The spelt soup with beans is a rich, complete, tasty first course, a comfort food to enjoy hot during the winter season, but I assure you it is also excellent warm for the rest of the year. It’s one of those dishes that are usually reserved for any family lunch but which I think is also worth proposing for a casual dinner with friends because the spelt soup with beans is so good that it will earn its place at the table with full marks!
Not to be missed
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 2 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients
- 8 oz canned cannellini beans (drained)
- 3/4 cup spelt
- 1/2 head escarole
- 1 potato (medium-sized)
- 2 leeks
- 1 carrot
- 1/4 cup tomato sauce
- 1 tsp homemade vegetable bouillon cube (or vegetable broth as needed)
- as needed water
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
Tools
- 1 High-sided casserole Staub La Cocotte
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Kitchen Knife
- 1 Peeler
Steps
Wash the escarole, drain it well, and cut it into pieces. Peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes. Wash the leeks and cut them into slices (white part only). Peel the carrot after removing the ends and cut it into cubes. In the casserole, heat the oil and sauté the leeks and carrots. Then add the tomato sauce and cook for a few minutes. Add the potatoes, homemade vegetable bouillon cube, half a cup of water, and cook for 15 minutes. Add the escarole and continue cooking for 10 minutes. Add the drained and rinsed cannellini beans, stir gently and continue cooking for 5 minutes. If necessary, adjust the salt: if using the vegetable bouillon cube or vegetable broth, I usually don’t add salt, but it depends on your tastes. Boil the spelt in plenty of salted water (I use the one that cooks in ten minutes), drain it, and add it to the soup. Mix well. If desired, you can add chili pepper and chopped rosemary. In this case, cover and let it rest for another 5 minutes with the heat off so that the flavors can blend. Add a drizzle of raw extra virgin olive oil and serve.
Notes
Optionally, you can use grated parmesan cheese to complete the dish before serving.
Recipe source that I adapted: HERE.
