Cannelini and Broccoli Rabe Soup

Broccoli rabe and I have become very close.

It’s my new favorite bitter green.

Raw it’s got a whang to it that I thought only belonged in old tennis shoes.
Cooked in boiling water and cooled in ice water, it mellows into a spicy vegetable that adds its own special touch to soup and pasta. As a sautéed side dish flavored with crushed red peppers and garlic, it pairs well with grilled meats and poultry.

Here, it’s the star in a mellow white bean soup perfect for a cold winter’s night in front of the fire.

Cannelini and Broccoli Rabe Soup
Adapted from a recipe for Kale and White Bean Stew Bon Appetit Magazine February 2009

1 large bunch broccoli rabe, washed, stems trimmed and chopped
A couple of good swirls extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped shallots
1 cup chopped fennel
1 cup chopped carrots
1 large spoonful garlic confit, smashed
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large cans cannelini beans, rinsed
1 cup dry white wine
4 cups chicken stock
2 bay leaves
1-½ tsp dried thyme
Splash of sherry vinegar
¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Bring large pot of water to boil, salt it generously and add broccoli rabe. Cook for five minutes. Remove from boiling water to bowl with ice water to stop the cooking. Drain the rabe and squeeze the water from the cooked vegetable. Set aside.

Heat large Dutch oven over medium high heat and add a couple of swirls extra virgin olive oil. When oil gets wavy, add the shallots, fennel, carrots and garlic confit and cook for about 1 minutes, stirring often, til golden. Season well with the coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the white wine and bring to slow boil and cook for five minutes. Add the cannelini, thyme, bay leaves and chicken stock and cook for about 35 minutes.

Using an immersion blender, blend soup for a few minutes with the blender to mash up the beans to desired thickness. Add the broccoli rabe and cook for five minutes. Add the splash of sherry vinegar and the parsley right before serving. Season to taste with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Serves 4 generously.

One Year Ago on Feeding Groom

Cannelini and Broccoli Rabe Soup

Pork Ragout with Cannelini and Orange

There’s still a chill in the air.

Freezing in the mornings and warming up to the 50’s in the afternoon. People are pushing warm weather. At work, I look out over a main drag in Middle Tennessee, home of the Bradford Pear, which is in full bloom. Giant puffballs of white moving in the wind..in the totally unpredicted snow flurries Monday. Bending and swaying yesterday in the sunshine while ladies of a certain age drive their convertibles with the top down and all the windows up and the heat on. Kids from the neighborhood high school doing their p/e run in shorts and cut off tee shirts. Legs and faces red with the cold, but they wouldn’t put on a sweater to save their lives.

Thinking about dinner, hoping to find something that will fit the bill: warming, spicy maybe a bit of something to make you think spring is just around the corner.

Then I remembered this recipe that I had saved from sometime last fall, Cloves, oranges and red wine. That’s a bit wintry. Pork and cannelini, red bell pepper, onion. Then comes the smoky paprika and garlic and lots of Italian parsley.

There’s the hint of spring.

Whatever it is, it works.. Warming, spunky, makes your nose tickle type spicy with lots of character and flavor and cooled with a splat of sour cream and a squeeze of orange at the end.

Perfect.

Spicy Pork Ragout with Cannelini and Orange
Adapted from a recipe I found in the New York Times with absolutely no credit given to the cook.

2 14 ounce cans cannelini beans, or 1 cup dried, cooked cannelini
2 good swirls extra virgin olive oil
2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, in 2-inch chunks
1 medium-size onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Grated zest and juice of 2 oranges
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
3 branches fresh rosemary
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Small pinch red chili flakes
1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley.


Heat a couple of swirls of extra virgin olive oil in a Dutch oven and lightly brown pork without crowding over medium-high heat. Remove. Add onion, garlic and bell pepper. Sauté over low heat until soft. Stir in paprika, cloves and zest. Stir in orange juice and wine, scraping bottom of pan. Return pork to pan. Drain and rinse cannelini and add. Add rosemary, black pepper and chili.


Bring to boil and then reduce heat to simmer and let bubble along for about an hour. Season with salt. Serve with a blap of sour cream, grated orange zest and more Italian parsley.

Serves 5.

Pork Ragout with Cannelini and Orange