Sunday, March 11, 2012

Bean and Bacon Zuppa

Since I used a Sicilian herb and dried vegetable mix to flavor this soup, I'll call it zuppa, even though in my heart of hearts I suspect the Sicilians do not use the same Italian word for soup. I should look it up.

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Ingredients:

1 lb. navy beans
1 large yellow onion
5 strips thick cut bacon
2T extra virgin olive oil
3T triple concentrated tomato paste
2T Sicilian seasoning mix***
12C water

Directions:

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It goes without saying that you must soak the beans in water overnight. Drain them and give them a good rinse before adding them to the stockpot. Chop the onion and dice the bacon. then saute the onion in the bacon fat.

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Make a space to the side of the pot, add the olive oil and the tomato paste and saute until the paste releases its fragrance. Add the water and the herbs, stir, cover the pot with a lid and cook over a low heat until the beans are fully cooked and tender.

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*** The Capriccio Siciliano spice mix I used was composed of dried parsley, basil, garlic, zucchini, eggplant and tomato. I suspect you could do as well with just fresh basil and parsley, along with some fresh garlic. The dehydrated vegetables really didn't add much to the soup flavor.  

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