Apple & Bean Soup

Name: Apple & Bean Soup
Yield: serves 6
Ingredients: 1/2 pound dried cannellini beans, rinsed and soaked overnight; 1 bay leaf, preferably fresh; 2 teaspoons kosher salt; 2 pounds firm cooking apples, such as Golden Delicious; 6 tablespoons butter; 4 whole cloves; 8 cups hot water (or 6 cups for a thicker side dish); Finely grated zest of 1 lemon (about 2 teaspoons); 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon; A 3-quart pot for cooking the beans; a heavy-bottomed saucepan, 4 quarts or larger, 10-inches wide, with a cover

December 9, 2011

Every region of Italy has a fagioli (bean) soup, often quite filling, with potatoes and pork and either pasta or rice. Interestingly, it was in Trentino–Alto Adige, renowned for the heartiness of its soups, that I had this unexpectedly light bean soup, cooked with fresh apples and delicately spiced. It is vegetarian (also unusual), nourishing, and quite scrumptious. The combination of apples and beans is marvelous, and one of the pleasing features of this recipe is that simply by using less water you can make a great bean-and-apple side dish, a perfect accompaniment to roast pork, duck, or ham.

Recipe notes

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