Zuppa di Radicchio e Fagioli
A thick Venetian winter soup of creamy borlotti beans simmered into a velvety broth and finished with crisp, bittersweet Treviso radicchio.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 50 min
- Total
- 65 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 420 kcal
Equipment
- •large heavy-bottomed pot
- •immersion blender
- •chef's knife
- •wooden spoon
- •ladle
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- fat
- 12 g
- carbs
- 58 g
- fibre
- 11 g
- protein
- 18 g
- calories
- 420 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Warm the extra virgin olive oil in a large pot over medium-low heat.
- 2
Add the onion, carrot, and celery with a pinch of salt.
- 3
Cook gently for ten minutes until the vegetables collapse and turn sweet without browning.
- 4
Add the crushed garlic cloves and the whole rosemary sprig.
- 5
Tip in the drained borlotti beans and pour over the hot vegetable stock.
- 6
Bring to a gentle boil, then lower the heat and cover with a lid.
- 7
Simmer for forty minutes until the beans are soft and creamy throughout.
- 8
Discard the rosemary sprig and garlic cloves from the pot.
- 9
Blend half of the soup with an immersion blender until thick and velvety.
- 10
Stir the shredded radicchio into the hot soup and cook for two minutes until wilted.
- 11
Season generously with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
- 12
Place a slice of toasted rustic bread in each warm bowl and ladle the soup over top.
Chef's tips
Add the radicchio only at the very end of cooking. Cooking it for more than two minutes will turn the soup grey and dissipate the crisp, pleasant bitterness of the leaves. If Treviso Tardivo is unavailable, Treviso Precoce or standard round Chioggia radicchio works well.
Ingredient substitutions
- dried borlotti beans → 600 g cooked tinned borlotti beans, reducing the simmering time to 15 minutes
- Radicchio Rosso di Treviso Tardivo → Radicchio di Chioggia or red chicory, finely shredded
- Grana Padano PDO → aged Parmigiano Reggiano or omit for a fully vegan dish
Storage
Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Reheating
Reheat gently in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring frequently and loosening with a splash of water if too thick.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Boiling the radicchio for too long, which destroys its vibrant colour and delicate crunch.
- •Puréeing the entire soup completely smooth instead of leaving half the whole beans for textural contrast.
- •Salting dried beans at the start of boiling, which can toughen their skins.
Serving suggestions
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