White Bean Soup with Cabbage–from things found in the fridge!
Just back from filming two scenes in the second series of Poldark on location in deepest Wiltshire.
Footwarmers supplied for the long day in court–and they work!
Didn’t make the Reverend Doctor Halse any more warm-hearted–mean old thing–though he didn’t have it all his own way–Francis and Ross see to that!
Weary and happy to be home.
Keen NOT to go shopping for lunch this morning!
Look in the fridge and find half a cabbage and half a large leek, a couple of carrots and celery stalks–battuto/sofrito!*
Some half-cooked fresh tomatoes are in there too–preserved under a film of olive oil.
A large jar of white beans is on the shelf in the larder.
Eureka!
Enough to make a reduced version of the recipe reproduced below.
White Bean Soup with Cabbage from Healthy Eating for Life
An autumn/winter soup this–with a big presence.
Adapted from Leslie Forbes’ book: A Table in Tuscany.
for 4
2 carrots--chopped small
2 sticks of celery–chopped small
2 leeks–cleaned and chopped small
6 tbsp olive oil
3/4 tinned tomatoes–chopped up with their liquid
A sprig of fresh thyme
1 large garlic clove–pulped
Half a green cabbage–stem removed and shredded
The other half of the cabbage shredded thinly–this for a topping (see below)
1 tbsp olive oil
About 800gms/24oz cooked white beans–canned or bottled or dried, soaked and cooked (see p?), drained but their liquid retained
1 pint/500ml stock–I use organic vegetable stock cubes
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and sweat the celery, leeks and carrots until they are tender–about twenty minutes.
Mix in the tomatoes, garlic and thyme and let them cook on for five minutes.
Add the cabbage, season with salt and pepper and cook on for ten minutes.
Purée three-quarters of the beans in a mixer with a little of their liquid.
Add the bean water and the bean purée to the soup and stir it all together.
Cook this thick mix for an hour–stirring it regularly to stop it sticking and burning.
Add a little of the stock each time you stir it.
This is meant to be a thick soup–up to you how loose you make it–just be careful not to dilute the depth of taste.
While the soup cooks on sauté the rest of the cabbage to serve as a topping when you present the soup.
Serve hot with swirls of the best olive oil you have.
*A battuto or sofrito is a flavor-base of finely chopped raw ingredients. Battuto is a derivative of the Italian, battere, which means ‘to strike,’and describes the a chef’s knife chopping on a cutting board.
Filed under: other sides to this life
