CAMPANIAN BEAN & MUSSEL SOUP

By BobD

Ingredients

• 1 lb dried white beans (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 1 lb mussels
• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 hot red chile
• 2/3 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup diced yellow onions
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1 cup canned or fresh chopped plum tomatoes (drained if canned)
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups cooked pasta (use a small shape)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, as needed
• Chopped flat-leaf parsley, as needed

Details

Servings 10

Preparation

Step 1

The day before making the soup, sort, rinse, and soak the beans for at least 8 and no
more than 24 hours.

The day you want to prepare the soup, first prepare the mussels as follows: Scrub the
mussels well with a stiff brush under cold running water. Pull the “beard” away, if the
mussels have them. (The beard is the tangle of fibers that poke out of the shell; pinch it tight
between your finger and thumb and tug downward sharply to remove it.) Discard any
empty shells or mussels with shells that stay open.

Heat half of the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. (Choose a pot that has a lid and
is large enough to hold the mussels after they open.) Add the garlic and chile and sauté,
stirring constantly, until the garlic is just starting to brown, about 2 minutes.

Add the cleaned mussels, the wine, and 1 cup water. Cover the pot tightly and steam the mussels
until all of the shells open, 8 to 10 minutes depending upon their size.

Lift the mussels out of the broth, letting any broth inside the shells drain back into the pot. When the mussels are cool enough to handle, remove the meat and set aside. Strain the broth through a wiremesh
sieve into a bowl and set aside.

Heat a soup pot over medium heat. Add the remaining olive oil and then the onions and
celery. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are tender without any browning, 5 to 6 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and continue to cook until the tomatoes have a sweet aroma, about 5 minutes. Drain the beans and add them to the pot along with the broth from the mussels and enough cold water to cover the beans by 2 inches.

Add the bay leaves and simmer the soup, stirring frequently, until the beans are very tender; you may need to add additional water as the soup simmers to keep it from getting too dry.

Use the back of a wooden spoon or a potato masher to crush some of the beans directly in the pot. If you prefer, you may lift about half of the beans from the pot and puree them in a food mill or food processor; return the puree to the pot. (The soup is ready to finish and serve now, or you may cool and store the soup in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the
freezer for up to 2 months.)

Return the soup to a simmer over low heat. Add the cooked pasta and the reserved mussels and simmer long enough to thoroughly heat the pasta and mussels, about 2
minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, if necessary.

Serve the soup in heated soup plates or bowls topped with extra-virgin olive oil and
parsley.