A Classic Italian Soup: Escarole and Beans
I grew up in an Italian kitchen, and one of my favorite food memories is escarole and beans. This is a classic Italian soup recipe that is always on rotation in our kitchen, especially during the colder months, because it is so comforting and comforting and nourishing. Plus, it’s easy to make, it’s quick to cook, and it’s affordable. Spiritual food. I love this recipe so much, I’ve even included it in the Clean and Tasty cookbook, as it’s now become a staple for my family as well.
What is Escarole?
Now, if you’ve never worked with escarole before, it’s a hearty lettuce that looks a lot like a head of romaine that’s technically part of the chicory family, along with things like endive and radicchio. Ingredients are also included. You will notice that the leaves on the bottom are lighter in color, while the leaves on the top are darker in color.
Preparing Escarole
Those lighter leaves are a little lighter and softer, and then the darker leaves are a little bit more bitter, they have a little more bite, and they can be a little bit, that being said, the whole leaf is edible and they Balance each other very well. I love working with escarole because it’s so easy to work with. All you need to do is trim the end and then I’m just going to cut it into heart bite size pieces. So I usually do this by just cutting a whole bunch of ribbon. I come to the escarole and then once it’s done, I just run my knife in the opposite direction until I have nice hearty bite-sized pieces. Then you need to make sure you rinse your escarole thoroughly under cold water.
Cleaning Escarole
So you just want to put it in a colander or in the basket of a salad spinner and run it under cold water. Put your hands in there to help rotate it and move it because there might be a little bit of dirt or sand or dirt in it. So you want to make sure you get your escarole nice and clean. The escarole will have to be dried to make the soup since it’s going to be wet anyway, but I still like to run it through my salad spinner to make sure there aren’t any small bits or bits of dirt. Which I missed.
Ingredients for Escarole and Beans Soup
And then in addition to the escarole, or as my dad says, escaroli, all you need is a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, six cloves of garlic. I like to take my knife right up, give it a flick, which will help get the peel off right away. Then go back and chop them up fine. Now this may sound like a lot of garlic and that’s why. I love my escarole and beans. So keep in mind, you can always scale back or add more depending on your personal preference. You also need a pinch of red pepper flakes, 3 cups of low-sodium chicken broth. If you want to keep this recipe 100% plant-based, you can replace this chicken broth with a low-sodium vegetable broth. This will work equally well. Then I have half a teaspoon of dried oregano, a 15-ounce cannellini bean, not drained, a little salt, a little pepper, and then some parmesan cheese.
Cooking the Soup
Then to make the escarole beans I’m just going to heat the olive oil in a nice big pot over medium heat. Now, personally, I like to make my soups and chilis in a nice heavy dutch oven like the one I have here, but really any large pot will do. With that being said, if you are in the market for a really nice, nice, heavy enamel dutch oven. Lodge makes an amazing pot, which is what I’m using here, for a fraction of the price of most other brands. So if this is something you want to check out, I’ll link it for you in the description box below. As soon as my oil starts to heat up, I’m going to add minced garlic, a pinch of sea salt, and a little cayenne pepper to the pot.
Adding the Garlic
You can leave out the red pepper if you don’t like heat, but I like a little kick to the base of this soup. And then I’m going to move it around the pot. The purpose of the garlic is to become fragrant and soft. You don’t want it to brown or burn. If you notice it’s getting really dark, just add a splash of water or broth to the pot and reduce the heat. Once your garlic is cured where you want it, soft and fragrant, you’ll add the escarole to the pot along with another pinch of sea salt, some pepper, dried oregano, and then about a cup and a half. I like to use a pair of tongs to gently toss it all in the broth.
Simmering the Escarole
And then I’m going to put a lid on and just let it boil slowly for five minutes. We just want the escarole to start to melt. It’s going to be tender and a nice, beautiful, vibrant green. As you can see, I got the escarole right where we want it. It’s a nice, vibrant color. It has wilted a bit. So from here, I’m going to add my beans to the pot. I have a 15 ounce cannellini bean, which is really just like a soft white bean. And you’ll see I’m going to put the beans and the starchy liquid into the pot. In most of my recipes, I’ll rinse and drain my beans, but for this recipe, we want to use that starchy liquid to thicken the soup.
Adding the Beans and Broth
My parents have always done this, and so I want to keep the tradition alive, plus it really adds a little extra layer of flavor and texture to the soup. And then at the end, I’m just going to add a little bit of the remaining chicken broth. I just want it to come to a nice, low, gentle boil, like a hearty boil, and we’ll leave it for another 10 to 15 minutes. From here, you might want to test your soup, see if it needs a little salt, a little pepper. Personally, I like to finish it off with a couple of tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese. It also adds a nice, nutty, salty flavor and a nice creamy texture to the soup.
Serving Suggestions
It really is comfort food at its best. This is a 30 minute meal. It is easy. It is delicious. It is so nourishing. And I like to serve it with a little extra parmesan cheese and some red pepper flakes on top. Often on a busy Saturday night, we’ll just enjoy it this way. But if we want a big meal like a Sunday dinner, I can make some chicken sausage and serve it with sourdough bread on the side. Very easy. very delicious. Mmm. Spiritual food. Truly food for the soul.
