"Holy Kahn" Lentil and Sausage Soup

It's a cold rainy day in NYC, which seems like an ideal moment to make an elemental hearty soup.


When thinking of what building I could relate to this dish, I was thinking of buildings in India, since lentils are used in a lot of Indian cuisine. Also the 'optical lens' gets its name from the lentil (in latin 'lens') because of it circular and convex shape, so when you think circles and light one building stood out in my mind; Lou Kahn's National Assembly building in Bangladesh. This unusual concrete building I have heard has been mistaken for ruins when seen from the sky. It's curious circle, triangle, and square cutouts have an elemental appeal to them especially when light pours in from the outside. Enjoy this elemental soup, it will warm you up on a cold day, picture yourself in India.

• 1 lb. lentils

• 1 package of spicy Italian sausages, casing removed

• olive oil

• 4-5 quarts beef stock or water with beef bullion added
  

• 4 stalks of celery, finely chopped

• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

• 1 red potato ( if you want to make this soup even more harty)
  

• 1 lb. broccoli rabe

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (add more the more spicy you want it)
  

• freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste

• freshly grated Parmesan cheese for sprinkling on top

1. fill large soup pot with water and bullion or beef stock

2. chop potato into small pieces as you wish and add to the soup

3. chop onion and celery and saute in pan with olive oil until onions get a little brown, then add onion and celery to soup

4. cut broccoli rabe into 1 inch pieces, then saute in a bit of olive oil. add to the soup

5. remove casings from the sausage, cut into small pieces while cooking add salt and pepper. when cooked add to the soup

6. add lentils to the soup and let cook until lentils are tender about 15 minutes.

7. add salt, pepper, and cayenne to the soup until it tastes just right!

Spaghetti "Sant Andrea" alla Carbonara

Here is one of my favorite easy staple dishes inspired by a beautiful and unusual cathedral in Italy.

Some things just go well together. In this dish bacon and eggs come together in an unusual way to make a really tasty pasta dish "Spaghetti alla Carbonara" much like the combination of a Greek temple and a triumphal arch making a great facade of the cathedral as seen at Sant Andrea in Mantua.












When I first saw the the cathedral Sant Andrea, I thought how unusual to see a church facade compositionally made up of a triumphal arch superimposed by a Greek temple style pediment, interestingly when I walked in I saw that the facade had nothing to do with the interior. The inside was a beautiful light filled contemplative space, not something to be associated with soldiers coming home from battle or public life in Greece, which is why I thought of this building when making Carbonara. When you eat this pasta you do not think "bacon and eggs". You think what an elegant pasta with a rich full flavor and savory taste.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 package of spaghetti

• pinch of salt

• 10 cranks of fresh ground pepper

• smidge of olive oil

• 1/4 red onion

• 6 slices of bacon

• 3 egg yolks 1 whole egg

• 1 cup Parmesan cheese

• bit of Italian parsley to garnish

1. in a large pot, put on water to boil with a pinch of salt.

2. chop onion and saute in olive oil in a medium saucepan until they become a little brown.

3. cut bacon into small slices and add to the cooking onions on medium heat until cooked. turn off and let the bacon and onion sit.

4. add 3 egg yolks, whole egg, Parmesan cheese, and pepper in a small bowl. whisk until it becomes a thick yellow mixture.

5. when water boils add spaghetti in and cook until it is al dente, tender but firm.

6. strain spaghetti and add immediately to the saucepan with the bacon and onions meaning that a little bit of the spaghetti water goes into the pan. ( it is important that the saucepan is not hot at this moment so you do not cook your eggs when you add the egg mixture on top.)

7. stir the spaghetti and the bacon and onions mixing the 3 ingredients all together, meanwhile lifting up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan from the cooked bacon and onion.

8. when the spaghetti, bacon, and onions are mixed add the egg mixture on top of the spaghetti.

9. then mix the egg into the pasta mixture.

10. serve onto a plate or bowl and sprinkle with a bit of parsley.

11. enjoy, there is enough stress out there, food should not be one of them!

architect in the kitchen

My name is Joe and with the economy as it is, I am one of many out of work architects in New York City. In this time away from architecture (in the professional sense) I have done quite a few interesting things with my time, one of which, has been spending more time in the kitchen. So, to all of my fellow out of work design professionals out there, here are some of my favorite kitchen moments in conjunction with some architectural moments to hopefully inspire your culinary and design endeavors.