Читать книгу The New English Table: 200 Recipes from the Queen of Thrifty, Inventive Cooking - Rose Prince - Страница 45

White Bean Broth with Buttered Tomato and Lettuce

White beans make textured soups that keep their elegance. They are the favourite bean of Italian cooks for this purpose. They have a mild, slightly floury taste and texture that absorbs the flavours of other ingredients.

Use cannellini beans or white haricots for this soup. Haricots are usually only available dried; they are a round bean, staying firm and smooth even after a long simmer in the pan. Cannellini are kidney shaped and can become quite soft. They are the better choice for busy cooks, since canned ones are easily available. The best lettuce to use is Cos, sometimes called Romano, or the heart of any other large-leaf lettuce.

Serves 4

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 white or red onion, finely chopped

1 celery stick and leaves, chopped

1 small fennel bulb and leaves, chopped

1–2 pinches of dried oregano

2 cans (about 470g drained weight) of white cannellini beans, drained – or use 200g/7oz dried haricot beans, soaked in cold water overnight, then simmered in fresh water for 1–1½ hours, until tender

1.2 litres/2 pints vegetable or meat stock (see here, here and here)

sea salt

To serve:

55g/2oz butter

1 garlic clove, chopped

4 small Cos hearts, cut into quarters, or the hearts of 2 larger lettuces, roughly chopped (use the outer leaves for salad)

4 plum tomatoes, skinned and diced

4 tablespoons grated Twineham Grange cheese (English Parmesan), or a hard ewe’s milk cheese such as Lord of the Hundreds or Somerset Rambler – or real Italian Parmesan

a small handful of basil leaves

a little extra virgin olive oil

Heat the oil in a large pan and add the garlic, onion, celery, fennel and oregano. Cook over a low heat for about 2 minutes until their edges begin to soften. Add the beans and stock and bring to the boil. Cook for about 5 minutes, then taste for salt.

Melt the butter in a separate pan, add the garlic and lettuce hearts and cook gently until soft; add the tomatoes and stir once. Divide the soup between 4 serving bowls and spoon the lettuce-tomato mixture on top. Scatter the grated cheese over the top with the basil. Shaking over a few drops of extra virgin olive oil will turn up the flavour.

	Kitchen note
Omit the tomatoes and use lovage for this recipe if you grow it. Lovage has a floral celery scent and is a rare treat.