Borlotti Bean and Porcini Soup
BY now, you probably all know how much I enjoy curling up with a big bowl of freshly boiled soup. This soup was full of new things for me to try; borlotti beans, dried porcini mushrooms and silverbeet leaves. I was excited to try these ingredients in such a simple, wholesome way. The hearty beans, rich mushrooms and slivers of garlic are bound together in a sweet broth. It's a balanced, flavoursome soup that will definitely hit the spot on a cold night.
What you'll need:
3 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
20g porcini mushrooms
2 litres of chicken stock
400g can white beans, drained and rinsed
200g borlotti beans, soaked overnight and drained before use
1 bunch of silverbeet leaves, chopped roughly
6 slices of sourdough or ciabatta
1 garlic clove, chopped finel
2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped finely
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
What to do:
Put the sliced garlic, mushrooms and stock in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Once boiling, add the beans and cook for 2 minutes. Add the silverbeet and let them cook for a further 2 minutes. (If you aren't going to serve the soup right away, just add the silverbeet and set aside. Reheat the soup later.)
Preheat the grill and line a baking tray with paper. Place the bread on top and grill both sides until they are just crunchy. Spread the parsley oil over one side of each slice of bread and sprinkle the cheese on top of that. Grill until the cheese has melted. Serve with hot soup and enjoy!
