Brodo The Broth

Marco The Chef

Who doesn’t love chicken soup? Every grandmother has her own recipe. It’s a way to heal, soothe, or show love. Jewish, Greek, Italian, Mexican—it's so easily adapted to make it your own.

Well, this is the story of how one man reinvented the ancient ritual and brought it to the forefront.

I believe I was a very early adopter of Brodo. As someone always searching to combine how you feel with what you should eat, so you feel and look better, I had to check this out. There was a small article, I believe in the local paper, about a chef, a restaurant, and a window.

Marco Canora is the chef-owner of Hearth, a delicious, very hip, and beloved restaurant. Marco dove in headfirst to make it the very best. We all know the intense life of a chef (think The Bear)—the hours, the commute, balancing life with his wife and kids—but he did it and kept going. As Marco once told me on my podcast Long Story Short, he realized he felt awful from the long hours, tastings, and late-night recovery meals. Then he discovered that the homemade broth he was already making nightly was a great way to get protein, collagen, and nutrients, all while filling him up, energizing him, and helping his gut feel better.

He started selling cups of broth to customers. He put a tiny window in the kitchen, opened for just a few hours a day, and word spread. Soon, there were daily lines to buy a cup of broth, and Brodo was born.

Fast forward to now—you can buy Brodo on the website, select retail stores in NYC, or at Whole Foods. Here’s to wishing Marco and the whole Brodo team a happy 10-year anniversary.

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Marco’s Ribollita

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus additional for serving

• 3 cups diced onions

• 3 cups diced carrots

• 3 cups diced celery

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 4 cups chopped savoy cabbage

• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 8 cups finely chopped black cabbage (aka dino kale)

• 3x 24 oz. pouches Brodo (we love it with Hearth but choose whatever you’d like)

• 5 cups cooked cannellini beans

• Thin toasted crostini or crusty sourdough bread

• Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

• Fresh thyme leaves

Instructions:

1. Heat a skim of oil, about 2 tablespoons, in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery. Season with salt and stir to coat the vegetables with oil. Cover and sweat the vegetables (cook without coloring), stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes.

2. Add the savoy cabbage. Mix well and cook, covered, until it begins to wilt, about 3 minutes.

3. Stir in the tomato paste, taking care to distribute it evenly. Turn the heat to low and add the black cabbage. Mix well, cover the pot, and stew the vegetables until they are tender, about 20 minutes. Add the broth or water, raise the heat, and bring the soup to a boil.

4. While the soup is cooking, puree 3 cups of the beans in a blender or food processor, adding a little water if necessary. Whisk the puree into the soup. Add the remaining 2 cups of beans and bring the soup back to a boil. Reduce the heat again and gently simmer, uncovered, until the flavors blend, about 30 minutes.

5. Season the soup with salt and lots of pepper. At this point, the soup can be cooled and refrigerated or frozen. To serve, ladle hot soup into bowls. Top each serving with crostini or sourdough, Parmigiano, pepper, thyme leaves, and a drizzle of oil.

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An Easy Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

• 3 pouches Brodo chicken broth

• One pound of lentils

• Veggies you’ve got hanging around

Instructions:

1. Chop it all up, big, or small, it really doesn’t matter.

2. Put 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, add all the veggies and herbs, and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Mix well, lower heat to low, and cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid.  Sweat veggies until they look translucent, as shown.  About 10 minutes.

3. Add lentils, Brodo bone broth, plus about 3 cups worth of water, and simmer for an hour or until lentils are very tender. I like to remove two cups of finished soup and process it in a blender until smooth and add it back into the pot.

4. Serve with some grated parmesan and crusty bread. Enjoy!