new-fangled twist. Some packaging innovations make your eyes pop out in the supermarket aisle, while others barely register.
I have to admit, I’m a chicken broth in a box junkie. I seem to use more chicken broth than any other human, substituting it for water in rice and couscous and making quick soups by combining the broth with pureed roasted vegetables. But I confess, not once have I been tempted to try any of the other flavored boxed soups.
As preparing meals becomes more frantic I certainly have come to depend more on convenience items. I know I pay extra for them but what they save me in time balances out the cost. I find myself using salsa to top grilled fish or chicken, as well as adding it to tacos and chili for an added kick. Formerly a jarred pasta sauce snob, I’ve now embraced some of the new brands that taste as good as homemade (right now my faves are Rao’s Homemade at Publix and Dave’s Gourmet at Whole Foods).
There are also some unexpected treats scattered around the supermarket, especially in the refrigerated section, like hummus and caponata, a rich tomtato, eggplant and olive dip that is great on its own or warmed and served over pasta or polenta. Think hummus is just a spread for pita? Then try out this favorite 10 minute recipe of mine (for some odd reason my kids love mussels):
Mussels With Hummus Broth
4 servings
Serve with grilled slices of sourdough bread rubbed with garlic cloves and drizzled with olive oil.
1 tablespoon hot chili oil, or to taste
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup prepared hummus
2/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup water
2 pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded
In a stockpot or large straight-sided skillet over medium-high heat, add the chili oil. Saute the garlic until aromatic and golden. Add the hummus and stir to combine. Whisk in the wine and water and bring to a boil, whisking until smooth. Add the mussels, cover and cook for 1 1/2 to 3 minutes, or until they open. Discard any mussels that do not open. Ladle the mussels and broth into bowls. — Adapted from “Rocco’s 5 Minute Flavor” by Rocco DiSpirito (Scribner, $26.95)
BOXED SOUPS
Reviews: These soups will make you want seconds
Photos: Comparing the Soups
There are lots of ways to think “inside” or “outside” the box. Have you tried box soups? What are your favorite products that deliver lots of flavor in unusual ways?
THE PHOTO: Butternut and Bacon Pasta Sauce over Tortellini, cooked with soup from a box. Photos styled by Jeanne Besser / AJC. Photo by Chris Hunt/ AJC
