Name: Bean soup with pancetta
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 200g dried borlotti beans; 1 red onion; 75g pancetta; 3 cloves of garlic; 2 sticks of celery; ½ tsp dried chilli flakes; 500 ml chicken or vegetable broth; To serve: slices of ciabatta, olive oil, chilli flakes

Bean soup with pancetta

2 Mar 2016

by Dinna

Prep Time

5 minutes

Cook Time

120 minutes

Total Time

5 minutes

Background

This slow-cooked Italian bean soup with pancetta is perfect for lazy weekends during the colder months. It's yummy and very hearty so it's a main dish really. Make double portions and you can freeze the leftovers for another meal!

Ingredients

200g dried borlotti beans
1 red onion
75g pancetta
3 cloves of garlic
2 sticks of celery
½ tsp dried chilli flakes
500 ml chicken or vegetable broth
To serve: slices of ciabatta, olive oil, chilli flakes

Instructions

Soak the beans in plenty of water overnight. The next day drain, rinse and drain again.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Chop the celery and onions, thinly slice the garlic and cut pancetta cut into cubes.
Put all ingredients in a large, heat-resistant, lidded dish then cook for 2 hours in the oven under cover, stirring occasionally. When the beans are soft, season to taste with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, tear the ciabatta slices into bite-sized chunks, arrange them on a baking sheet, drizzle with a little oil and sprinkle with coarse sea salt and the chilli flakes. Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden.
Serve the soup with the toasted ciabatta pieces.

Tips

You can make this recipe with canned beans too - so you won't need to pre-soak the beans and the cooking time can be reduced to about 40 minutes.
You can make it a full tsp of chilli flakes if you like more zing.