Creamy bean soup

Crema di fagioli

By: Katie & Giancarlo Caldesi
From: Tuscany
Serves: 6
Photographer: Helen Cathcart

I was asked by a few Tuscan women just before I was about to marry one of their own kin if I knew how to make a bean soup. They were very serious and began to give me instructions, as they felt my new husband would be asking for it twice a week and I had better be able to provide it! Ah, how different things are in the UK – this is Giancarlo’s recipe that he cooks for me! For more tips on cooking beans, see the Skills section. We usually have a Parmesan rind or two in the fridge and sometimes a piece of an end of prosciutto or pancetta, which we add to soups – they are all natural flavour enhancers and are often added to Italian soups.

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
1 quantity	Soffritto, cooked
250g	dried borlotti beans, soaked in cold water overnight
2	bay leaves
1 sprig	sage
2	garlic cloves, peeled lightly crushed
1-2 level teaspoons	salt, to taste
	freshly ground black pepper
1	parmesan rind, (optional)
small piece	prosciutto or unsmoked pancetta rind, (optional)
5 litres	Poached chicken & chicken stock
or	Vegetable stock
or	hot water
1/2	small red onion, peeled and finely sliced, (optional)
	good-quality extra-virgin olive oil, to serve

Method

Spoon the soffritto into a large stock pot and add the drained borlotti beans, bay leaves, sage, garlic, 1 teaspoon of salt, a generous twist of pepper, and the Parmesan and prosciutto rinds (if using). Put the pan over a gentle heat and add the stock or hot water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for 1 1/2–2 hours or until the beans are cooked through and soft to the bite.
Remove the bay leaves, sage, and Parmesan and prosciutto rinds (if using) with a slotted spoon. Purée the beans in a food processor or with a stick blender and season to taste.
Soak the onion, if using, in cold water for 15 minutes to make them less potent, drain and dry. Serve a few pieces of onion on top of each bowl of soup with a swirl of olive oil and a twist of black pepper.

Variation: Quick Bean Soup

To make a quick bean soup from tinned beans, follow the instructions above but add 750 g cooked and drained beans instead of the soaked beans to the soffritto and only 1 litre of stock or hot water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and let the soup simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaves, sage, and Parmesan and prosciutto rinds (if using), and blend as above.

Tags:: Italy; Italian; Caldesi; Tuscany

Creamy bean soup

Crema di fagioli

Ingredients

Method

Variation: Quick Bean Soup

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