Caroline Wright’s Soup Club: Minestrone Inervale

Makes about 12 bowlfuls (about 3 quarts)

If you eat cheese, add a 4-inch piece of Parmesan rind with the greens and remove with the rosemary sprigs in the final step. It can be our tasty little secret.

• 2 heads garlic

• 4 sprigs rosemary, divided

• 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
  Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1 medium onion, chopped
  2 inner celery stalks with their leaves, chopped
  2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

• 1 small bunch Swiss chard, leaves shredded (4 cups) and stems roughly chopped (about 1 cup)

• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

• 1 cup dried cranberry or pinto beans, soaked overnight

• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice

• 1 small head radicchio, halved, cored, and shredded (about 4 cups)

• 1 small bunch Lacinato kale, ribs and stems removed, roughly torn (about 2 cups)

• 1 cup rotini pasta (gluten-free or traditional), chopped or broken into small pieces

1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Slice into heads of garlic crosswise, removing the topmost 3/4 inch to just expose the raw cloves. Place garlic on a double thickness of aluminum foil (lined with parchment, if desired) with 1 sprig rosemary. Drizzle garlic with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper). Gather edges of foil to enclose garlic and rosemary; place packet on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until packet is fragrant and sizzling, and the cloves are golden and risen from their papers (about 1 1/2 hours). Set aside until cool enough to handle (about 20 minutes). Squeeze garlic from their papers into a small bowl. (You should have about 1/3 cup garlic paste). (Garlic paste can be made in advance up to one week: store garlic paste, covered with oil, in an airtight container in the refrigerator.)

2) Heat remaining oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat until hot. Add onion, celery, carrots, and chard stems to pot; season generously with salt and pepper (about 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper). Cook, stirring often, until vegetables have softened (about 10 minutes). Stir in reserved garlic, mustard, beans, tomatoes, 8 cups (2 quarts) water, remaining rosemary sprigs, and half each chard leaves (2 cups), radicchio (2 cups), and kale (1 cup); season very generously with salt (about 2 teaspoons). Cover and bring to a boil.

3) Reduce heat and simmer soup, covered and without stirring, until beans are tender (about 1 1/2 hours). Remove from heat; stir in remaining greens and pasta. Let stand, covered, until pasta and greens are softened (about 20 minutes). Remove rosemary sprigs before serving. Season soup with additional salt to taste.

Excerpted from Soup Club: 80 Cozy Recipes for Plant-Based Soups and Stews to Share by Caroline Wright (Andrews McMeel, November 2021).