This is a recipe for a soup that I adopted from something my mother came up with. Her recipe uses escarole, chicken broth, and no onion. My version uses broccoli rabe (rapini), which is a much more bitter green, and changes the flavor quite a bit. It’s a very versatile recipe - this particular version makes a lot of food. You can cut it down to 1 can of beans, 1 cup of broth, and 1 head of veggie, and it will still make quite a bit of food. Sadly, if you only use one can of beans, you lose the exciting tre colore effect, and thus don’t get to celebrate the glory of the Italian flag and its heritage of yumtastic food.

It is also a versatile recipe in terms of ingredients. Any hardy leafy green will do, depending on what sort of flavor you’re into. Rapini is bitter, escarole is more neutral. I think you can probably use kale, too, although I haven’t tried. I bet you could even use bok choy! Hah! It’s a party in my mouth and every leafy green is invited! You can cut out the onions, if that’s what you feel like doing. Or you could add more! Or more garlic! If it were up to me, there would be, like, five bulbs! Some people seem to think that’s too much. Hmph. Fools, I say. And season it any way you like. Mmmm… food. So here’s the recipe:

Pasta Tre Colore: Broccoli Rabe with Cannellini Beans

Ingredients

- 2 heads of broccoli rabe
- olive oil to cover bottom of a large pot
- 1 bulb of garlic (or MORE! Hah!)
- 1/2 red or Spanish onion
- 1 1/2 cubes of veggie bouillon cubes or 1 can (14 oz) low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cup ditalini (raw)
- 2 cans cannellini (kidney) beans, one white, one red
- Seasoning (pepper, salt, oregano, rosemary)

Heat up some oil in a large pot, and start some water boiling for the bouillon. Dice the onion and start it sautee-ing; it’ll need more time than the garlic. The garlic doesn’t have to be cut finely. I like to just cut off the ends and whack it with the side of the blade. It releases the flavor of the cloves but leaves them it in yummy large chunks that will become all soft and creamy… and…. mmmm… where was I?

While the onion and garlic cook, cut the largest stems off the broccoli rabe, soak it in some water to get rid of any dirt, and then drain off the liquid.

When the onions have become clear, add the greens to the pot with the oil and cook over medium high heat, covered, until the broccoli begins to wilt. Don’t let the color of the broccoli rabe get past bright green. It will cook more in the soup, so you don’t want to go too far.

Add the broth and the ditalini. Season at will. I like oregano, salt, pepper, and rosemary, but it’s really up to you. Let the pasta cook for about 8 minutes, the time varies on how long your particular brand of pasta will take to cook.

While the pasta is still partially cooked, add both cans of beans, including the liquid in the can, this is key.

Mix it all up and let the pasta cook the rest of the way with the beans, covered. Leave the pasta a bit al dente, it will keep absorbing the liquid until it’s served and then every time you reheat it, and you don’t want the pasta to become too mushy.

Serve with grated cheese and mmmmm… red wine. Guaranteed to please!