Italian Escarole And White Bean Soup-

Warm up on a chilly fall evening with Italian escarole white bean soup. This simple, hearty soup is perfect for cozy autumn dinners and for enjoying on Halloween night.

My Halloween Night Soup Tradition

I started a tradition many years ago when my kids were young to always have a pot of hot and nourishing soup on the stove for dinner on Halloween night before the kids went out in the cold damp night to go trick or treating.-

 Even though the kids are now grown and my local grandkids are past the "trick or treating" age, I know that I, and the hubby, will still be keeping the tradition and enjoying some delicious hot soup on Halloween night. 

Farmer's Market Seasonal Produce

I was at our local farmer's market and spotted a large, beautiful head of escarole among the lettuces and other fresh greens. It looked so good that I had to bring one home. The only problem was that I wondered what the heck do you do with all that escarole? 

I went online and started looking for recipes and different ways to use up the escarole. Since the weather has turned much chillier, soup seemed like the perfect place to start.

Created A Recipe

I found lots of recipes for Italian escarole and white bean soup. After reading through several of them, I got the general idea and decided to create my own vegan version with ingredients I enjoy. It turned out to be hearty and tasted great! You'll find my recipe at the bottom of this post.

Abundance of Escarole

But there was one little problem: I still had a ton of escarole left over!

Fortunately, escarole is a versatile leafy green that can be used in many ways beyond soup. If you've ever bought a head of escarole and wondered what else to do with it, I've gathered some easy ideas to help you put those leftover greens to good use.

Here are some easy ways to use escarole :

• Sautéed escarole: Chop the leaves and cook them in a skillet with a little water or olive oil, chopped garlic, and your favorite seasonings. 

• Escarole with white beans: Cook escarole with cannellini beans, garlic, and vegetable broth for a flavorful side dish or a light meal over rice.

• Pasta: Stir chopped escarole into your favorite pasta dish during the last few minutes of cooking. 

• Salads: The inner, lighter-colored leaves are usually more tender and work well in salads. Combine them with sliced apples or pears, orange segments, or other vegetables for a fresh salad with a little pleasantly bitter flavor.

• Buddha bowls: Cooked escarole makes a delicious addition to bowls with brown rice, quinoa, roasted vegetables, and beans.

• Mix it into other cooked greens: Combine escarole with spinach, kale, or Swiss chard for a flavorful mixture of greens. 

• Beans and stews: Stir chopped escarole into a pot of simmering chickpeas, lentils, or other beans toward the end of cooking. It adds color, texture, and extra vegetables to the dish.

The Soup Recipe: 

Ingredients: 

1 cup of diced onions

2 cups of diced carrots

2 cups of diced celery

2 cups of diced potatoes

1 cup of diced zucchini

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 cans of cannelloni beans, drained

Seasoning: garlic powder, salt, freshly cracked pepper 

1 tablespoon of vegetarian chicken flavored bouillon powder

8 cups of water

2 heaping cups of shredded chopped escarole

Directions: 

Add the onions to the liner of the Instant Pot. Sauce in 1/4 cup of vegetable broth for about 3 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, potatoes, zucchini and garlic. Add 1/4 cup more of broth and saute for another 5 minutes stirring. Add the beans, bouillon, seasoning, and water. Secure lid and set to pressure cook for 5 minutes. When done, allow to sit for 5 minutes and then carefully release the steam according to the manufacturer's instructions. When all steam is released, carefully remove the lid and add the escarole. Allow it to wilt into the soup. Soup usually tastes best after it has had time to sit and the flavors  mingle. Give it at least an hour before eating.

My Notes:

1. Escarole can be sandy, so separate the leaves and wash them thoroughly before chopping. 

2. The outer, darker green leaves tend to be more bitter, while the inner leaves are generally milder and more tender.

3.  Chop into fine short pieces, since once cooked it may be stringy.

4. Escarole soup is often called Italian escarole soup because escarole has a long history of being used in Italian cooking, especially in Southern Italy. 

5. Cannelloni beans are available in most supermarkets.

                                    Happy Halloween!!!

LuLu in her Halloween costume.. ( My grand cat)