Tunes: Playlist can be found on Ping in the Itunes store. Just search "Jessie Weber" in Montreal. The playlist is called "soup mix" and includes artists like: the xx, yeah yeah yeahs, tv on the radio and more...
I've optimized this recipe using a combination of recipes from Cook's Illustrated and epicurious.com. The Cook's Illustrated version had a final step of steeping fresh rosemary into the soup for the last 15 minutes, which gives a fantastic, fresh herb flavor. Generally, I love Cook's Illustrated methods (they test many ways to make a given recipe and come up with the best way/ratio of ingredients, etc), but I found many of the steps in this particular recipe were unnecessary, and disagreed with throwing away the pancetta after using it to flavor the soup!
VEGETARIAN/VEGAN OPTIONS: This recipe has enough flavorful ingredients to be made without pancetta as a vegetarian option. Top with parmesan for extra saltiness in this case, or pesto if you want a vegan recipe.
Serves: 8 for dinner, or 6 really hungry people
Total time: 20 minutes prep (chopping, unless you have help!), 70 minutes cooking time
Soup:
8 oz pancetta, 1/4'' cubes
3 11.5 oz cans canellini beans, rinsed and strained
2 onions, diced
4 ribs celery, diced
4 carrots, diced
4 leeks, sliced, white and green parts
6-8 cloves crushed garlic (I love garlic so this is an increase of ~1.5 to 2 times over the other recipes)
8 oz kale or escarole, stemmed, chop into 2-3" pieces (you can substitute spinach, see note below)
4 medium potatoes, diced
1 28oz can diced tomatoes, no salt added
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
10 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
2 bay leaves
4-6 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper
Preparation:
1. I make everything in the same large soup pot. First, saute the pancetta over medium heat until slightly browned. It needs no oil. CI says 8-10 minutes, but I find it takes more like 15. Once it starts to brown, keep it moving or it sticks to the pan. You can use a paper towel and tongs to mop up some of the grease if desired. Set cooked pancetta aside. If the pancetta grease left in the pot is darker than golden brown, wipe out the pot with a wet paper towel, otherwise leave it for flavor.
2. Add olive oil to pot, saute carrots, onions, celery and leeks. They will soften but they have too much water to brown. This takes around 15 minutes. If you want to brown the veggies, do so in 3-4 smaller batches (this is tastier, but takes longer).
3. Stir in crushed garlic for about a minute.
4. Add broth, tomatoes, and bay leaves, browned pancetta, bring to boil, reduce heat and allow the soup to simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Add potatoes, simmer another 10 minutes (they won't be done yet).
6. Add beans, bring back to simmer.
7. Add kale or escarole, and rosemary sprigs, simmer 10 more minutes (if using spinach, this is the last step, add it after the soup is off the heat and just before serving, just until the spinach wilts).
8. Remove from heat, let stand another 5-10 minutes, until kale/escarole is soft and rosemary flavor is sufficient but not overpowering (if the rosemary flavor is enough for you but the greens aren't soft, remove the rosemary sprigs early).
9. Remove rosemary and bay leaves.
10. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with garlic bread. You can add parmesan or pesto, or red pepper flakes if you like it spicy.
Inspirations:
White Bean Soup with Winter Vegetables (unfortunately for members only)
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