Borlotti bean and chestnut soup
A creamy and warming winter soup that's substantial enough for lunch or dinner.
Ingredients
For the soup
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 4 celery sticks, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 red chilli, finely chopped
- 1 rosemary sprig
- 400g tin borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
- 200g/7oz cooked chestnuts, roughly chopped
- 1 litre/1¾ pints chicken or vegetable stock
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú Parmesan rinds
- 1 bay leaf
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú Parmesan, grated, to serve
To garnish
- 25g/1oz butter
- small handful small wild mushrooms
- 3 sage leaves
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú cavolo nero, shredded
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
To make the soup, heat the oil in a frying pan and gently fry the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, chilli and rosemary for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened.
Add the beans and chestnuts and cover with the stock. Add the Parmesan rinds and bay leaf. Cook for 30 minutes, remove the rosemary sprig, bay leaf and Parmesan rind and blend in a food processor or blender to a thick consistency.
To make the garnish, heat the butter in a small frying pan and fry the mushrooms and sage leaves until the mushrooms are cooked. Add the cavolo nero, season with salt and pepper and cook until wilted.
Serve the soup with the garnish and a generous amount of grated Parmesan.