Cannellini bean and pancetta soup
A recipe like this is about slowly building layers: the onion in butter, then the garlic, pancetta, tomato paste, rosemary, stock and, finally, the lemon juice and parmesan. It’s a simple dish, but very versatile and packed with big, bright flavour. It’s substantial enough to have as a meal on its own, with some bread and greens, perhaps, and the plum cake from here to follow. You can make it as a soup as I’ve done here, or hold back a little on the stock and serve it as a braised bean dish. It makes a beautiful side dish for roasted or barbecued meat, or a bruschetta or focaccia topping.
Ingrediënten
- 2 cups 390 g dried cannellini beans, soaked overnight or for 4–6 hours in cold water
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1½ Tbsp 30 g butter
- 1 brown onion finely chopped
- 3 fat garlic cloves finely chopped
- 200 g 7 oz pancetta, cut into 5 mm (¼ inch) cubes
- ¼ cup 60 g tomato paste (concentrated purée)
- 4 cups 1 litre chicken stock, vegetable stock or water
- 2 rosemary stalks
- 1 lemon
- ½ cup 50 g grated parmesan cheese
Instructies
- Drain the cannellini beans and add them to a large saucepan of water.
- Bring to the boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and cook for 40 minutes or until the beans are tender.
- Drain and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil and butter in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium heat and add the onion.
- Cook, stirring often, for 5–7 minutes or until the onion is translucent.
- Add the garlic and pancetta and cook for 10 minutes or until aromatic and the pancetta is beginning to crisp.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook for a few more minutes.
- Pour in the stock or water, add the drained beans and rosemary stalks and bring to a simmer.
- At this point, you can put the whole lot in a slow cooker for the day, but I like how leaving it on the stove on low for an hour or so reduces everything down a little and really intensifies the flavours.
- You might need to top up the liquid if the beans get thirsty and soak up more than expected.
- Serve the soup with a squeeze of lemon, a little grated parmesan and some crusty bread on the side.
Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:
You can use 2 x 400 g (14 oz) tins of cannellini beans instead of the dried beans. They won’t need soaking or pre-cooking – simply drain and rinse them, then add them to the soup when you add the stock.
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