Pbenjay's Blog

It’s Tasty Tidbits Tuesday and now that Monday’s snow has turned into gray slush around here, we’re getting ready for tomorrow’s snow storm.  And when and where’s there’s snow, there will be soup!  

 “Painted Pony” dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have made this soup many, many times and each time it has received amazing accolades, yes really!  It’s rich and hearty and absolutely a fantastic soup to make when the weather is blustery and cold and snowy.  It’s also vegetarian except when I make it because I’m partial to chicken broth.  But if you are vegan and/or vegetarian, you know what to do about the broth.

The recipe calls for Borlotti beans which are very much like our own pinto beans.  The woodsy  aroma and flavor of the dried porcini subtly flavors this soup.

2 ounces of dried porcini mushrooms (or other dried mushrooms)

1 cup of boiling water

3 TBS of olive oil

1 medium-size onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 cups pinto beans (1 can rinsed and drained)

1 cup chopped canned tomatoes with their juice

3 cups broth

Kosher salt

1/2 cup dry tubetti or other small tubular pasta such as ditallini

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Place the mushrooms in a heat-proof glass measuring cup with the boiling water; allow to stand 30 minutes.  Strain the mushrooms through a double thickness of paper towels, reserving the liquid, and coarsely chop.  You should have about 1/2 cup of chopped mushrooms.

Heat the oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add the onions.  Cook until the onion begins to soften, 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the garlic, beans-mashing some of them against the side of the pot – tomatoes, mushrooms with 1/4 cup of their soaking liquid, and the broth.  Turn the heat to high; bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low; simmer until the soup is thick, about 20 minutes.  Season with salt to taste.  Add the pasta; continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until it is tender but still firm, al dente, about 10 minutes longer.  Serve with Parmesan.

Recipe from PASTA VERDE  cookbook

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