| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 4 hr |
| Prep: | 45 min |
| Inactive: | 1 hr |
| Cook: | 2 hr 15 min |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups dried cannellini beans
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 (4-ounce) chunk prosciutto
- 1 medium onion, peeled and halved
- 2 carrots, peeled and halved
- 1 large rib celery, halved crosswise
- 2 fresh sage leaves
- 3 quarts water
- Gray salt
- 2 bulbs fennel, diced
- 2 cups chopped yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
- 1 teaspoon toasted and ground fennel seed, or more if not using fennel greens
- 4 quarts lightly packed and roughly hand-torn greens, such as chard, collards, mustard greens, spinach and cabbage
- 2/3 cup pureed tomatoes
- 3 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 cups diced zucchini
- 1 cup diced green beans
- 3 jalapeno peppers
- 1/2 to 1 cup minced fennel fronds, if available
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place the beans in a saucepan, with cold water to cover. Bring to a boil, remove from the heat. Let stand 1 hour, then drain.
- In a Dutch oven over medium heat, add 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add prosciutto, cook, turning occasionally to allow to all sides to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Add halved onion, carrot, celery and sage to the pot, and add with beans. Add the water and stir well. Simmer gently, uncovered, until beans are tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Season with salt. Remove from the heat, and let cool in the liquid.
- In another large pot, heat remaining 3 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat, then add the fennel, chopped onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Cook until vegetables are softened but not colored, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Remove the onion, celery, and carrot from the bean mixture and discard. Remove the prosciutto, dice, and set aside. Drain the beans and reserve the liquid.
- Add the fennel seeds to the onions, fennel and garlic. Add mixed greens and toss until they wilt evenly; adjusting the heat to keep vegetables from burning. Stir in the prosciutto. Add the beans, the reserved liquid, tomatoes, potatoes, zucchini, green beans, and jalapenos. Simmer gently until potatoes are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add fennel fronds, if using, and season with salt and pepper.
- Remove the jalapenos to a small bowl and discard the stems. Mash with a fork, adding a little broth and potato from the pot to make a thick puree.
- Serve soup, passing the jalapeno condiment on the side.
Reviews
Am not vegetarian but many friends are. Made this recipe and omitted the meat. Final flavor was enjoyed by everyone. Try it and give feedback. Enjoy.
Made this tonight for my family and they loved it.
Should have ween called, “Minestrone with Fennel”. Save yourself a LOT of work and just throw everything in one pot, add fennel and call it good. Why on earth would Michael include the extra steps? Taste was nice, but the kitchen was an unnecessary mess,
Deep winter & snowed in solid. This recipe required driving 30 miles on nasty mountain roads to aquire key ingredients before weather set in but well worth the effort:Absolutely delicous. The prep time and relative complexity of putting it all together was well worth the result.
Slightly labour intensive but so much fun to do. Layers and layers of subtle but hearty flavor.
This dish was shared with snow bound neighbors to resounding reviews and warmed up tummys and lifted the doldrums throughout the entire holler.
Thanks, Michael
Slightly labour intensive but so much fun to do. Layers and layers of subtle but hearty flavor.
This dish was shared with snow bound neighbors to resounding reviews and warmed up tummys and lifted the doldrums throughout the entire holler.
Thanks, Michael
The soup was really good. I have not cooked mustard greens and collard greens very often. And I loved the fennel. My husband would have liked meat in the soup but I did not want to change anything the first time
I have yet to make a Michael Chiarello recipe that didn’t end up in our “favorites” repertoire. This is so flavorful, has a nice variety of ingredients, and is a perfect comfort food.
This soup was so full of flavor! My refrigerator and pantry necessitated modifying some of the ingredients (turkey bacon in lieu of proscuitto, red pepper instead of zucchini, red chili-tomato sauce in place of pureed tomatoes and jalapenos), but it came out fantastic. I love making soup on Friday night or Saturday using my slow cooker as it’s such a great way to make sure I’ve used up fresh produce. This soup is pure comfort food and there’s plenty leftover for freezing.
This soup was surprisingly lacking in flavor. I added both the fennel frons(1 cup) and a full tablespoon of the ground toasted fennel seed and it was still lost in the finished soup. Perhaps adding chicken broth instead of water to the stock base would make a diffence. Adding some fresh grated parmesean to the individual servings helped a bit. Given the cost and prep time involved I would not make this again.
The soup is delicious and a very good version of the old Italian version called Minestra which has meat and other greens in it, and which my Uncle’s family who were from the Naples area, believed was elixar! I do not know what Italian background Michael comes from but my husband who is an Italian, born and reared there, could not place the dialect at all.
I have always been venturesome with recipies and I enjoy knowing that Minestra or Menisha or Hearty Vegetable Soup or Zuppa Italiano – whatever you wish to call it – it always hearty, stick to the ribs, healthy and delicious.
I have always been venturesome with recipies and I enjoy knowing that Minestra or Menisha or Hearty Vegetable Soup or Zuppa Italiano – whatever you wish to call it – it always hearty, stick to the ribs, healthy and delicious.