Cabbage and White Bean Soup
6 servings
90 minutes
An old tried and true combination: cabbage, beans and bacon. Put it all together and you get a rich, thick soup. We picked up the recipe at a cafe near Florence's San Ambrogio market.
1
Bring the vegetable broth to a boil, add a piece of lean bacon, reduce the heat, and simmer the bacon covered for an hour, occasionally skimming off the foam.
- Bacon: 200 g
- Vegetable broth: 1.5 l
2
Add diced potatoes, finely chopped cabbage, beans (canned or pre-soaked and cooked), finely chopped onion, parsley, bay leaf, thyme, and garlic, and simmer the soup uncovered for twenty minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt (if the bacon and broth are not salty enough) and pepper.
- Potato: 500 g
- White cabbage: 500 g
- White beans: 500 g
- Onion: 1 head
- Parsley: 50 g
- Bay leaf: 1 piece
- Thyme: 1 piece
- Garlic: 3 cloves
- Salt: to taste
- Ground black pepper: to taste
3
Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon. Cool it under ice water, trim the skin if it has any, chop it into small pieces, and mix the pieces with the soup. Remove the bay leaf.
- Bacon: 200 g
- Bay leaf: 1 piece
4
Spread butter on both sides of the bread, then toast the pieces in a pan over medium heat, flipping once, until the bread is golden. Usually, one minute on each side is enough.
- White bread: 600 g
- Butter: 100 g
5
Serve the soup on flat plates, placing the thick part on wheat croutons.
- White bread: 600 g