Ingredients
- YIELD
- 10 About 10 cups of cooked beans
- INGREDIENTS
- Beans
- Kombu (dried Japanese kelp seaweed), one 4-by-6-inch piece
- Dried borlotti or cannellini beans, 1 1/2 pounds
- Smoky bacon (such as Benton's or Nueske's), 4 ounces (preferably in 1 piece rather than strips)
- Extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon, plus extra for serving
- Medium white onion, 1/2 (finely chopped)
- Celery, 1 stalk (finely chopped)
- Fennel fronds and stalks, from 1 bulb (finely chopped)
- Fresh sage leaves, 8 (finely chopped)
- Dried bay leaves, 2
- Fresh rosemary, 1 medium sprig (needles removed and finely chopped)
- Garlic clove, 1 (smashed with the side of a chef's knife)
- Dried red pepper flakes, 1 pinch
- Freshly ground black pepper, 1 pinch
- Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rind, 1
- Flaky salt, for serving
- Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for serving
- EQUIPMENT
- Cutting board
- Chef’s knife
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowls
- Kitchen scissors
- Plastic wrap
- Colander
- Soup pot
- Wooden spoon
Preparation
Step 1
DIRECTIONS
1. In a large bowl, add the:
Kombu
Cover the kombu with room-temperature water and let the kombu sit until soft and pliant, about 30 minutes. Use scissors to cut crosswise strips into one of the long sides of the kombu, so it looks like a comb. To the bowl, add the:
Dried borlotti beans
Cover with more room-temperature water to submerge the beans by a few inches. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
2. The next day, strain the beans into a colander. Transfer the kombu to a soup pot along with the:
Smoky bacon
Cover with 10 cups of water and bring the kombu and bacon to a simmer over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to low and cook (the liquid shouldn't even be simmering) until the water is very cloudy, about 20 minutes.
Set a colander in a large bowl and strain the kombu-bacon broth. Discard the kombu and use tongs to transfer the bacon to a cutting board. Cut the bacon into ¾-inch cubes.
3. Rinse and dry the soup pot and add to it the chopped bacon, along with:
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
Set the pot over medium heat and cook the bacon until it begins to render and brown, about 5 minutes. Add:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Warm the oil for 1 minute, then use the wooden spoon to stir in the:
Chopped onion
Chopped celery
Chopped fennel fronds and stalks
Chopped fresh sage
Dried bay leaves
Chopped fresh rosemary
Smashed garlic clove
Dried red pepper flakes
Freshly ground black pepper
Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring often, until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes (don’t let the vegetables brown).
To the pot, add the:
Soaked, strained borlotti beans
Cook until the beans are warmed through, about 3 minutes, then pour in 8 cups of the reserved kombu-bacon broth (save the remaining broth, since you might need to add more to the simmering beans) and add the:
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rind
4. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a bare boil (just until a few bubbles rise to the surface). Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover, leaving the lid slightly askew. Gently simmer, stirring occasionally and checking often to make sure the beans are not simmering too hard (this could cause the beans to split), cooking the beans until tender, about 1 hour 15 minutes, adding additional kombu-bacon broth if needed (the beans should always be covered by about ½ inch of liquid; if you run out of kombu-bacon broth, use water).
5. Turn off the heat and uncover the pot. Use a ladle or slotted spoon to transfer the beans and some cooking liquid to bowls, making sure to get a few pieces of bacon in each bowl. Serve drizzled with olive oil, a pinch of flaky salt and some of the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.