Soups to Savor

In Charles’ words:

I don’t know about you but when icicles form, I head for the soup bowl, and what tastier soups could one ask for when the temperature hovers around Arctic, as it has this winter, than to our Nancy’s yummy, hearty, tummy and soul warming Ribolilita. A soup with its multi but simple ingredients our bodies crave in cold or any weather now that I think of it.

Then there is my fav, Lentil (any dish hot or cold made with lentils) add sausage and what a hearty soup it makes, add torn from a crusty loaf of warm from the oven, hearty peasanty bread, slather with salted butter with sea salt farmed from the Atlantic shores of Ile de Re or drizzle with superb olive oil from Nancy and Mario’s Tuscan olive grove. YUM. Ok, so, now what’s for dessert!

From our Nancy:

Whenever I make soup, it makes me think of the old fable, Stone Soup. I am reminded of the abundance and availability we are all so lucky to enjoy, the results of hard-working farmers and farming hands, shippers, truck drivers, grocery store workers. Just as in the story, it is the sharing of the community that makes the soup possible. I find it a warm and comforting thought, just as our soups today are warm and comforting.

Ribollita is especially sentimental for me, as it is the soup I always make for lunch during the olive harvest season. We all gather around the round ceramic table decorated with lemons, beneath the jasmine vine covered pagoda, eating this belly-filling warm soup, followed by meat cooked over olive wood on the outdoor grill – pork ribs and sausages usually – and then back to work, the chill of the fields invigorating and burning off the abundant lunch.

Yes, this recipe has a lot of ingredients, and yes it will take a while to prepare, but it makes 12 plentiful servings and believe me, it is worth your while, and you will not regret the time it takes. It can also be completely vegetarian if you substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth.

Lentil and Italian sausage soup (zuppa di lenticche e salciccia) is for those days when you need a healthy, robust and full bodied one pot meal. It has all the usual suspects – carrots, celery, onion, garlic, herbs, broth – but it is the earthiness of the mushrooms, the nuttiness of the lentils, the spice of the sausage, and the richness of the red wine that make this lush soup satisfying to all of the senses. Despite its fair amount of ingredients, it is surprisingly easy and quick to prepare, as the lentils do not have to cook very long. It really borders on being a hearty stew rather than a soup, a meal that needs nothing more than to be perhaps followed by a light green refreshing salad. In Tuscany, I would choose Castelluccio lentils for this soup, renowned for their flavor and consistency, but here I have chosen to use black lentils, as I find they produce a similar result. That said, any lentil you have available will be fine, just do not overcook them.

Please enjoy these two traditional Italian soups whether your winter brings you sunshine or snow drops. They are healthy and satisfying.

TRADITIONAL ITALIAN RIBOLLITA

• ½ c (1 lb.) dried cannellini beans
• 9 cups cold water
• 8 TBS Torre di Gamberaia Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 TBS Il de Re Herb de Provence Salt, PLUS 1 tsp.
• 6 whole garlic cloves
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 12 leaves fresh sage or 1 tsp fine dried sage leaves
• 4 carrots chopped fine
• 2 celery ribs chopped fine
• 1 large or 2 small red onion (or yellow onion)
• 1 bunch of lacinato (dino) kale (cavolo nero), thick stems removed
• 3 zucchini, chopped fine
• 2 leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced
• 2 yukon gold potatoes, or 2 small ones, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup basil leaves
• 2 TBS. tomato paste
• Black Pepper
• 1-1/2 c. chicken broth
• 1 loaf crusty bread
• Extra Torre di Gamberaia Extra Virgin Olive Oil for drizzling

Soak beans overnight in cold water and drain.

Alternatively, cover beans in cold water in a pan, bring it to a boil, leave for one hour, drain.

Put the soaked and drained beans in a large pot, 6-8 quarts, cover with 9 cups cold water, bring to a boil and then simmer slowly.

Add 6 cloves garlic, sage and 2 TBS oil. Cook 1-1/2 hours until soft. When cooked add 1 TBS salt.

In a separate saute’ pan warm 6 TBS olive oil and saute’ the chopped garlic cloves, carrots, celery and onion for 20 minutes.

Remove 2 cups of the cooked beans and set aside. Puree the remainder of the beans. The easiest way is to use an immersion blender – if using a countertop blender or food processor you might have to do this in batches. Return the pureed and whole beans to the pot and add the sauteed vegetables, kale, zucchini, potatoes, basil leaves, and tomato paste, and broth and add 1 tsp salt, pepper and 1 cup water.

Add additional water as needed and according to how thick or thin you would like your soup. The soup will thicken up quickly so stir frequently to keep it from sticking.

Cook until all the vegetable are tender.

At this point, as I often do, you can serve the soup with slices of good bread on the side.

However, for classic ribollita, which after all means re-boiled in Italian, warm a soup tureen or rectangular oven casserole dish and layer the soup followed by slices of bread followed by soup. How much bread is up to you, it will thicken the soup further. Allow the bread to soften.

Ribollita is best after 12 hours, however you can also serve it immediately once the bread has softened.

Warm the soup in a heavy pot on top of the stove, adding water as necessary to keep it from sticking, or alternatively, add water and warm in a 350-degree oven, covered. This will create a slight crust on top.

Lentil and Italian Sausage Soup

• 1-1/2 c. black lentils (or brown or green lentils)
• 1 lb. sweet Italian sausage meat, no casings
• 4 TBS Torre di Gamberaia Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 5 oz. package of baby spinach
• 14 oz. diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 c. carrots, chopped
• 1 c. celery stalks, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 8 oz package of mushrooms, sliced thinly
• 1 c. red wine
• 6 c. beef broth
• 2 Bay leaves
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme leaves, leaves only
• Il de Re’ Persillade Salt
• Pepper
• Red Pepper flakes (optional)