The Great Apricot, or We Like Them Again

When I was growing up I hated apricots. They were mealy and disgusting. Each year (and I never did this with other foods) I would taste an apricot, it would be mealy and disgusting, and we would go into another year.

Then I learned that dried apricots were good for you. I tried one. It was very good. So I tried a fresh apricot. It was mealy and disgusting.

One fine day I tasted an apricot in season. It was sweet, juicy, luscious. Wonderful.

Soon I tasted another one. It was mealy and disgusting.

But the memory of the great apricot stayed with me, and I've loved apricots ever since.

* * *

I was on the phone with a client, catching up, when someone said something to him and he asked if I could hang on a minute.

"Oh, no," he said, "We like them again."

Seems a vendor had fallen out of favor and was now back in the fold.

As we know, this also has been known to happen with food.

I was never a big Swiss chard fan. A little grainy. Didn't interest me. But when I started seeing it at the market, red and gold and drop-dead gorgeous, who could resist? Coming up, a recipe or two that would make a place for that vegetable in anyone's heart. But since we were just talking about soup, here's a recipe (from James Beard's How To Eat Better For Less Money [co-written with Sam Aaron]) I couldn't resist even in my not-that-into-chard days.

"Lentil-Chard Soup":

1-1/2 cups lentils
2-1/2 lbs. Swiss chard (spinach may be substituted)
1/2 cup olive oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
3 to 4 cloves garlic, crushed with salt
1 rib celery, chopped
3/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon flour

Wash and pick over the lentils. Cover them with cold water and cook, covered, until tender. Wash the leaves of the Swiss chard or spinach and chop. And to the lentils with 1 cup water and cook until the chard is done, adding more water if necessary.

Heat the oil in a skillet and sauté the chopped onion, garlic crushed with salt, and celery until vegetables are tender and flavors blended. Add to lentil mixture. Mix the lemon juice and flour and stir into the soup. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, until the soup is rather thick. Taste for seasoning. Cool slightly before serving in soup bowls. Pass crusty French or Italian bread to mop up the juices. Serves 6. This thick and hearty soup tastes delicous served cold the next day.

©2009, 2014 Laynie Tzena.