Escarole Soup with Cannellini

Zuppa di Scarola e Cannellini
Gilda would make escarole soup often – Sam liked it a lot. My mother would sometimes put an egg or two in the soup – you can do that here, too, although I did not include that in this recipe. Also, she did not add the tomatoes – I do that, but they can easily be left out if you don’t want them. This soup is wonderful on a brisk day with a little bit of artesian sourdough bread – just like the bread from Boudin’s bakery on the Wharf in San Francisco. Any crusty Italian bread would do – the bread dunked into the soup is decadent but delicious! Wally had this soup many times – sometimes I’d leave out the tomatoes, but he liked the soup with the tomatoes as well.
By the way, you may use northern white beans in this soup instead of the cannellini, but promise not to say a word to any Italians!
Ingredients for 4:
1½ lb of escarole
2 garlic toes, finely chopped
⅓ c extra-virgin olive oil
½ onion, chopped fine
4 oz pancetta, diced
2 medium ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped or 1 cup chopped canned San Marzano tomatoes
4 c chicken broth
3 c cooked cannellini beans
1 c conchigliette or tubettini
Sea salt
Pepper (optional)
¼ c grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Preparation:
Trim off the base of the escarole and discard any bruised leaves. Wash the leaves in several changes of cold water. Stack the leaves and cut crosswise into 1 inch strips.
In a large pot cook the garlic, onion, and pancetta in the olive oil over medium-low flame until golden. Add the escarole and tomatoes. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until the escarole is tender.
Add the broth and beans and cook for 20 minutes. Stir in the pasta and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook 10 minutes more or until the pasta is tender.
Just before serving sprinkle with Parmigiano Reggiano.
Buon appetito!