Zuppa di Pane
Wednesday January 27, 2010
This soup is served in Radicondoli on the first of May. Made with beet greens, cannellini beans and day-old rustic bread, it tastes like the first stirrings of the earth as the sun begins to warm it in the spring. My friend Irma Pacini taught me to make this age-old Tuscan recipe, which is also delicious in February! Buon appetito!
(serves 4)
Ingredients:
1 cup dried cannelini beans soaked overnight (or 12 hours).
5 cups chopped fresh beet greens, stems removed.
1 cup fresh extra virgin olive oil.
2/3 medium red onion, minced
1/2 tube tomato paste
1-1/2 medium carrots, minced
1/2 stalk celery, minced
15 very thin slices of 2-3 day old rustic bread (approx. 2 cups), cut in halves
Instructions:
1. Cook beans in sufficient amount of water until tender, approximately one hour (DO NOT ADD SALT TO COOKING WATER).
2. In a medium sized pot, pour 2/3 cup olive oile and heat.
3. Add minced red onion and cook a few minutes, stirring, not allowing onion to turn brown.
4. When the onions begin to turn white, add tomato paste—about 1/2 tupe. Stir and let simmer on medium high approx. 10 minutes.
5. Set a small pan with 1-1/2 cup water and 1/2 cube vegetable bouillion to cook on the stove. Sir and blend.
6. After the onion/tomato paste have cooked and start to
reduce, add some vegetable broth—1/4 cup.
7. Keep stirring. Do not let soup stick or burn! Heat is medium high.
8. Add minced carrot and celery, and continue cooking and stirring.
9. Add approx. 1-1/2 tsp salt and 3/4 ground black pepper.
10. Continue adding small amounts of broth as the base reduces—which takes about 30 minutes. Continue stirring.
11. Add chopped beet greens; cook 30 minutes more, stirring and adding broth as base reduces.
12. Mash the beans with a fork until half pureed, add to the soup. cook 15 minutes more, stirring and adding small amounts of hot water, about 1-1/2 cups total, to maintain a stew-like consistency.
13. When the soup is perfectly cooked to taste (add more salt if needed for flavor), turn off the heat and let the soup come to a nice warm but not hot/scalding temperature, about 15 minutes.
14. Ladle some soup into a large serving bowl. Layer bread slices between layers of soup. Continue layering bread slices and soup until bowl is full. The finished soup has enough bread to absorb the liquid for a pudding-like consistency. Serve warm with olive oil and thin slices of red onion.
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