Time: soaking borlotti: 12 hours; Cooking Borlotti: 1 hour and 30 minutes: preparing vegetables: 30 minutes: cooking soup: 40 minutes.
Composition
• 150 g of dried borlotti beans
• 70 g of celery leaves
• 80 g of carrots
• 40 g leeks
• 80 g of black cabbage
• 1 clove of garlic
• 50 g of corn flour
• 1.2 l of water or vegetable juice
• 2 tablespoons of oil
• extra virgin olive oil
• 2 bay leaves
• fresh or ground pepper
• salt
Method
Soak the beans for at least 12 hours. Change the water several times, strain and cook for an hour and a half in plenty of fresh water with 2 bay leaves.
Meanwhile, clean and wash the vegetables well. Cut leeks and carrots into slices, ribs and celery leaves into small pieces; peel the garlic and cut it in half.
Put all the vegetables in a blender and beat them until they are not too finely minced.
Separate the black cabbage leaves from the stem and chop them with a knife.
Heat the oil in a pot with high sides and transfer all the vegetables to it; cook them stirring for a few minutes on medium heat.
Pour in water or broth and add salt; bring to a boil and pour the flour, mix. Continue to cook for 40 minutes on low heat and slightly sliding the lid.
Finally, sprinkle with chopped fresh chili pepper or powder. Add the beans and mix carefully. Serve the soup very hot.
BLACK CABBAGE
The dark color that characterizes it reveals its richness in antioxidants. Lutein is one of them: it protects the eyes from harmful UV rays and prevents macular degeneration; then flavonoids are very useful in preventing cancer.
Together with the existing sulfur compounds, these substances facilitate purification, strengthen the immune system, prevent premature aging and some cancers. There are also many vitamins: C, K, A, folates; and minerals: manganese, copper and iron. As if that wasn’t enough, this vegetable has a really nice flavor and is suitable for eating in soups, cooking or roasting, or even made into a delicious cream. It is also good raw, but should then be used in moderate amounts in mixed salads (the flavor is intense!); this use allows to preserve the content of vitamin C.
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Recipe from the book Happy soups
There is minestrone, soup and velvet traditional peasant food that will never fade, even in our affluent society. Their secret? Ease of preparation, variety of flavors and richness of nutrients, especially if the products are organic.
The book consists of 50 recipes divided into four seasons, proving that soups aren’t just for the colder months. Vegetables, dried and fresh legumes, cereals, herbs and spices are the main ingredients, with extra virgin olive oil added, and hazelnuts, cashews, almonds and walnuts added at the end of meals are reliable additions.
Few and necessary tools: a pot, a knife, a cutting board, a vegetable grinder or an immersion blender are enough to prepare our soups. Simple tricks of the trade: Is velvet too liquid? We add a few teaspoons of corn starch or rice flour. On the contrary, is it too tight? We add a little hot broth or water.
Happy soups Why good, healthy and almost completely free of animal products. Other than a few sprinklings of cheese, which you can use as desired, the recipes in this book are use only. plant-based ingredients.
The photographs by Giancarlo Gennaro and the author accompanying each dish are spectacular.
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