7 March, 2021
Minestra – Broccoli Rabe, Beans, and Potatoes/Cime di Rapa, Fagioli e Patate
In Calabria, a minestra is a soup. It’s a hearty soup, thick in consistency, more like a stew. A minestra is a first course dish. Minestre are typically uncomplicated and often made with peak season vegetables. I will be posting many minestre recipes because vegetables are more prevalent in Italian cuisine, particularly Calabrese cuisine, than most people think.
As I’ve gotten older, my tastes for vegetables have changed and I find myself craving these dishes my mother would whip up in a matter of minutes for dinner. One of my adult-acquired favorites is broccoli rabe (cime di rapa). This is a typical winter vegetable and is in season so, today’s dish is, Cime di Rapa, Fagioli e Patate – Broccoli Rabe, Beans, and Potatoes
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Broccoli Rabe
- 1 cup cut up potatoes
- 1-15 oz can red kidney beans
- salt
- olive oil
Clean the broccoli rabe by rinsing and soaking in cold water to wash any dirt away…soak, rinse, and repeat about 3 times until all the dirt is gone. Cut off about 1/2 inch of the stems or any of the stems and leaves which look bad. Place them in a saucepot covered with water on medium heat. Add the potatoes and bring to a boil.
Then add the kidney beans and salt to taste and cook until the potatoes are cooked through. (you can tell they are done if a fork easily pierces through a potato).
Dish out into soup bowls and drizzle about 1 to 2 teaspoons of olive oil on top and serve.
