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Epicurious
Bon Appétit

Country-Style Soup

4.1

(8)

(MINESTRA DI CAMPAGNA)

Creativity with simple ingredients is one of the themes of Sicilian cooking. There's no better example than this bean and vegetable soup, which some say evolved from food that fifteenth-century galley cooks made for mariners. Serve an island dry red wine such as Corvo with this.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup dried fava beans
1/2 cup dried Great Northern beans
6 cups water
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled, finely chopped
1 small celery stalk, finely chopped
8 ounces savoy cabbage, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
1/2 head Bibb lettuce, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Extra-virgin olive oil

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place fava beans in medium saucepan. Place Great Northern beans in large bowl. Add enough cold water to each to cover by 3 inches and let soak overnight.

    Step 2

    Bring fava beans to boil in their soaking liquid. Boil 5 minutes. Drain fava beans and cool slightly. Using small sharp knife, make small slit in skin of each bean. Peel off outer skins and discard. Drain Great Northern beans.

    Step 3

    Bring 6 cups water to boil in large pot. Add all beans, onion, carrot and celery. Partially cover; simmer over medium heat until beans are half cooked, about 30 minutes. Add cabbage and lettuce. Partially cover; cook until beans are tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Drizzle with oil.

TagsSoupSoup/StewItalianEuropeanFava BeanBean and LegumeVegetableWhite BeanOnionRoot VegetableCarrotCelerySavoy CabbageCabbageLeafy GreensLettuceParmesanCheeseDairyStarterMainLunchDinnerGluten FreeVegetarianNut FreeSimmerBon Appétit
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