White Bean Soup With Bay And Pancetta Recipes

WHITE BEAN AND PANCETTA SOUP

Steps:

• In a skillet, heat oil until it shimmers. Add pancetta and saute until browned. Remove pancetta with a slotted spoon and transfer directly to a crockpot.
• Saute onion, celery, carrot and garlic until soft and onion is translucent. Transfer vegetables to crockpot and deglaze skillet with white wine. Pour wine into crockpot. Add herbs, salt, pepper, chicken broth, and beans. Cook on low 4-6 hours, or on high 2-3 hours. Puree about 1/3 of the soup in a blender then return it to the pot, or run an immersion blender in the soup until the desired thickness is achieved.
• Add escarole and pasta and cook another 30-40 minutes on high (if you have been cooking on low up to this point, be sure to turn it up), until pasta is al dente. Stir in parsley at the last minute.

ITALIAN WHITE BEAN AND PANCETTA SOUP

Steps:

• In an 8-quart pot, saute pancetta in the olive oil until soft, about 10 minutes. Add onion and celery; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with sage, 1 teaspoon salt, and black pepper. Pour in the chicken stock, cover, and bring to a boil. Stir in the drained beans, cover, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook the pasta in 4 quarts boiling water with 1 teaspoon salt until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain and add to the soup.
• Stir in minced parsley before serving, and sprinkle with grated cheese.

WHITE BEANS WITH PANCETTA AND SAGE

Steps:

• Put the dried beans in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Soak the beans overnight in the refrigerator.
• Drain the soaked beans, place them in a large pot and cover with fresh cold water. Put the beans over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Toss in the bay leaves and garlic. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 11/2 hours until tender. Drain the cooked beans and spread them out on a sheet pan to cool slightly.
• Put about 1/2 cup of flour in a shallow platter and season it with salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly. Toss the beans in the seasoned flour to coat completely.
• Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and coat with the oil. When the oil is hot, add the pancetta, fry for a couple of minutes to crisp it up. Toss in the sage leaves and fry for about 1 minute. Remove the pancetta and sage to some paper towels; now you have a flavor base. Shake off excess flour from the beans and put them in the pan in a single layer. Fry the beans for a good 10 minutes to form a golden crust on the outside of the beans, tossing to cook both sides.
• Return the pancetta and fried sage to the pan, stir everything together, and serve.

"TWICE-BOILED" VEGETABLE SOUP WITH WHITE BEANS

Steps:

• Place Great Northern beans in large saucepan. Add enough cold water to cover beans by 3 inches; let soak overnight. Drain. Return to saucepan. Add enough fresh cold water to cover beans by 3 inches. Simmer until beans are tender, about 1 hour. Drain. Puree 1 cup beans in processor. Set aside pureed beans and whole beans. Heat 4 tablespoons oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion and parsley; sauté 3 minutes. Stir in tomato paste. Add remaining vegetables and pancetta; sauté 3 minutes. Add 10 cups chicken broth, pureed beans and whole beans. Cover; simmer until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 1/2 hours. Season with salt and pepper. Cool slightly. Chill uncovered until cold. Cover; chill overnight.
• Bring soup to simmer. Remove pancetta. Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle remaining oil over soup and serve.

CREAMY ITALIAN WHITE BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, heat oil. Cook onion and celery in oil for 5 to 8 minutes, or until tender. Add garlic, and cook for 30 seconds, continually stirring. Stir in beans, chicken broth, pepper, thyme and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and then simmer for 15 minutes.
• With slotted spoon, remove 2 cups of the bean and vegetable mixture from soup and set aside.
• In blender at low speed, blend remaining soup in small batches until smooth, (it helps to remove the center piece of the blender lid to allow steam to escape.) Once blended pour soup back into stock pot and stir in reserved beans.
• Bring to a boil, occasionally stirring. Stir in spinach and cook 1 minute or until spinach is wilted. Stir in lemon juice and remove from heat and serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese on top.