Soups chase the chill away: White Bean and Dried Bread Soup (left) and Roman 'Egg Drop' Soup. SOUP IS a mellow, gentle food. When cooking soups, the work is mostly in the preparation
of the ingredients. Once the vegetables are chopped and the other ingredients are
prepared, the bulk of the work is behind you. After a quick sautéing of ingredients, the soup just perks away, needing only an occasional stir or a sprinkle of salt
White Bean And
Dried Bread Soup
4 cups or more 2-inch chunks
hardough bread
6 cups (1/2 batch) Garlicky White
Beans and Broth
Salt, if needed, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
cheese
METHOD
1. Cut 5 or 6 thick slices of bread and toast them slowly in a dry heavy skillet, such as cast iron, until completely crisp all the way through and deeply browned on both sides. If you happen to have a fire going, grill the bread so the grill flavour can permeate the soup.
2.Heat the beans and broth to an active simmer in a sturdy 4-quart pot. Stir in the grilled bread chunks. If they're floating in a lot of liquid, leave the pot uncovered; cover it if the broth just covers the bread.
3. Cook slowly and steadily, anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes, until the soup is thick and soft, but the bread chunks still have shape and integrity. Turn the bread in the broth frequently so it doesn't stick to the bottom, but don't mash it up.
Serve right away in warm bowls, with generous amounts of fruity extra-virgin olive oil and freshly grated cheese.
Makes 6 to 7 cups of finished soup, serving 5 or 6.
Soup Base Of Garlicky White Beans And Broth
1 lb. (about 2 1/2 cups) dry white
kidney or other small dried white
beans, soaked overnight or
quick-soaked
4 quarts cold water, plus
more if needed
3 bay leaves
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. salt, plus more if needed
SOFRITO
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
6 big garlic cloves, sliced
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. dried peperoncino
(substitute pickled cherry peppers
or try pickles)
METHOD
1. Drain the soaked beans and put in pot with the water, bay leaves and olive oil. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. When at full boil, set the cover ajar, adjust the heat to maintain a steady, gentle boiling, and cook for an hour or more until the beans are tender.
2. Stir in the salt, uncover, and continue cooking at a bubbling boil for another hour or more until the beans and broth have reduced to 3 quarts. Lower the heat as the liquid evaporates and the soup base thickens, stirring now and then to prevent scorching.
3. When the soup base is sufficiently reduced, make the sofrito:
Heat the olive oil and sliced garlic in a skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes or so, shaking the pan now and then until the slices are sizzling. Drop in the peperoncino, stir with the garlic, and cook another minute until the garlic is starting to colour.
4. From the soup pot, ladle out a cup of the simmering bean broth and pour it into the skillet. Let it sizzle and start to boil, shake and stir up the sofrito and cook it for a couple of minutes in the broth. Then pour it all back into the bean pot, scraping in every bit of the sofrito, or just rinse the skillet out with more broth. Simmer the soup base for another five minutes with the sofrito and then remove from the heat.
5. The base is ready for a finished soup now. Let the whole pot cool, pick out and discard the bay leaves, and keep in the refrigerator for 3 days or freeze for 4 to 6 months.
Makes 3 quarts.
Roman 'Egg Drop' Soup
6 cups strained and defatted
chicken stock
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
3 cups fresh callaloo, stemmed,
washed and cut into 1/2-inch strips
3 eggs
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
cheese, plus more for sprinkling
over the soup
METHOD
1. Bring the chicken stock to a boil and season lightly with salt and pepper.
2. Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute. Meanwhile, beat the eggs with a good grinding of black pepper until thoroughly blended.
3. Beat in the grated cheese. Pour the egg mixture into the soup while stirring constantly to break it into 'little rags'.
4. Check the seasoning and serve immediately.
Makes 6 servings.
Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate
