Ingredients Difficulty Rating: Easy
- 2-3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 ½ Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil for the bread
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| Prosciutto di Parma Optional |
speck (please don’t call
capicola ‘gabagul’ like they did
where I grew up in New Jersey. “Gabagul” is not an
Italian word
for anything and no Italian person will know what you’re talking
about) if you eat meat, if you don’t then leave it out – cut into 1” pieces.
for anything and no Italian person will know what you’re talking
about) if you eat meat, if you don’t then leave it out – cut into 1” pieces.
- 2 medium sized shallots or ½ onion, chopped
- 4 minced garlic cloves plus 2 whole peeled garlic
cloves for later
- ¼ teaspoon pepperoncino flakes (dried hot red
pepper flakes) – use more or less depending on your taste, if you’re not sure,
use less and next time use more if you think you’d like a little more kick
- 2 carrots, thinly sliced
- 2 stalks of celery, thinly sliced
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| San Marzano Tomatoes |
- 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes. I usually try to buy San Marazno tomatoes. They’re grown in the volcanic soil at the
base of Mount Vesuvius (Monte Vesuvio) which is where they get their sweet,
very low acid taste. But if you can't find them in your grocery store, this soup will still be delicious with most other Italian diced tomatoes..
- 4 cups vegetable broth (if you’re a meat eater
you can use chicken broth) – I prefer to use organic, unsalted broth
- Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano – if you like it, use
2 Tablespoons, if you love it, (like I do) use as much as you want.
*Hint: Add a Parmigiano-Reggiano rind into the soup if you have one. Don’t throw those out, keep them. Put them in a freezer bag and pop them in the freezer after you grate your last bit of cheese.
They’re great to throw into soup for extra flavor
- Kosher salt
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| Escarole |
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Escarole, rinse it very well – remember, this really shrinks when you cook it so you
can easily use 1 small head of escarole and it won’t take over the soup. I’ve tried this with Kale and if you like
Kale and want to use it, fine, but Kale is so overused now that I’ve grown to
hate it.
- 4 thick slices of a hearty Italian bread, plus
more for dunking in the soup. Pane
integrale (whole grain Italian bread, not whole wheat sandwich bread) would be
OK with this soup of you prefer it.
Preparation
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| Enamel Coated Cast Iron Dutch Oven |
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| Cast Iron Dutch Oven |
- - Add 2 Tablespoons of olive
oil to a heavy bottomed pot. I usually use a good size black Cast Iron Dutch
oven or an Enamel coated Dutch Oven
- Add the
onion first and when it starts to soften add the garlic. If you add them at the same time there’s a
good chance the garlic will burn. Stir
it
As soon as
the garlic starts to become translucent add the meat if you’re going to use
it. I don’t eat meat, so I skip that
part.
- Add the
carrots and the celery and stir for about 5 minutes or until it becomes al
dente (not mushy).
*Hint – sometimes I cheat and put the carrots and
celery into the microwave with just a touch of water or broth, just to get them
to the point of al dente.. Then I add
them to the pot, together with the tiny bit of liquid. It’s faster and I get impatient stirring,
even for 5 minutes.
- Add the
Cannellini beans to pick up all the flavor in the pot. Stir them gently for 1 minute.
- Add the
diced tomatoes, and the broth. Stir
- Add the Parmigiano
rind now if you have one. Stir
- Simmer until
the carrots and celery are tender, about 20 minutes.
- Remove the Parmigiano
rind.
- While the
soup is cooking, it’s time to make bruschetta.
(Bruschetta (pronounce Bru-sketa) is really just toasted Italian
bread. Most of us think of it as toasted
Italian bread topped with a tomato mixture, but really bruschetta is really
just the toast, the rest are toppings.)
Put the bread in and toast lightly |
| Bruschetta |
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| Pop-up toaster |
Drizzle just a little of the bread with some extra virgin olive oil on both sides (make sure it’s over a plate or it gets really messy.
Rub both sides of the bread with the whole garlic clove
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| Toaster Oven |
Remove it from the toaster over when it’s slightly golden on both sides
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| Or toast it any way you'd like |
pieces first if you’d like
- Let it
simmer in the soup for about 5 – 7 minutes
- Put the soup
into bowls and add a piece of the bruschetta on the top.
To make it extra special sprinkle some Parmigiano and drizzle the remaining olive oil on the top of the bread.
To make it extra special sprinkle some Parmigiano and drizzle the remaining olive oil on the top of the bread.
Be sure to
make some extra bruschetta for dunking!
