During this past month, olive farmers in the south of Europe have been busy harvesting and pressing their olives into the golden green elixir. The Frantoiana soup was traditionally prepared by farmers during this specific hardworking period to give energy and to enjoy the taste of the freshly made olive oil. Lately, we’ve been offering this soup for lunch in the café as it’s perfectly soothing during colder fall days. Here's the recipe for you to cook at home. When fresh tomatoes are no longer in season, tinned tomatoes can be used instead and other types of pumpkins and greens can be substituted for the Hokkaido pumpkin and cavolo nero. At Bautier, we use our focaccia croutons to top it all up with a crisp and flavoursome edge.
-
Ingredients
Serves 5
200g dried white beans,
soaked overnight in plenty of water with 1 tbsp salt
4 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
150g cavolo nero, ribs removed, cut into strips
200g Hokkaido pumpkin, cut into small chunks
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks
2 ripe tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 sprig thyme
Salt & pepper
To serve
Parmesan, sourdough croutons, flat parsley, lemon & olive oil
Drain and rinse the beans and place in a large cooking pot with 2 litres of water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the beans are tender but not mushy, about 30-40 minutes. Leave to cool in its cooking liquid.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil on medium heat in a heavy based saucepan. Add the onion, carrot, celery, fennel seeds, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, a generous grind of pepper and cook for about 10 minutes, until soft and fragant, stirring regularly.
Add the tomatoes and cook a further 5 minutes, then add the potatoes and pumpkin. Finally add the chopped cavolo nero and 3 cups of water. Season with another teaspoon salt. Simmer, covered, for about 45 minutes.
Set aside half of the beans. Purée the other half using a hand held stick blender and a little cooking liquid. After the 45 minutes cooking, add all the beans to the stew and cook a further 15 minutes uncovered.
Ladle soup into shallow bowls. Top with some croutons, a generous shave of parmesan, finely chopped parsley, a squeeze of lemon, season with salt and pepper and a generous drizzle olive oil.