Escarole soup with white beans and potatoes is a warming and comforting choice for a chilly winter day, served with crusty bread. Inspired by a traditional Italian recipe, this is a fantastic way to get to know an under-appreciated leafy green!
Despite its lettuce-like appearance, escarole benefits from brief cooking to temper its mildly bitter bite. It wilts down quickly in sautés, and becomes downright comforting in soups like this one, where it almost melts into the mild broth.
Complete the meal: Honestly, you’ll want to make this soup the centerpiece of a cool-weather meal, so you don’t need much more than a crusty bread and a simple salad.
A fruity dessert is always welcome! 2-Ingredient Vegan Date Caramel Sauce served with sliced apples and/or pears is a lovely way to end a fall or winter meal. Or, for a special occasion, consider Wine-Poached Pears with Glazed Pecans.
Get to know escarole
Escarole looks like a slightly denser, greener version of romaine lettuce, and is a much-loved vegetable in Italian cuisine.
Escarole is a member of the chicory family, and a relative of curly endive and radicchio. Though it’s available most of the year and is usually quite inexpensive, I think of it as a winter vegetable.
If you enjoy greens that are a bit of a challenge to the tooth and slightly bitter, you can add raw, thinly sliced escarole to salads in combination with milder greens. However, I find escarole more palatable with judicious cooking. See more about the chicory vegetables, the group to which escarole belongs.
Recipe adapted from Wild About Greens by Nava Atlas. Photos by Susan Voisin, fatfreevegan.com.
Explore more with escarole …
- Potato and Escarole Soup with Vegan Sausage
- Pasta with Escarole and Two Beans
- Sautéed Escarole with Red Onion and Almonds
- Easy Sautéed Escarole and Radicchio
Escarole Soup with White Beans and Potatoes
Escarole soup with white beans and potatoes is a warming and comforting choice for a chilly winter day, served with crusty bread.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, quartered and thinly sliced
- 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 medium or 4 large potatoes, preferably russet or golden, peeled and diced
- 2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
- 32-ounce carton low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 15- to 16-ounce can chickpeas or cannellini, drained and rinsed
- 1 medium head (6 to 8 ounces) escarole, coarsely chopped and rinsed
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a soup pot. Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until translucent. Add the garlic and continue to sauté until both are golden, stirring frequently.
- Add the potatoes, carrots, broth, basil, thyme, and 2 cups water. Bring to a gentle boil, then cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes and carrots are tender.
- Stir in the beans, escarole, and half of the parsley. Simmer gently for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the escarole is tender.
- With the back of a wooden spoon or a potato masher, mash some of the potatoes in the soup to give it a nice base. Stir in water as needed (up to 2 cups). The soup should be thick, but not overly so. Return to a simmer. Stir in the remaining parsley, season with salt and pepper, then serve.
- If time allows let the soup stand off the heat for an hour or more before serving, then heat through as needed.
Notes
You can vary the soup by using kale, chard, or broccoli rabe in place of the escarole. Stem and chop the kale and chard; cut broccoli rabe into 1/2-inch segments.
Use chickpeas in place of the white beans.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 437Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 403mgCarbohydrates: 79gFiber: 18gSugar: 8gProtein: 16g
Nutrition data is always an estimate depending on program used to calculate and exact products used.
See lots more delicious vegan soups & stews.
Leave a Reply