There are some days when you need a nutritious meal that is easy to create without fuss or the need for too much head-space. This cannellini bean soup with cavolo nero ticks those boxes. I like to call these dishes "good karma" meals, where I can rest easy in the thought that I am eating well. Two nutrition power-houses, cannelini beans and cavolo nero, gives you a good vitamin shot, mineral and fiber shot. A great work lunch option that can be reheated and still taste great, so why not make a batch at the beginning of the week?
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Ingredients
- Cannellini beans
- Cavolo nero
- Celery
- White onion
- Carrots
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Vegetable stock
- Salt
- Bay leaf
- Peppercorns
- Rosemary
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Prepare your ingredients:
- Soak the beans overnight, or for a minimum of six hours.
- Finely chop the onions, celery and garlic.
- Strip the rosemary from the stems.
- Wash and pat dry the carrots and cavolo nero.
- Remove the top from the carrots and cut them lengthwise, then evenly slice each half into half-moon slices about 1 mm in width.
- Chop the leaves of the cavolo nero into thick strips and chop the stems finely.
Heat oil in a pot, add the bay leaf and peppercorns.
Over medium heat fry the onions, celery and garlic, until soft and translucent without any colour.
Add the rosemary stripped from the stems.
Add the pre-soaked and drained cannellini beans and vegetable stock and season with salt. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until beans are soft and can be broken when pressed between your fingers. Once the beans are cooked, crush some of them with the back of a spoon to thicken the soup.
Add the carrots and cook for 10 minutes, uncovered.
Finally add the stems of cavolo nero followed by the leaves and cook for five minutes.
Serve hot with cheese toast (optional)
Substitutions
This cannellini bean soup is my go to dinner! You can replace the beans with what ever you have at home. Butter beans, haricot beans, or even borlotti beans.
Replace cavolo nero with curly kale if you wish.
Use thyme instead of rosemary. Dried herbs will also work.
Variations
You can take this simple recipe to another level by adding pesto or rose harissa.
Storage
If you plan not to eat this immediately, I would hold off adding the cavolo nero as it will lose its colour while reheating. Store the stew in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three or four days.
You can freeze the stew in an airtight container, just defrost in the fridge overnight and reheat throughly. I like to bring to a rapid boil when reheating and then serve immediately.
Top tip
If you want to hasten the cooking time and don't have a pressure cooker, add a teaspoon of baking soda for the beans to cook faster.
Related Recipes
Looking for other one-pot wonders like the cannellini bean soup? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favourite dishes to serve with this cannellini bean soup:
📖 Recipe
Cannellini Bean Soup With Cavolo Nero.
Equipment
- Digital scales
Ingredients
- 200 gms Dried cannelini beans
- 80 gms White onions
- 8 gms Garlic 1 clove
- 40 gms Celery
- 200 gms Carrots
- 65 gms Cavolo nero
- 1 lt Vegetable stock
- 1 nos Bay leaf
- 6 nos Peppercorns
- 2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 5 gms Rosemary Chopped
Instructions
- Soak the beans overnight, or for a minimum of six hours.
- Finely chop the onions, celery and garlic.
- Strip the rosemary from the stems.
- Wash and pat dry the carrots and cavolo nero.
- Remove the top from the carrots and cut them lengthwise. Then slice each half into even, half moon slices of about 1 mm thickness.
- Chop the leaves of the cavolo nero into thick strips and chop the stems finely.
- Heat the oil in a pot, and add the bay leaves and peppercorns.
- Over a medium heat, fry the onions, celery and garlic until soft and translucent without any colour.
- Add the rosemary stripped from the stems.
- Add the pre-soaked and drained cannellini beans, vegetable stock and season with salt. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until the beans are soft and can be broken when pressed between your fingers. Once the beans are cooked, crush some of the beans with the back of a spoon to thicken the soup.
- Add the carrots and cook for 10 minutes uncovered.
- Finally, add the stems of cavolo nero followed by the leaves and cook for 5 minutes
- Serve hot with cheese toast (optional)
Nutrition
NOTES
Food Safety
In a professional kitchen, food hygiene and safety are top priorities, and from the beginning of my training, I practised good habits and routines. Of course, practising good food hygiene and safety at home is also essential. Here are some fundamental practices to adopt in the kitchen.
- Wash your hands regularly while preparing, handling and cooking food.
- Wipe down countertops and high-contact points regularly.
- If you cook meat and fish, do not use the same utensils on cooked food that previously touched raw meat. Use separate chopping boards for meat and fish. Wash your chopping boards immediately after use.
- Thoroughly cook food to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C).
- Don't leave food at room temperature for extended periods (more than 2 hours).
- Store food correctly.
For more details regarding food hygiene and safety in the home, visit the UK Government's Food Standards Agency webpage.
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