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Minestrone alla Contadina

Recipe Link: source:"The Fine Art of Italian Cooking" by Giuliano Bugialli

List of Ingredients







Recipe



Soak 8 ounces dried cannellini beans overnight in cold water. The next day, drain the beans and cook them in a large flame-proof casserole with 2 quarts of salted water and 1 slice prosciutto (about 3 ounces) or 1 ounce salt pork
plus 2 ounces boiled ham. As the beans absorb water, keep adding enough to maintain and end up with 2 quarts of liquid at the end of the cooking time.
When the beans are tender (after about 1 hour) remove them from the heat and let stand until needed.

Finely chop 1 large red onion, 1 celery rib, 2 large garlic cloves, 1 carrot and 7 or 8 sprigs of Italian parsley. Sauté in a stockpot with 6 tablespoons olive oil for 12 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, finely slice 1 small head Savoy cabbage; remove the stems from 1 1/2 bunches kale and cut into small pieces; peel 1 potato and cut into small squares.

When the odori (as the aromatic chopped vegetables are called) are light brown, add the cabbage, kale and potato to the stockpot, along with 1 cup canned tomatoes. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, then remove stems from 1 small bunch of Swiss chard and cut up.

Remove the prosciutto (or the salt pork and ham) from the bean casserole. Pass 2/3 of the beans through a food mill into the stock pot with the odori.

Simmer together for about 1/2 hour more, until Savoy cabbage and kale are almost cooked. Drain the remaining beans, reserving the broth, and return them to the original casserole. Add the bean broth to the stockpot, little
by little, whenever more liquid is needed, until all is used.

When the cabbage and kale are ready, add the remaining beans, whole. Taste for salt and pepper, and let cook for 5 minutes more. Next, you will need 12 thick slices of several-days-old Tuscan bread (this bread contains no oil
and only a pinch of salt. It is coarse and bland, making it perfect to dip in sauces or to absorb the flavors of a soup like this one.)

Make a layer of thick bread slices on the bottom of a tureen and pour over it 2 full ladles of soup. Make another layer of bread, then ladle soup over it, and repeat until all bread is used. Pour remaining soup on top, cover
the tureen and let stand for 20 minutes before serving, with a tablespoon of grated Parmigiano sprinkled over each portion.

You can also make it using croutons made with stale, but not hard, Tuscan bread cut in 1/2-inch squares and browned in olive oil in a pan. If you do use croutons instead of bread slices, put about 1 1/2 tablespoons in the bottom of each soup bowl, allow the soup to stand for about 20 minutes after cooking, then pour over the croutons and sprinkle with cheese.