Fall ushers in more than just cardigans and colorful foliage.
For many, cooking up a big batch of their favorite soup combines a little tradition, comfort and come-back-for-more goodness.
Tortellini tribute
Joe Reskiewicz of Brackenridge was a college freshman at California University of Pennsylvania when his father died suddenly of a massive heart attack.
Reskiewicz, then 19, was a week away from his college final exams.
“My father cooked, catering on the side in addition to his job working at the glass factory in Arnold,” Reskiewicz recalled. “My father got his love of cooking from his mother, Julia, when my parents came from Poland and arrived in NYC. Two weeks after my dad passed, I had the strange desire to start cooking,” Reskiewicz said.
“I believe that when my dad’s earthly spirit left this earth, his cooking spirit was transferred to me as his final gift to me. My motto in the kitchen is to be fearless and cook from the heart.”
Reskiewicz said he enjoys pleasing people with his cooking.
Reskiewicz’s beloved soup recipe, in honor of his late father, is creamy tomato basil tortellini.
“It’s simple to make, but big on taste,” he said.
Shane Dunlap | Tribune-Review
Joe Reskiewicz’s creamy tomato basil tortellini soup.
Creamy Tomato Basil Tortellini
Ingredients
1 package (9 ounces) cheese- or mushroom-filled tortellini
2 cans (10¾ ounces each) condensed tomato soup
2 cups vegetable broth (low-sodium recommended)
2 cups whole milk
2 cups whipping cream
½ cup finely-chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil
2 teaspoons onion powder or chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon fresh chopped basil, or dried
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Directions
In a large pot, combine soup, broth, milk, cream, tomatoes and seasoning. Heat through, stirring frequently over medium heat for about 20 minutes.
Cook tortellini according to directions, then drain and gently add to soup.
Stir in the cheese along with fresh basil and fresh Italian croutons for garnish.
Diner favorite
The Rustic Mushroom Soup is a customer favorite at Persichetti’s Restaurant in Jeannette, owner Dan Howell said.
“This was a restaurant recipe that has been refined throughout recent years, most recently by our own cook, Wilson Patton,” Howell said. “We have had guests request we make a batch of it specifically for them to buy. When we make it as a soup of the day, that’s about as long as it lasts — just a day!”
Rustic Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
4 ounces butter
2 cups chopped white onion
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 teaspoons black pepper
½ cup dry white wine
6 cups sliced white mushrooms
4 cups sliced portabella mushrooms
3 cups chicken broth
2 quarts light cream
1 cup heavy cream
1½ cups cheese sauce, either homemade or store-bought such as Ragu or Velveeta
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
Directions
Melt butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add white onion, chopped garlic and black pepper. Once onions begin to simmer, add white wine, white mushrooms and portobello mushrooms. When mushrooms begin to soften, add chicken broth, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add light cream, heavy cream, cheese sauce and shredded cheese. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Thicken with a slight amount of corn starch if needed.
A family favorite
Patti Mazza Bieranowski of New Kensington has a favorite soup her mother-in-law taught her how to cook decades ago.
Bieranowski, 57, grew up in West Tarentum and has been making her signature soup for more than 30 years.
“Along with the pierogies, it’s a family favorite. My kids ask me to make it all of the time,” Bieranowski said.
She recommends serving it with crackers and adding more flour for a thicker consistency.
Golden Cheese Soup
Ingredients
6 cups cubed potatoes
2 cups chopped broccoli
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup cubed carrots
½ cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons parsley flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
3 chicken bouillon cubes
2 cups water
1 pound of processed cheese (Velveeta)
3 cups milk
4 tablespoons flour
Directions
Add all of the ingredients to a pot, except milk and flour, and cook until veggies are soft. Combine milk and flour and add to the pot. Simmer on low until veggies are cooked.
Where’s the soup?
When relatives come for holiday meals at Jen Costello’s house, the first thing they say is, “Where’s the red soup?”
Red soup is made with chicken and beef stock, tomato paste, mirepoix and meat, and served over acini di pepe or pastina.
The family favorite originated in the kitchen of Costellos’ late grandmother, Rose Novak, who died in 2017 one day after celebrating her 97th birthday.
“All of us grew up on it,” Costello said.
A resident of Dunbar, Fayette County, Novak was a longtime supervisor at Pechin Market in Dunbar. She loved to welcome guests into her home and feed them, whether they were hungry or not.
As many as 60 relatives would crowd into her house for a holiday meal.
These days, a pot of red soup is waiting as guests arrive at the Hempfield home Costello shares with her wife, Deb Costello, and her mother, Mary Ann Novak.
Guests tend to trickle in, so they can have a bowl of soup while they wait for the main meal to be served. Because it’s light, it’s the perfect starter.
“We eat a lot of heavy stuff — pasta, meat, ham and turkey,” Costello said.
Grandma Rosie’s Red Soup
Ingredients
½ cup each of diced onion, carrot and celery
1 or 2 garlic cloves sliced thin
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups beef broth
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1½ cups diced cooked beef stew meat
3 cups diced cooked chicken
2 tablespoons parsley
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons pepper
2 cups cooked acini di pepe or pastina
Grated cheese for topping
Directions
In a large soup pot, melt butter and olive oil, stir in vegetables and cook until softened. Pour in chicken and beef broth. When it simmers over medium heat, add tomato paste and stir until it completely dissolves. Add cubed chicken and beef and seasonings and simmer for one hour.
In a second pot, boil water and cook pasta according to package directions. When they’re done, strain and place in a bowl. Stir in ½ cup of broth to keep them from sticking together.
To serve, spoon desired amount of pasta into a bowl, then ladle on the soup. Top with grated cheese.
Serves about 12.
Soup’s on at Aspinwall eatery
It’s always soup season at Luke and Mike’s Frontporch in Aspinwall.
Offering freshly sourced American cuisine, the casual eatery housed in a former train station offers weekly home soup delivery, in addition to freshly made soups on the menu.
“People love a night when they don’t have to cook and the soup just shows up at their doorstep. Soup delivery is a great way for us to stay in touch with our customers,” co-owner Sheri Rice said.
Rice chose to share one of Luke & Mike’s signature fall soups: beef gnocchi.
Beef Gnocchi Soup
Ingredients
3 pounds top round or chuck steak, roasted and cubed
2 large onions, diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
½ bag large carrots, diced
Package of fresh thyme (reserve one for garnish)
Package of rosemary (reserve one for garnish)
4 tablespoons chopped garlic
Coarse salt and pepper
¼ cup olive oil
1 cup red wine
Beef base as needed
For gnocchi:
1 cup water
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon butter
Pinch of garlic powder
2 cups instant potato flakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons fresh parsley
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Gnocchi directions:
Mix egg, water, parsley and garlic, in a food processor. Add dry ingredients until blended. Dust work area with flour.
Roll gnocchi mixture until flat. Cut strips, roll strips into ropes then cut across. Use a fork to mark them.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Add thyme, rosemary, chopped garlic, coarse salt and pepper, splash of olive oil. Blend together for the beef rub. Rub all of the meat and bake 45 minutes.
While beef is cooking, dice onions, celery and carrots and saute in a pan. Once veggies are cooked, add ½ cup wine and deglaze the pan. Add 1 tablespoon of beef base. Simmer 1 minute and turn off.
Remove beef from oven. Deglaze the pan with ½ cup of red wine. Chop the beef. Toss all of it and place in a pot.
Add 3½ quarts water and don’t forget to get the pan deglaze. Add 1 cup red wine. Bring to a boil.
Add the gnocchi and boil for 3 minutes. Simmer and add beef base to taste.
Tailgate treat
Move over Cincinnati, Pittsburgh now has its own signature chili recipe.
Bestselling cookbook author and founder of “Eat Happy Kitchen” Anna Vocino is married to a Pittsburgh native.
Her husband, Loren Tarquinio, grew up in the Wexford area and graduated from North Allegheny High School.
Tarquinio often commented about Cincinnati’s famous Skyline Chili, so after visiting Pittsburgh, Vocino created her own signature Pittsburgh Chili.
Hearty and filled with a variety of spices, Vocino’s recipe contains no added sugar and it’s low in carbs.
“You can feel good about sitting down with a bowl of this chili, which can feature ground beef, ground turkey or whatever ground meat strikes your fancy,” Vocino said.
Key spices include cinnamon and a pinch of dark chocolate.
Pittsburgh Chili
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 celery stalks, thinly chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large brown onion, finely chopped
2 pounds organic ground turkey or beef with the highest fat content possible
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon each: cinnamon, dried basil, dried oregano, ground allspice, ground cumin, fresh ground black pepper
3 14-ounce cans of organic diced tomatoes, pureed
½ of a 6-ounce can organic tomato paste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 chicken bouillon cube
½ ounce dark chocolate, finely chopped
Optional: add extra veggies by including 4 ounces of canned artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2 sliced zucchini
For garnish: 2 cups of grated Colby Jack or cheddar cheese or sour cream
Instructions:
In a large pot, heat olive oil. When simmering, add celery, garlic and chopped onion; saute until softened. Add turkey, breaking up the lumps of meat, and cook until brown.
Mix the spices in a bowl until well blended. Add the spice mix to the turkey, stir while cooking for about a minute. Add the pureed vegetables, tomato paste, red wine vinegar, the optional veggies, bouillon cube and chocolate.
Bring to a boil, then reduce to low. Cover and let simmer for about an hour.
