recipe: cannellini minestra tuscana

There is little that is more satisfying and gratifying than something warm to curl up with and a fantastic soup can do just that. It probably seems like I’ve broken my Cajun and Iberian background with the recent string of Italian cooking, which, I have actually (amo firenze, tuscana, italia) but that’s not to say I won’t revert back coming very soon, but after an extended stay there in conjunction with my own love of preparation styles it is difficult not to look at something so comforting not being a perfect autumnal post-hike dish. I did the quick and dirty version of this after work the other day and felt almost obligated to finish the thought completely. It is, of course, like most things I do, anything but authentic, but what makes it nice is it is the fresh ingreds and the care (and moreso patience) involved. I have seen versions of this with and without pasta (including in my own travels) but this is without, the dish is soulful enough without the starch. You can also easily adopt this to fill in other flavors, like an iberian white bean soup, for instance, so feel free to have fun with the concept. If you want a thicker stock you can use red potatoes cubed at the beginning during the initial sweat, but they aren’t necessary for a more traditional soup, especially if you do the soup with the pasta which will add starch as well…One big note is the difference between canned and dried beans… canned you will add at the very end, whereas dried, you will have to soak overnight and rinse and the cook time with them will be longer so add in the middle. Remember, the soup is about the beans so be sure to make them the centerpiece of the dish when portioning out the other ingreds.

olive oil
carrot
onion
celery
garlic
chard, escarole, spinach or other dark leafy green
Porcini mushroom
mixed dried herbs (if desired)
cannellini (white) beans
veggie stock
ham bone
bay leaf
oregano (fresh whole leafs)
Large stock pot

Shred the carrot, finely dice the onion, celery, garlic
Combine the veggies in a large stock pot with a bit of oil and allow to sweat
Add the veggie stock and the hambone and allow to simmer over low head for up to an hour
Add the bay leaf, black pepper and a bit of mixed dried herbs (if desired) as well as the beans
Continue to simmer of low heat until the beans just begin to become tender
Add the chard and the mushrooms and allow them to cook through, re-season as necessary
Remove the hambone and bayleaf

Add the basil as you serve, grated a nice parmaseano regiano over the top with some fresh cracked pepper and enjoy with a nice crusty piece of bread.

~ by thedoormouse on 7 November 2009.