The Italian Table
Creamy White Bean Soup with Escarole - Series 5
This wonderfully creamy soup is most satisfying and relaxing. White beans
have a cooling energy in the body, helping us to de-stress and are a great
source of protein. Swirling the soup through with hearty leafy greens
prevents the soup from being too heavy--and they add a light, fresh
vitality, lots of calcium and iron and a contrasting taste to the mild
character of the dish. All this and delicious, too...

What You'll Need
1 cup dried cannelloni beans, soaked 4-6 hours
1 1-inch piece kombu
5-6 cups spring or filtered water
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 sweet onion, finely diced
sea salt
1-2 stalks celery, finely diced
2 parsnips, finely diced
3 teaspoons sweet white miso
3 cups escarole, rinsed well and finely diced

Instructions
Place rinsed beans in a soup pot with kombu underneath. Add water and bring
to a boil, uncovered. Boil over high heat for 5 minutes to dispel gas.
Cover and reduce heat to low and simmer while preparing vegetables.
While beans cook, heat oil in a skillet and begin sauteing onion, with a
pinch of salt, until limp. Add celery, a pinch of salt and saute 1-2
minutes. Add parsnips, a pinch of salt and saute until shiny with oil. Add
a sprinkle of water, cover and steam over medium heat for 10 minutes.
When beans are soft, transfer to a food processor and puree until smooth.
(A food mill, unfortunately, doesn't work so well here for creaminess.)
Return to stove over low heat. Remove a small amount of broth and dissolve
miso. Stir in, with sauteed vegetables and escarole and simmer for 3-4
minutes to activate the enzymes in the miso. Serve hot. Makes 7-8
servings.