Where the hell are they? NOT white bean and escarole soup

Annalena has a kitchen and pantry that can best be described as chaotic. You name it, it's there, SOMEWHERE. Sometimes, it's there in duplicate, or triplicate, because when she couldn't find it the first time, she bought it a second time, then found it, and didn't throw either one of them away.

But of course, she can never find what she's looking for when she wants it. Are there readers out there who can related to this situation? Don't lie. I know you can.

So, if you understand the trauma of not finding what you KNOW is in your kitchen, you will understand more fully the philosophy of the dish which follows. Last week, Annalena was looking for a break from her healthy, bag lunch. No, she was NOT looking to cheat, but the thought of one more chicken breast sandwich on bread so healthy you could break a knife cutting it, raw veggies, fruit and roasted nuts was driving her to the drink. She wanted something healthy and sustaining, low calorie, but NOT what she had in her bag.

Try to pull that off in midtown Manhattan. It can be done, but it'll cost ya.
She wound up at Pret a Manger, probably Annalena's favorite take out place, although it is not for those looking for a cheap meal. She wound up getting a shrimp salad rap (for 290 calories), which she knew would sustain her for about twelve minutes. Looking at the soup selection, there was white bean escarole soup. Hmmm. The medium sized container (12 ounces), had 345 calories, and since it WAS vegan, it went back with Annalena.

It was 345 well spent calories. Annalena will have it again. But in the meanwhile, she was confronted with the thought of a soup for Monday's meal with the Guyman. AH. How about that bean and escarole soup? SURE. All she needed really was white beans, and escarole. And we have SO many beans in the house.

An hour later, nose slightly out of joint, Annalena found not a single white bean. Closest she came were the brownish yellow "eye of the tiger " beans from Rancho Gordo. Those would do. And she got to work.

And as soon as she put the beans in the water to soak, what did she see in her cupboard?

You guessed it. A bag of white beans. MERDE. CAZZO. Oh well. The soup is still good. In fact, it is wonderful. And it is another soup which, if you alter Annalena's directions, you can make as a vegan soup.

So, let us get to work. You will need a pound of beans, white or whatever. Try not to use black or kidney beans though, as they will muddy up the soup some, and you'll lose some of the green of the escarole. Put them in a pot of water to soak overnight. The next day, dump the water, cover the beans with enough new water to extend two-three inches above the top, and cook at low heat. It will probably be about an hour before the beans are nice and soft. Let them cool in the liquid, and drain them. You will wind up with double the number of beans you need for this soup - in fact, MORE than double - so you will wish to consider freezing half, making hummus, or doing something else with them.

This is all prep to the soup making, which actually happens very easily once you get started. You also need one large head of escarole. "Large head" of escarole is actually very redundant. It seems there are no small heads of it. So, make a vertical cut at the bottom of about one inch. That will leave you with lots of leaves of escarole. Hold them together, and cut vertically into strips. No surgical precision here, you're going to chop again later. You will have about 8-10cups of greens.

Relax ragazzi. You now get a big pot of salted wtaer boiling, and dump them in. Cook for about 8 minutes, and while they're cooking, get your strainer ready. Dump them out. Let them cool. PLEASE LET THEM COOL. THEY ARE VERY HOT. Leave them for about fifteen minutes. Then squeeze out the water.

Know what? You'll have about a scant two cups of cooked greens. Keep this in mind the next time you're complaining or want to complain about the 8 dollar side dish of greens at your favorite restaurant.

We now get the soup trilogy together. REVIEW TIME: what is the soup trilogy: repeat after Annalena: onion/celery/carrot. Equal amounts of each: maybe a cup and a half, chopped. This time, add two cloves of garlic as well. Pulse it in the food processor, if you have it: one onion, two carrots, and 2-3 ribs of celery will do it. Again, don't worry too much as long as they're about equal.

Remember that pot that's been getting so much action? Now put in two tablespoons of olive oil, and warm it. Add your chopped vegetables with a teaspoon of salt. Cook them up until they being to stick to the bottom of the pan. Annalena said BEGIN to stick. You'll hear a very slight crackling. Then add 3 cups of your beans, and four cups of chicken stock and two of water (or six of water). Also add 2-3 very large sprigs of rosemary. Put this on low heat, and let it cook away for about 20 minutes. After 20minutes, take that cooked escarole, squeeze out the water one more time, and chop it roughly. Put that all into the pot as well, and cook for another ten minutes. Now, here's the fun part. Take a big spoon, and start swirling it through the soup. Some of the beans will break up. You can press the spoon against some of them, pressing them on the side of the pot, and break up more . Do this to your heart's content, and you will get a nice mix of chunky and thick broth. Taste it, and correct the salt.

You will have about 2.5 quarts of delicious, rather economical (the escarole cost Annalena 1.50) food, which is certainly more than enough to feed people, especially if you've made the whole wheat flatbreads, or a pizza, or something along those lines.

It is actually also extremely nourishing, if you run through those ingredients. So if you want to have something "bad" for you with it, as we will ( a pizza, with merquez sausage, feta and beet greens), do not let Annalena get in your way.

Alla prossima, ragazzi. Be warned! Squid is on the horizon

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