Savoy cabbage & bean soup

Cabbage-and-bean soup is a great vegetarian main course, complete from nutritional point of view if served with bread. Even better if the bread is made with whole grain or emmer or kamut flour.
To make the cabbage-and-bean soup you'll need few ingredients but a little patience and the time enough to cook it. In fact, this soup requires at least 60 to 90 minutes of cooking. Well, you'll need: a whole savoy cabbage if small or half a big savoy cabbage, white dried beans to soak or canned beans, spring onions, chopped pulp tomatoes or, alternatively, tomato sauce, herbs (bay leaves and chives) and good-quality olive oil.
The cabbage-and-bean soup is a typical winter dish because the cabbage is a winter vegetable.

Here is the recipe of cabbage-and-bean soup!

The day before. Soak the dried beans in cold water overnight.

Prepare the ingredients and begin cooking. Drain the soaked beans and wash under running water; put them in a big saucepan together with onion, tomatoes and aromatic herbs. Cover with cold water and cook over a gentle flame, half-covered.
Meanwhile cut the savoy cabbage into thin strips and wash.
After 30 minutes add the savoy cabbage.

Continue cooking. Keep on cooking for at least 30 minutes or until the beans are tender.
Add hot water during cooking if necessary and according to the thickness you want to have your soup at the end.

The last touch. Season to taste with salt only at the end.
When you switch off the gas, add olive oil, stir accurately, wait for some minutes and serve with grated Parmesan cheese (if you like).

Note

• - We recommend you not to sprinkle Parmesan cheese directly on the top. There are more and more people who are lactose intollerant. Fill a little bowl with Parmesan cheese and put it on the table together with a teaspoon. Everyone will be able to serve himself according to his own taste!
• - If you want, you can toast some bread slices, arrange them on the bottom of your soup plate and pour over your soup. It's fantastic!
• - You can add 2 to 3 carrots, grated, if you like them.
• - You can also use canned beans instead of dried ones. In this case 1 400 g (14 1/4oz) can beans is enough.
• - You can prepare this soup 1 day ahead. It will be even better!
• - If you have guest serve it in an earthenware bowl as you can see in the photo. Alternatively use your soup plate.

Healthy eating

• - Vegetable-and-pulse soups are valuable for a healthy balanced diet. Typical examples of Mediterranean diet. But you have to learn to do them well. The first tip is to avoid frying lightly the olive oil with onions so you can add it once the soup is cooked. Adding raw olive oil means to preserve its nutritional value. The second tip: avoid wherever possible canned food, rich in salt. So you can also check the ingredients. Don't worry: your soup will be fantastic if you choose good ingredients.
• - Read the nutrition fact of this vegan soup: it's a low fat and calorie recipe. But be careful to use the right amount of dried pulses: 30 g (1 1/4oz) per head. This is my favorite choice at lunch if I want to make pizza for dinner.

Loretta, Doctor of Biology and Microbiology

What's the right wine ?

Our preferred wine is Bardolino, red wine of Veneto, Italy