Soup in the Summer!

I went into my pantry today to get my most favorite cooking vessel - my dutch oven! Yes I know probably not the first thing you think to cook with in the summer but I decided to make a big pot of soup today.  I love soup!  I often make a big, old pot at the beginning of the week and eat that for lunch all week.  And I have been known to eat leftover soup cold - some recipes I prefer cold.  Today my focus was on the bunch of escarole in my fridge and so after eating more than my share of burgers and ribs over the holiday weekend I figured a big pot of meatless soup was in order.   I made a White Bean and Escarole soup which was very good thanks to the care I took in seasoning the broth.  I used fresh thyme, rosemary, sage and parsley from my garden and that combination was simply inspired by walking through my garden and smelling what I thought would taste good.  I chopped up the rosemary because I love rosemary and white beans. However the rest of the herbs I used in a bundle to season the stock.

You can easily add meat to this recipe if you wanted to bulk it up - I thought of adding linguica but was quickly reminded that we were going to eat seafood or lots of veggies this week to make up for the holiday weekend.  I also thought turkey meatballs might be very good in this soup.  Of course for the vegetarians you can substitute vegetable stock in the recipe below and keep this vegetarian.



Escarole and White Bean Soup
Olive Oil
1 vidalia onion, chopped
2 c baby carrots, cut into thirds on the bias
1 clove & stalk young garlic
Salt
Crushed Red Pepper (good size pinch)
1 sprig Rosemary, minced
2 cans white beans, rinsed & drained
1 carton chicken stock + 1 carton of water
Fresh herb bundle - 2 sage leaves, 3 springs thyme, 2 sprigs of parsley, 1 bay leaf
1 bunch of escarole, rough chopped, washed and dried

Saute the onions, garlic and carrots with salt in olive oil until the onion is softened.  Add crushed red pepper & rosemary and cook 1-2 minutes so flavours develop.  Add beans, stock and water.  The amount of water you add is a judgement call - I added almost an entire carton full so it could reduce with the stock & seasonings to make a tasty stock.  Then tie the herb bundle to side of pot and drop into stock.  Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and let simmer for 20 -30 minutes. 

Taste your stock and taste a bean to make sure the flavours have developed.  Adjust your seasonings at this point.  Then add the escarole and cook for another 20-30 mins.  Again taste your stock and adjust seasonings. Remove the herb bundle before serving.

Serve with crusty bread and sprinkle some freshly grated Parmesan cheese over the top. 

ESCAROLE AND WHITE BEAN SOUP