Italian for "reboiled," this hearty soup was invented in Tuscany by frugal cooks who wanted to use up leftovers, such as a pot of minestrone and yesterday's bread. Our pressure-cooker/Instant-Pot version uses day-old bread but calls for making the soup from scratch.
Ingredients
-
4 ounces bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
-
1 onion, cut into ½-inch pieces
-
2 garlic cloves, minced
-
3 ounces dried cannellini beans (½ cup)
-
3 ounces dried Great Northern beans (½ cup)
-
3 ounces dried pinto beans (½ cup)
-
4 carrots, cut into ½-inch pieces
-
2 celery stalks, cut into ½-inch pieces
-
5 ½ cups Homemade Chicken Stock or store-bought
-
3 ½ cups water
-
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
-
½ savoy cabbage (about 12 ounces), thinly sliced
-
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
-
6 slices day-old country-style bread, torn into small pieces
-
Finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for serving
-
Extra-virgin olive oil, for serving (optional)
Directions
-
Heat a 6- to 8-quart stovetop pressure cooker over medium-high, or set an electric pressure cooker to saute. Add bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 6 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate. Add onion and garlic to pressure cooker, and cook until softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add beans, carrots, celery, chicken stock, and the water. Season with salt and pepper.
-
Stovetop:
Secure lid. Bring to high pressure over medium-high heat; reduce heat to maintain pressure and cook for 50 minutes. Remove from heat, quickly release heat (loosely cover vent with a clean kitchen towel), then remove lid. Let stand 10 minutes. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
Electric: Secure lid. Manually set cooker to 30 minutes and let it come to pressure. Once time is complete, turn off, quickly release pressure (loosely cover vent with a clean kitchen towel), then remove lid. Let stand 10 minutes. Bring to a simmer using the saute function. -
Add cabbage and rosemary, and cook, stirring, until cabbage is tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in bread and simmer until bread has softened and begins to break down, about 2 minutes. Stir in reserved bacon, and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cheese and drizzle with oil, if desired, and serve immediately.
-
Remove cover, and stir in bread. Simmer soup until bread has softened and begins to break down, about 5 minutes. Stir in the reserved bacon; adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Cook's Notes
If you don't have day-old bread, spread slices or cubes of fresh country-style bread on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in a 300-degree oven for about 15 minutes.
This recipe appears in our cookbook "Martha Stewart's Pressure Cooker" (Clarkson Potter).