Cannellini Bean Soup With Beef, Roasted Eggplant and Orange Gremolata
Warm and flavorful beef soup with cannellini beans, roasted eggplant and orange gremolata.
Servings: 12 cups
Ingredients
- 1 each regular large eggplant about 1 lb, cut into 1" cubes
- 1.5 lbs chuck roast cut into 1" cubes
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 each small onions 8 oz, small dice
- 2 each carrots 8 oz, small dice
- 2 stalks celery 5 oz, small dice
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 Tbsp dried basil
- 8 cups of beef stock
- 2 cans cannellini beans 15.5 oz cans or 3 cups cooked beans, drained and rinsed*
- salt and pepper
- *I used canned beans because I could not find dried cannellini and I had limited time. You could certainly use dried though the soup will have to cook much longer unless you cook the beans separately first.
Orange Gremolata:
- 1 bunch Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped fine
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 2 each oranges grated zest only (about 2.5 Tbsp zest)
- Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut the eggplant into 1 inch cubes and toss with 2 Tbsp of the olive oil. Spread the eggplant out evenly on a sheet pan. When the oven is hot, put the eggplant in to roast until it's browned, about 25 minutes. When it's done, set it aside; it will be added to the soup at the end to maintain its form and texture.
- While the eggplant is roasting, cut up the beef and vegetables and get all the other soup ingredients ready.
- Heat a large, heavy bottomed, soup pot (I've had the All Clad 6 qt stock pot shown in these photos for over a decade, and I love it). Add the remaining 1 Tbsp of olive oil to the pot and add in the diced beef. Season with a couple of pinches of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook until the beef begins to brown.
- Add in the diced carrots, onions and celery and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add in the minced garlic and dried herbs and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Pour in the 8 cups of beef stock and bring to a simmer. Add the drained and rinsed beans and let simmer gently for 20-30 minutes. You don't want this to boil rapidly because you run the risk of the cooked beans breaking. If you get any foam (from the fat in the beef) just skim it off with a ladle.
- Right before you are ready to serve the soup, stir in the roasted eggplant.
- Garnish each bowl of soup with a teaspoon of orange gremolata.