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Scottsdale chef has added delicious accents to comforting old favorites
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Sweet Potato Bisque With Chorizo Leek Ravioli, left, is one of the soup recipes taught to student chefs at Scottsdale Culinary Institute by Anthony Damiano, who created the savory dish while working as head chef of a Miami restaurant owned by Donald
Heidi Huber, Tribune
Janauary 19, 2005
Nothing warms body and spirit on a chilly day like a bowl of hot soup, especially if that hearty broth offers a new take on an old favorite.
"I think they are just very soothing and cozy and remind us of mom and grandma," says Anthony Damiano, chef de cuisine at Scottsdale Culinary Institute, where his soup recipes are part of the curriculum.
Soup, Damiano says, is a menu essential that falls into the category of Americana foods alongside apple pie and roast turkey. With that first spoonful, soup resurrects our collective emotional memories of all that is nurturing and safe.
"It’s almost like the Normal Rockwell print," says Damiano, whose background includes a stint as former head chef at one of Donald Trump’s restaurants and a chef at the Russian Tea Room in New York.
His version of an old standard — potato soup — uses sweet potatoes. The texture and comfort is the same, just with a zippier taste. Damiano also created a garlicky version of celery soup with the vegetable’s cousin, the turnip-like celeriac. And his baby clam chowder offers grown-up satisfaction.
Chef Arthur Acedo, an associate of Damiano’s, says the key to making a good winter soup that satisfies both emotional and physical hunger pangs is to go for full-bodied, hearty broths packed with as many fresh vegetables as possible. And, of course, serve it hot.
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