When entertaining guests, I bring out this savory soup while we're waiting for the main course. It's simple to make—just saute the onions early in the day and let the soup simmer until dinner-time. In winter, big bowls of it make a warming supper with a salad and biscuits.
When this recipe first appeared in the magazine in October 2009, it was made with hollow bucatini noodles. For this version, we switched to ribbony pappardelle. In truth, any pasta would work well.
Port reduces to an intensely fruity, syrupy glaze for the pork loin. You can also omit the port and stir 2 tablespoons unsalted chicken stock into the cherry preserves. Fresh sage or rosemary would work in place of the thyme.
The marinade for this dish makes the shrimp so flavorful, you won't even need a dipping sauce. Even those who claim they don’t like shellfish, really dig this appetizer. —Kendra Doss, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Tagines are one-pot wonders: There are lots of ingredients, but very little needs to be done to them before they go into the pot, and the finished stew always has layers of flavor.
