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Fast & Fabulous: Tuscan White Bean & Escarole Soup with Tuna
July 17, 2015 / Stephanie Miskew / 12 Comments
When I came across this recipe for Tuscan White Bean & Escarole Soup with Tuna in the July issue of Food & Wine Magazine I was a little perplexed. Canned tuna in olive oil in a soup – seriously, Justin Chapple?
While initially wary, once I noticed the über-healthy and delicious list of ingredients, I decided to take a chance. Thankfully my hunch paid off! This healthy dish is a study in deliciousness and I’ve also discovered a wonderful wine to pair with it.
When making this recipe, be sure to use tuna packed in olive oil (I like solid albacore) which gives the soup nice body and flavor – resist the urge to substitute tuna packed in water! As suggested, garnish the soup with a delicious dusting of freshly grated Parmesan and also serve it with toasted or grilled slices of crusty French bread rubbed with a garlic clove which really makes the flavors “pop.”
As for a wine pairing, we sampled a couple bottles and a Sauvignon Blanc from Chile was too acidic and did nothing to enhance the flavor of the soup. The Clos de Nouys Vouvray Sec on the other hand, a 100% Chenin Blanc from France’s Loire Valley, complemented the dish very nicely! The wine’s slight sweetness took the edge off the acidity and it’s flavors of apple, fig and almond really hit all the right notes.
I hope you enjoy this soup as much as we do and have you ever been pleasantly surprised by a recipe or dish which expanded your culinary horizons? Please let me know in the comment section below!
Cheers,
"Fast & Fabulous: Tuscan White Bean & Escarole Soup with Tuna"Author: Justin Chapple, July Issue of Food & Wine MagazineRecipe type: SoupServes: 4Ingredients- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 10 oz. escarole, chopped
- 2 teaspoons minced rosemary
- 6 cups chicken stock
- One 15-oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 15 oz. tuna in olive oil, drained
- Salt and pepper
- Shredded Parmesan cheese and crusty bread for serving
Instructions- Heat the oil in a pot. Add the onions and garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the escarole and rosemary and cook until the escarole is wilted, 3 minutes.
- Add the stock, beans and tuna and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve the soup with shredded Parmesan and crusty bread.
July 17, 2015 / Stephanie Miskew / 12 Comments
Bastille Day Menu: Frisée aux Lardons & Honey Fleur de Lys! Glamorous Getaways: The Pet Friendly Park on Main – Highlands, North Carolina!
12 thoughts on “Fast & Fabulous: Tuscan White Bean & Escarole Soup with Tuna”
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Stephanie Miskew thinks life is better with wine and she wants to help you enjoy it to the fullest! As a Certified Sommelier, her real world advice on tasting wine like a pro, discovering which wines you truly love, picking the perfect bottle for any occasion and creating magical food and wine pairings will have you looking like a wine expert in any situation.
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I know I’d love this! I’ve never had canned tuna in soup either but I’m loving the idea.
Go for it, Susan! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did:)
Wow canned tuna in soup sounds interesting, will give this a try. Thanks. Have a good week Diane
Thanks for stopping by, Diane! Hope you enjoy it:)
This recipe proves how well a simple ingredient like canned tuna can be transformed into something sophisticated. Is there a certain brand you prefer to cook with?
You are so right about that! Can’t say there’s any one particular brand I prefer, just as long as it’s packed in olive oil:)
I think this sounds great! Thanks for sharing.
I love my own recipe for tuscan white bean soup with kale. It is a hearty meal with so much rich flavor. I think that I’ll try this one and compare. I’ll let you know what I think, and provide my recipe. This is an additional entry to win the Garrus! And can I just say I attended a wine tasting at the Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Art recently (Art of Wine and Food series) and while it was good, it didn’t even compare to your events. We miss you so much!
What a great recipe! Different, easy and full of good nourishing ingredients! Perfect for one of our foggy summer evenings.
Enjoy, Deb, and thanks for stopping by!
Cannellini beans and escarole is such a classic combination, and I love the idea of adding tuna for extra protein!
A couple of things that have expanded my horizons – I love Jeffery Steingarten, and for years now I’ve wanted to render my own leaf lard for piecrust, the way Marion Cunningham suggests in the last chapter of The Man Who Ate Everything. (I’ve always been the baker in my family, and my pie crust was already really good.) Anyway, leaf lard is difficult to find, but after years I finally located my Grail with Robert of Farris Farms. So yay, I rendered the lard, and lo and behold, came up with the flakiest, tenderest, best crust I have ever made.
Another time is when I made strawberry-horseradish ice cream (on a dare from a cooking group). It may sound gross, but it turned out surprisingly good!
Thanks for all the great info, Annie! That crust sounds heavenly as does the strawberry-horseradish ice cream – YUM:)