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Add a photoHere is an easy-to-remember recipe for delicious, hearty Tuscan-style bread and vegetable soup. It calls for equal amounts of each vegetable, and then you build the soup starting with the firmest vegetables, finishing with the tenderest ones. You can certainly adjust, or estimate, the amounts of any or all ingredients, but if you’ve never made, or eaten bread soup before, this formula is a good foundation. Once you are familiar with how the flavors and textures evolve, you’ll be able to measure with your eyes. What’s more, this basic version uses familiar, inexpensive, summer vegetables, but you can vary this soup infinitely over the seasons, substituting autumn squash for summer squash; sorrel or Savoy cabbage for chard; celery root for celery; or thyme and sage for basil. When making any variations just stick with the basic proportions of liquid to solid to bread, and remember the firm-to-tender rule on sequence.
Ingredientes
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 ounces 1/4-inch dice carrot
- 4 ounces 1/4-inch dice celery
- 4 ounces 1/4-inch dice yellow onion
- 4 ounces green beans or romano beans cut into ½-inch pieces (on an angle is pretty)
- Salt, to taste
- 4 ounces 1/4-inch dice summer squash--- the pale green varieties (Lebanese, Cousa, or patty pan) and Rond de Nice are my favorites
- 4 ounces Swiss chard leaves, de-ribbed, and cut or torn into 1-inch pieces
- 4 ounces peeled ripe early girl or roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped
- 4 ounces cooked shelling beans (cannellini, flageolet, garbanzo, or cranberry beans) ,
- seasoned to taste with salt, and enough of their cooking liquor* to just cover
- 4 cups rich chicken stock, lightly salted
- 16 basil leaves, torn into ½-inch pieces
- About 6 ounces chewy-stale white country-style bread (made with only wheat flour, water,yeast, and salt---no seeds, fat, eggs, nuts, alternate flours, or flavorings) You want a loaf that has lots of irregular air pockets---not one with a dense crumb structure. Ciabatta works well.
Direcciones
- Place about 2 tablespoons of the oil in a heavy-bottomed 3-quart pot. Add the carrot, celery, onions, green beans, and a few pinches of salt. Stir and place over medium heat. Cook gently, stirring occasionally so none of the vegetables brown. The vegetables will hiss and throw a little steam as they cook quietly---if they begin to sizzle aggressively or crackle, reduce the heat. Cook evenly until they are âal denteâ âno longer raw-tasting, but not yet tender, mushy, or discolored---about 7 minutes. Fold in the squash, chard, tomatoes, another splash of oil, and another pinch of salt. Continue cooking gently until the chard is just limp and the tomatoes are hot through, another few minutes or so. Taste; all of the vegetables should be just-cooked, barely more tender than before, but with no trace of raw or grassy flavor. Correct for salt as needed.
- While the vegetables are cooking;
- Drain the shelling beans and set aside their cooking liquor.
- Carve all of the bottom crust off the bread, then shave off the top and side crusts more shallowly, leaving a bit of the golden inner crust intact. (You can toss the crusts you remove with oil and salt, toast them, and use as croûtons in a salad) Now, tear the crusted bread into irregular pieces, ranging in size from fat crumbs to 2-inch wads. You should have about 5 ounces of bread bits.
- Add the drained shelling beans, about 3 cups of the chicken stock, the basil, and the remaining olive oil to the pot. Raise the heat to medium and stir a few times as the soup comes to a simmer. Taste again for salt, and reduce the heat slightly and cook until all the vegetables are nutty tender, which may take as little a few minutes or up to 10.
- Fold in about 4 ounces of the prepared bread. It should readily absorb all the liquid. Now, gradually add the remaining 1 cup stock (or substitute some bean cooking liquor if you like that flavor). Stir only occasionally as the soup comes to a seething simmer. The soup will be dense, the big and small chunks of bread should be saturated with broth but still intact. Cook for a few more minutes until the soup goes from being simply dense and crowded to unctuous and satiny as the bread changes texture and thickens the broth. If you drag a spoon across the bottom of the pot, the liquid should slowly ooze back to the center of the pot. If the liquid is still watery, reduce the heat and simmer a few more minutes until it thickensâor fold in a few more crumbs of the prepared bread. On the other hand, if the soup is too dry to ooze any liquid, than add more stock or bean liquor a tablespoon at a time until the texture is dense but succulent. In any case, stir and fold gently, preserving the variety of big and small chunks of bread. Taste again for salt.
- Serve in hot bowls with a generous splash of extra-virgin olive oil and freshly cracked black pepper. It is delicious with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, Gruyère, or aged Tuscan pecorino.
- You may hold the finished soup in a bain marie, covered, for up to an hour without its changing character. For the best flavor and texture, donât stir during this time; only stir again just before serving.
- If you have any leftover bread soup, refrigerate promptly. It will set firm. My favorite way to serve it is pan-fried: Warm a generous tablespoon of olive oil in a well-season cast-iron or non-stick pan. Place a scoop of cold bread soup in the hot oil, press into a 1-inch thick patty and fry very gently until it is deep golden, 7-8 minutes. Turn over and fry the other side.
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Nutrition Facts
| Amount Per Serving | %DV |
|---|---|
| Serving Size 221g | |
| Recipe makes 6 servings | |
| Calories 122 | |
| Calories from Fat 83 | 68% |
| Total Fat 9.38g | 12% |
| Saturated Fat 1.32g | 5% |
| Trans Fat 0.0g | |
| Cholesterol 0mg | 0% |
| Sodium 288mg | 12% |
| Potassium 305mg | 9% |
| Total Carbs 6.52g | 2% |
| Dietary Fiber 2.9g | 10% |
| Sugars 0.65g | 0% |
| Protein 3.4g | 5% |
