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ITALIAN RECIPES

Beans, Beans, Good For The Heart....

Pasta and Bean Soup

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups dried cannellini beans, or about 2 1/2 cups fresh
1 clove of garlic, whole
The leaves from an 8-inch sprig of rosemary, minced (1 tablespoon, or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1/4 tablespoons olive oil
2 ounces pancetta or prosciutto
1/4 pound good quality dried pasta (ditaloni, small elbows, or half-inch long, quarter-inch diameter rings)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup croutons

Preparation:

If you're using dried beans, soak them overnight and change the water, picking them over to remove stones or bean skins.
Cook the beans in 7 cups water, with the pancetta, garlic, and salt to taste until done -- they should be quite soft.

Remove the beans from the pot with a slotted spoon, reserving the liquid. Pass the beans through a foodmill and back into the pot. Simmer the mixture until it is a creamy velvety texture; while this is happening you can prepare your croutons by dicing a slice of bread and sautéing the pieces in the oil for 3-4 minutes.

Remove the croutons to an absorbent sheet, and lightly sauté the rosemary in the oil, then stir the oil-and-rosemary mix into the pot.
Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper, and cook the pasta in it until it is al dente.
Correct seasoning, let the soup rest covered for a few minutes, and in the meantime divvy up the croutons into the bowls. Ladle the soup into the bowls and serve, with a light, fairly zesty red wine along the lines of a Chianti Colli Senesi.

Fresh Beans Mantovana Style

Ingredients:

3/4 pound (350 g) cannellini or other white beans (when shelled the weight will be reduced by half)
3 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 zucchino, ends trimmed, washed, and diced
2 tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded, drained and chopped
A small bunch of basil, finely minced
A small bunch of parsley, finely minced
A small onion, finely minced
A rib of celery, finely minced
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup olive oil
3 quarts (3 l) hot vegetable broth (you won't need all of it).
10 ounces (250 g) Savoy cabbage, cut into thin strips

Preparation:

Set a pot on the fire with the oil, and when it is hot add the minced herbs and cook, stirring, until the onion has begun to turn golden.
Add the beans, potatoes, and zucchina, cook for a few minutes more.
Then add the tomatoes and sufficient broth to cover. Bring the pot to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover.
Prepare the cabbage and add it, check seasoning, and simmer the pot over a very low flame for another hour, adding more hot broth if necessary to keep it from drying out.

A Tuscan Bean Soup

Ingredients:

A pound (400 g) dried cannellini beans
1/4 cup olive oil
An onion
Red wine vinegar (about 1/3 cup)
Toasted bread

Preparation:

To serve 6 you'll need about a pound (400 g) dried cannellini beans (white beans), which you will want to soak for several hours in lightly salted water (keep in mind that you will be cooking the beans in this water when you add the salt).
Once they have soaked, sauté a finely sliced onion in 1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil, and once it turns translucent add the beans and the water they soaked in; season with freshly ground pepper and more salt if need be.

Simmer until the beans are quite done. Remove the beans from the pot with a slotted spoon or strainer and blend them. Stir a half a glass of red wine vinegar into the bean broth and return the blended beans to the pot. Bring the pot back to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally lest the blended beans stick to the bottom of the pot and burn.
While the soup is simmering, toast several thin slices of Tuscan-style bread, drizzle them with extravirgin olive oil, and line your soup bowls with them.

Ladle the soup over the bread and serve, with a cruet of olive oil for those who want more, freshly grated Parmigiano, and coarsely cracked pepper (crush it in a mortar rather than using a grinder).

Baked Beans with Cheese

Ingredients:

1 pound (500 g) cannelloni beans, soaked and boiled only until they're fairly firm, salting the water
mid-way through the cooking.
3 grains pepper, finely ground
A minced mixture of fresh basil, thyme, marjoram, and mint -- I'd figure a between 2 and 4 tablespoons
A finely sliced onion
Finely sliced pecorino Toscano (if you cannot find this, use very mild romano)
Olive oil
Toasted slices of Tuscan bread

Preparation:

Preheat your oven to 360 F (180 C)
Drain the beans, transfer them to an oven-proof dish, dust them with the pepper and herbs, lay the onion and cheese over them, drizzle well with oil, and heat through until the cheese just begins to brown.
Serve the beans over slices of toasted bread.

Gallura Style Boiled Beans Recipe

Ingredients:

1 pound (450 g) dried beans, soaked for several hours or over night
A small head of Savoy Cabbage
An ounce (25 g) of wild fennel (or some cultivated fennel fronds, with a little ground fennel seed)
An onion, minced
6 ounces (150 g) blanched, peeled, seeded, chopped and drained tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
10 ounces (250 g) pancetta or cured lard, ground (you can reduce this considerably, though I wouldn't omit it entirely)

Preparation:

Set the beans to boil in a large pot. While they're simmering, wash the cabbage well, and slice it finely. Wash the fennel too, and mince it. Grind the pancetta with the garlic.
When the beans are about half cooked, add the cabbage, minced onion and wild fennel. Ten minutes before the beans are done, stir in the tomatoes.

When the beans reach doneness, stir in the ground pancetta, heat for a few more minutes, until the excess water is absorbed (you don't want a liquid soup), and the beans are ready. They'd go nicely, I think, with a salad.

Buon appetito!

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