White Bean, Chorizo and Cavolo Nero Soup.

A chunky autumn soup-come-stew, made with white beans, paprika-laced chorizo sausage and Italian black cabbage leaves.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion - halved and thinly sliced
pinch of dried chillies
half can of 400g Beans in Water
100g smoked dry-cured bacon lardons
100g spicy cooking chorizo - skinned and sliced
1 large garlic cloves - crushed
two small peeled floury potatoes, such as King Edwards: 1 - cut into small chunks, 1 - whole
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
100g cavolo nero leaves - washed
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in the casserole.
Add the bacon lardons and fry for 3 minutes until lightly browned.
Add the chorizo sausage and fry for another 1- 2 minutes until these too are lightly browned.
Add the onion and dried chillies, cover and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes until soft but not browned.
Add the garlic and fry gently for another minute, make sure that the garlic does not brown.
Stir in the potatoes (1 - cut + 1 - whole), beans, stock.
Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes until the potatoes are almost soft.

Meanwhile, slice the green leaves of the cavolo nero away from either side of the thin stalks.
Discard the stalks, bunch up the leaves and slice them across into 2.5cm wide strips.
Stir the cabbage into the soup, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Mash whole potato from soup with fork and stir in.
Uncover and simmer for another 2 - 3 minutes until the cabbage leaves are tender, the beans have heated through and the potatoes are just beginning to break apart.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and serve sprinkled with some chopped flat leaf parsley.

Cook's Notes
- If use dried white beans, such as haricot or cannellini - soaked overnight
Drain the soaked beans and add them to the pan with 1 litre of fresh cold water.
Bring to a simmer, part-cover and cook gently for 45 minutes - 1 hour until the beans are tender.
Add 1 teaspoon of salt, simmer for a further 5 minutes, then tip them into a colander set over a bowl to collect the cooking liquid.
Measure this and make up to 600 ml with water if necessary.
If more, return it to the pan and boil until it has reduced to the required amount.

- Seek out cooking chorizos that are sold whole from the deli counter rather than the pre-sliced chorizo sold in packets from the chilled cabinet.
The whole raw cured sausages have a much better flavour and texture for cooking.
- Any bright green leafy vegetable would work well in this soup like; kale, Savoy cabbage, Swiss chard or spinach.
Add to the soup and just cook until wilted down or tender.
This soup would work well with British butter beans.

Recipe adapted from:
- White Bean, Chorizo and Cavolo Nero Soup | Le Creuset

- Cavolo nero, meatball & cannellini soup recipe | BBC Good Food

- Italian Soup | Vegetables Recipes | Jamie Oliver Recipes

- Nigel Slater's classic ribollita | Food | The Guardian
Ribollita is a famous Tuscan bread soup, a hearty potage made with bread and vegetables. There are many variations but the main ingredients always include leftover bread, cannellini beans, lacinato kale, cabbage, and inexpensive vegetables such as carrot, beans, chard, celery, potatoes and onion.

Pasta with Cavolo nero & garlic cream sauce by Monty Don.

450g cavolo nero
6 plump cloves of mild garlic
300 ml dble cream ( we used creme fraiche cos I actually prefer it)
1 tbs Extra virgin olive oil
50g freshly grated Parmesan cheese (+ extra for serving)
Sea salt + pepper

NOTE: I mixed curly kale+cavolo nero+sweet potato.

Strip out the middle rib of the cavolo nero & discard
Blanch in boiling salted water for 5 mins, then drain well
Peel the garlic cloves, prick them with a fork, but leave whole, & put in a pan with the cream & creme fraiche).
Bring to the boil & simmer for 10 mins.
If you want a mild sauce, remove the garlic (I didn't)
Now put the cavolo nero + the cream mixture in the food processor - blend tll you have a pale green sauce with dark green flecks.
Return to the pan to warm through, then add the Parmesan & the oil.
Mix cooked pasta into the sauce to coat it well & serve with extra Parmesan to sprinkle over.

Verdict: delicious!