Soup with beans and chicory. A dish of traditional Italian cuisine, humble yet full of flavor, a rustic dish with simple, genuine ingredients.
Perfect for the autumn season, when the first chill arrives and you crave a good warm dish.
The slightly bitter taste of chicory is sweetened by the delicate flavor of cannellini beans.
You can enjoy the bean and chicory soup on its own with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, or accompanied by slices of toasted bread.
In this recipe, we will enhance the flavor of the soup with some chili pepper, which will make this dish even more interesting.
Chicory, cultivated throughout the year, is a plant known since ancient times, during which it was also used for therapeutic purposes thanks to its purifying effects.
Despite the taste being potentially unpleasant, chicory is a boon for the body. It is capable of purifying the intestines, liver, and digestive system.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, and Spring
- Energy 351.80 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 50.41 (g) of which sugars 1.64 (g)
- Proteins 18.63 (g)
- Fat 10.11 (g) of which saturated 1.54 (g)of which unsaturated 0.40 (g)
- Fibers 14.80 (g)
- Sodium 692.77 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 220 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for Bean and Chicory Soup
- 28 oz chicory (cleaned weight)
- 8.5 oz white beans (cannellini) (dry)
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- to taste chili pepper
- salt
- pepper
Tools
- 2 Pots
- Colander
- Wooden Spoons
Steps for Bean and Chicory Soup
First, soak the cannellini beans at least 12 hours before preparing. Once the beans are softened, drain them and boil in plenty of water with rosemary.
(Of course, if pressed for time, you can use canned beans that have been drained of their water; in this case, you will need two cans). (If you use canned beans, drain and rinse them well).
(To shorten the time, it’s perfectly fine to cook the cannellini beans in a pressure cooker).
(Please be sure not to use steel ladles, they can make the beans hard)
How to clean chicory.
Separate the stalks from the base and continue selecting the leaves. Choose the intact leaves without any yellowing or dark spots.
Depending on your taste or the recipe you want to make, decide whether to remove a small or large portion of the stem: the leaf tips are the most tender part, while the tough part is formed by the stalks that need to be cooked. Therefore, the whitest part should be cut into smaller pieces.
Fill a bowl with cold water and a pinch of baking soda and soak the leaves for a few minutes to remove all soil residues, drain it, and if necessary, repeat the process a second time.
Then, after washing it, blanch it in abundant salted water.
Once the chicory has wilted slightly, drain it in a colander
Heat a little oil in a large saucepan and let two cloves of garlic brown with a small piece of chili pepper.
After a couple of minutes, remove the garlic and add the chicory, flavor it, then pour in a little hot water (cooking water from the beans works too).
Cook with the lid on for about ten minutes.
Finally, add the beans, adjust the salt, and pour in water as preferred (more or less brothy) and let it flavor for a few minutes.
Serve the bean and chicory soup with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and croutons if desired
Enjoy your meal.
Tips
Dry cannellini beans can be replaced in emergencies with ready-to-eat canned beans.
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Notes
Chicory is rich in minerals such as potassium, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, magnesium, zinc, copper, iron, selenium, and manganese, as well as having a significant variety of vitamins including A, C, E, B1, B3, B5, B6, J, and K.
These elements already reveal, at least in part, some of the reasons why this vegetable is indeed useful to the body. It is predominantly composed of water and has a very low caloric intake, only 20 kcal per 100 grams serving
These elements already reveal, at least in part, some of the reasons why this vegetable is indeed useful to the body. It is predominantly composed of water and has a very low caloric intake, only 20 kcal per 100 grams serving
Cannellini beans are a source of vitamins and minerals, and these beans are valuable sources of plant protein.
Among the minerals, as mentioned, well represented in these legumes, we find iron, useful for preventing anemia conditions. Calorically, it is important to distinguish between dry beans and those ready-to-eat in cans or jars. 100 grams of canned beans provide about 114 calories.
