Bean & Escarole Soup

Name: Bean & Escarole Soup
Ingredients: half pound dried white beans, such as cannelloni; 1 carrot; 1 celery stick; half onion; 2 garlic cloves, sliced; 1-2 small dried chillies, de-seeded and crumbled; a handful of basil leaves, torn; a handful of parsley, roughly chopped; 6-8 escarole leaves, roughly torn; 2 ounces grated parmesan, plus more to serve; Olive oil; Salt and pepper

12 ingredients

6 steps

Ingredients

half pound dried white beans, such as cannelloni
1 carrot
1 celery stick
half onion
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1-2 small dried chillies, de-seeded and crumbled
a handful of basil leaves, torn
a handful of parsley, roughly chopped
6-8 escarole leaves, roughly torn
2 ounces grated parmesan, plus more to serve
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Directions

1

Soak the beans overnight in plenty of cold water.
2

Drain beans and discard the water. Bring to the boil in a large pan of fresh water with the whole carrot, celery stick and half onion.
3

Boil fast for 10 minutes to remove toxins, skim off impurities then reduce to a simmer for an hour or more (depending on freshness of the beans).
4

When the beans are soft, discard the vegetables. Remove a quarter of the beans, puree and then return them to the pan. This will thicken the soup and give it a silky texture.
5

Fry the garlic and chilli in olive oil and cook without browning. Add the basil, parsley and escarole and cook for 1 minute to wilt.
6

Add all to the beans pot. Add grated parmesan and salt and pepper. and serve with a drizzle of good olive oil and shavings of extra parmesan.