Pancotto with Beans
- Easy
- 2 h 20 min
Bean soup is a classic dish of simple and rural tradition, made with different types of beans. Simply leave the dried pulses to soak the evening before and prepare your vegetable base mix of carrots, celery and onion. This is all you'll need for this first course, a soup rich in flavor and nutrients, the ideal end to a cold winter's day! A comfort food of past times: it will be a pleasure for all the family to gather round the table to enjoy some bean soup served with toasted bread, perhaps with the addition of pasta. This dish will warm both tummy and heart, with its rustic and homely character!
To make bean soup, start by soaking the cannellini beans 1, borlotti beans and black eyed peas separately at room temperature for at least 8 hours. Drain the beans once the soaking time is up, place them in cold water and boil for 45 minutes, or until they are done. Place the black eyed peas in a separate saucepan because they may cook in less time 2, whereas the borlotti and cannellini beans can be cooked together 3.
Prepare the rest of the ingredients in the meantime: dice the celery sticks 4, then finely chop the leaves 5. Dice the carrots too 6.
Do the same with the onion 7 and the tomatoes 8. Lastly, tie the aromatic herbs together with some cooking twine 9.
Place the vegetables in a large saucepan with a drizzle of hot oil 10, then add the unpeeled garlic clove 11 and the bouquet garni 12.
Brown the vegetables for a couple of minutes, then add the black eyed peas 13, the cannellini and borlotti beans 14. Add the tomatoes too 15.
Cover with water 16, then add the finely chopped celery leaves 17. Add salt 18, pepper, and bring to the boil. Now cook on a medium flame for around an hour.
Season with the tomato paste 19 half way through the cooking time. Once cooked, remove the garlic and the bouquet garni, then add salt to taste if necessary 20. Serve your bean soup garnished with a drizzle of raw oil and a grating of pepper 21!