My friend gave me some cavolo nero again and fava beans which she said she had too much. With some leftover carrots and risoni, I added in to make soup. This time I recreated the soup without salame, couldn’t find them in the supermarket deli.

“KALE ITALIAN STYLE: the ultimate hipster food such as Smoothies, soups, salads, even mock “chips” – baked, not fried of course: kale has truly entered the Olympus of the world’s most popular foods, but the truth is not many people really know how to cook it properly, nor are they aware of the fact kale is, in fact, a traditional ingredient of Italian cuisine. Cavolo nero (call kale in Italian), in Italy, is a synonym with earthy peasant dishes and poor but very nutritious meals. Its taste warms the heart up in the Winter cold, satisfying and comforting, incredibly rich in its simplicity.”

“Cavolo nero dishes in Tuscany is, without a doubt, the iconic ribollita, a thick soup made with stale bread, kale, and beans typical of the whole region, but especially of the areas around Pisa, Florence, and Arezzo. Just like polenta, another Winter-time Italian classic, ribollita brings to mind cold evenings and family, hot fires and tumblers or red wine. With time, beans were added to the kale and the bread, to make the soup even more rich and stomach filling.”

“As you would expect in Italy, Italian like kale with pasta, especially when mixed with some storing cheese and pumpkin, but also on bruschetta with cannellini beans”. If you prefer soup, but you’d like something different from ribollita, then you could try a simple cavolo nero, fava beans, and parmesan pecorino soup, or match it with carrots, for a healthier comforting meal.

Risoni (pronounced ree-soh-nee) looks like large grains of rice but is actually a type of pasta. It’s also known as risi (which is Italian for rice) or pasta a riso, and is sometimes referred to as orzo, although this tends to be slightly larger.” What are fava beans called in Italy? Broad beans (in this country more usually called, after their Italian name, fava beans) are often likened to limas, which they resemble only slightly in appearance and not at all in taste. The thick, bright- green pod conceals an inner layer that looks like white Styrofoam and feels like the inside of a rabbit’s ear.”

How do Italians eat fava beans? “In Puglia, fava beans are eaten as a side dish with breadcrumbs, pecorino and lemon juice. And, the Sardinians make La Favata, fava beans cooked with different cuts of pork and served on slices of the local flatbread, pane carasau.”

Today, I am cooking like an Italian, using Italian ingredients such as Cavolo nero, risi or orzo or risoni, and leftover carrots. to make Italian soup that is healthy, hearty, comforting, colourful and delicious of course spicy too. Let’s cook like an Italian!!!!

Ingredients

7 cavolo nero, leaves, stalk removed, cut to bite size
3 garlic cloves, skin off, cut half
2 Tbs olive oil
1 small piece of speck, cut into small pieces
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 red chili, seeded and cut thinly
1 small carrot, sliced
780 ml vegetables
200 g tomatoes, chopped
150 g risoni
150 g fava beans, remove skin
20 g Parmesan Pecorino cheese
1 Tbs tomato puree
Italian Seasoning
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
basil leaves, garnish

Method

Heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add pieces of speck and cook until it starts to caramelise. Now add in carrot, cook for about 3 minutes. Next add in onion, garlic, chili and Italian Seasoning and cook for 1 minute. Season with a little salt.

Now add in tomatoes, tomato puree, 20 g grated Parmesan Pecorino cheese and vegetables stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 25-30 minutes until carrot are tender. Now add in cavolo nero leaves, fava beans and risoni. Season to taste. Cook over medium-high heat for about 7-8 minutes or until the risoni is nicely al dente. Switched off hob and spoon onto bowls. Serve hot. Enjoy!!!!!

Note: You can add chili pepper and Nduja if you want it spicier. You can add 6-7 Brussel sprouts, outer leaves removed, quartered, 1 celery, sliced 1 leek, well washed and thinly sliced, 2 potatoes, 2 cups of fresh borlotti beans (or two tins, well rinsed. Alternatively, soak 2 cups of dried beans for 12 hours, then cook in simmering water for 2 hours) like Silvia Colloca recipe.

You can add cannoli beans, chickpeas, and green beans. Or instead cavolo nero you can use spinach, you can use farro as like Cooking with Nonna recipe use it. You can add Italian sausage instead of hot salami. You can use pancetta instead of speck. You can make the soup thick if you like it; use passata and more Parmesan Pecorino cheese.

https://helenscchin.com/2024/01/29/zuppa-di-cavolo-risi-con-carote-e-fave/

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