All content copyright Katrina Hall 2008 through 2025

Monday, September 28, 2009

minestra with swiss chard and white beans





My Sunday newspaper, The Boston Globe, has quite suddenly appeared with a new food writer, Adam Reid, and a fantastic photographer, Jim Scherer. Sundays are no longer a day of lazy feet-up and browsing , no sir. Lately I take one look at the featured recipe and race into the kitchen. This Sunday was no different.


I'd just gotten some fresh chard at Saturday's farmer's market and was racking my brain trying to think of what to make. And there it was. Not a minestrone, but a glorious soup called a minestra, which highlights just a few ingredients, among which were handfuls of chard, cups of cannellini beans, a tumble of rosemary and garlic. The original recipe underwent the usual modifications, but in small ways. While squinting at the photograph, I swore I saw bits of tomato, so I added some, even though it wasn't mentioned in the article. I had no anchovies, nor did I have parmsesan rinds, unless I wanted to drive 25 miles and back. I was fired up to get to the stove, so I skipped them, though they sound delectable. Next time.


Adapted from a recipe by Adam Reid


Minesta with swiss chard, white beans, and rosemary


To make:

3/4 cup peeled, diced carrots

4 T. olive oil

3/4 cup chopped onions and leek whites, if you have

6 cups water and/or chicken stock, or both

3/4 cup chopped swiss chard stems

2 T. chopped rosemary

3 cups cannellini white beans ( I made my own) or drained, canned white beans

2 1/2 cups chopped chard leaves

2 bay leaves

5 fat cloves garlic, minced

salt and freshly cracked pepper

4 chopped canned plum tomatoes

1 t. dried basil, or 1 T. chopped fresh basil


Please note: The garlic, rosemary, chard leaves, and white beans are added at two different times in this recipe, so don't let it trip you up.


In a large pot, heat the olive oil.

Add the onions ( and leeks, if using) and carrots and cook, stirring, about 6 minutes.

Add half the garlic and rosemary, and the bay leaves and cook for just a minute.

Add the water/stock and raise the heat, so the soup is simmering.

Add half the beans and half the chopped chard leaves and simmer.

Reduce the heat and cook for about 40 minutes.

Pick out the bay leaves, stir in the chard stems, the remaining beans, the chopped tomatoes, and salt , basil , the rest of the rosemary and garlic, and freshly ground pepper and cook until the chard stems are tender.

Stir in the rest of the chard leaves and cook another few minutes.


Taste before adding more salt and pepper.

Ladle into bowls and drizzle each bowl with a little olive oil.

Serve with a hunk of parmesan and a grater - oh! And crusty bread or rolls.


This would be a wonderful soup to freeze for a surprise winter dinner or brunch, don't you think?


Enjoy!





9 comments:

My Peace Of Food said...

Lord, it's just getting cold here and we had soup for dinner. Wish it was yours!

katrina said...

Oh, is that the sweetest thing to say, Gourmet! Thank you - and I can expect your Chicago weather to arrive in a few days, so I'm happy I made a big pot of this soup!

katrina said...

Thanks, Sophie - and your curried lentil, chard, and chickpea soup sounds intriguing and delicious, too!

Chef Fresco said...

I love cooking with chard! Yum!

Paul Z said...

Hi Katrina,
I've studied that photo myself, and I believe the colored bits are the chopped carrots. No matter - your version sounds just as good. I'm about to dive into this recipe and see how the kids like it. BTW, I'm a huge fan of chard and kale in soups also. My mom (who had Neapolitan parents but cooked all kinds of Italian dishes well) used to make a cannellini and escarole soup that was also a meal.

katrina said...

Hello again, chefs Fresco! Marvelous veggie, isn't it? It's so different from kale or spinach - I think I would say more assertive in taste, which I really like a LOT!

Thanks so much for taking a look!

katrina said...

Hi Paul:
Well, to me it looked like tomato, so I snuck a few in:) Love those plum tomatoes, as you can see. Let me know how the kids liked it! I don't think my now-grown babies would've gone near this - but they were pretty much chicken/steak/grilled cheese/salad/veggies kids.

sadie marie said...

I have just found this recipe while sipping tea and eating my chocolate chips...I plan to make this soup for dinner tonight as Fall is in full swing here in Vermont!!!!
SadieMarie

katrina said...

Hi Sadie Marie - where are you in VT? I'm SW NH and close to Brattleboro. Glad you enjoyed the soup!