Greens Day: Escarole

I just made a soup that's going to knock your socks off.

First though, a little personal history about escarole.


Picture it: Palm Beach Gardens, 1993. Me, a recalcitrant preteen. Unfulfilled by the tedium of middle school. Unhappy with the home life of an only child. Yet, one of the few things that made me happy (besides Jordan Catalano): the escarole at Classico's, my favorite Italian restaurant. It was garlicky and crunchy and delicious, and I haven't forgotten about it. This is where my love of the Italian green began.

Years later, another escarole of note piqued my palette: the side they serve at Babbo (for $7, mind you). I'm sure some readers can recall my general hesitance and irritability of eating at such an expensive/heavily hyped restaurant during the summer of 2007. However, that meal at Babbo lives in my memory as one of the top 10 restaurant experiences of my life. Nay, top 5. The service is impecable, as were the greens.

So onto this soup (which I think is pretty classic Italian). I found the recipe online, tweaked it a little and made it work with escarole (originally it was spinach). This is my rendition.

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 2 (16 ounce) cans white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 18 ounces of chicken broth (I bought the box they have at TJs and used about 2/3rds. Vegetarians can certainly go with vegetable broth.)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (I used more)
  
• 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
  
• 2 cups water
• 1 bunch fresh escarole, rinsed and thinly sliced
• 1 lemon
  
  Heat oil in a large pot. Cook onion and celery in oil for 5 to 8 minutes, or until tender.
  
  Add garlic, and cook for 30 seconds, continually stirring. Stir in beans, chicken broth, pepper, thyme and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and then simmer for 15 minutes.
  
  With slotted spoon, remove 2 cups of the bean and vegetable mixture from soup and set aside.
  
  This is where the magic happens: In blender at low speed, blend remaining soup in small batches until smooth, (remove the center piece of the blender lid so steam can escape.) Once blended, pour soup back into stock pot and stir in reserved beans. It's so creamy.
  
  Bring to a boil, occasionally stirring. Stir in escarole and cook about 4 minutes or until wilted. Squeeze half the lemon and remove from heat.
  
  Don't even THINK about serving this without grated Parmesan cheese on top and a lemon wedge. Also some extra black pepper never hurt anyone.

It was good.