I know what you’re thinking. “It’s summer. Why the hell would I make soup?” Well, because it’s healthy (perfect for your Giselle Bundchen summer beach bod), refreshing, hearty enough so that it fills you and it’s extremely cost-effective for the amount of soup it makes.
The last and most important reason why you should make this soup is because I know my shit and everyone should abide by everything I say.
Often, what I make is inspired by what I eat when I’m at a restaurant. This is my usual process: I figure out what ingredients they used, how they did it and then confidently (or over-confidently, as some would inconceivably say) decide that I can make it and that I can make it better. That’s what happened here. I had escarole bean soup last week at this little hole-in-the-wall Italian joint by where I work in Woodland Park. Theirs was fantastic. Mine was superb.
Happy cooking.
Difficulty: Easy
Total recipe cost: $12.85
Servings: 11-12 cups
Cost per serving: $2.18/2 cups
Cook time: 45-50 minutes
|
Ingredients |
Cost |
|
| 1/4 cup |
olive oil |
0.58 |
| 1 medium-sized |
chopped Vidalya onion |
1.50 |
| 2 stalks |
chopped celery |
0.62 |
| 8 oz. |
baby carrots, chopped (about a half of a bag) |
0.85 |
| 6 cloves |
garlic, minced |
0.26 |
| ½ |
large head of escarole, chopped into 2-inch pieces |
0.75 |
| 4 cups |
vegetable broth (I used Kitchen Basics all-natural) |
3.29 |
| ¼ cup |
chopped basil |
0.18 |
| 2 15-oz. |
cans of cannellini (also known as white kidney) beans, drained and rinsed |
1.98 |
| 1 28-oz. can |
Tuttorosso peeled plum tomatoes in tomato juice, drained, rinsed and diced into quarters (note — you can use fresh plum tomatoes too, I just used these as a time-saver) |
1.69 |
| 3 |
bay leaves |
0.88 |
| 2 tsp. |
red pepper flakes |
0.22 |
| 1 tsp. |
salt |
0.01 |
| 1 tsp. |
pepper |
0.04 |
| Total |
13.09 |
Heat oil in heavy large pot. Add onion, celery and carrots. Sauté over medium flame until onion is golden, 5-7 minutes. Add garlic, sauté a few additional minutes until garlic is light brown. Add escarole, cook for a few minutes.
Add broth, beans and tomato, bringing to a boil. As the soup is gets hotter, add bay leaves, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and stir ingredients together. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover the pot, let simmer 20-25 minutes until escarole is tender and flavors have blended. Thin with more broth, if desired. Remove bay leaves.
Serve immediately, with Parmesan cheese if desired, or cover and refrigerate.
[...] White Bean and Escarole Soup from Budget Bon Viveur [...]