A Perfect Autumn Evening

Nothing is better in my mind than sharing a pot of soup and a couple of bottle of wines around the dining room table with friends on a cool autumn night. On Saturday, that's exactly what we did.

I'm not sure where I found this recipe for Pancetta White Bean Soup with Swiss Chard, but, I'm glad I did. I made some adjustments to highlight some of my personal favorite flavors (like thyme and garlic). The final verdict was this recipe is a keeper! It's probably one of the best soups I've ever made. It will definitely be making a repeat appearance on the table at Chez Isenhour-Patton in the coming months. Robert Oatley's 2008 Pinot Grigio brought by our friend CZ was a fabulous compliment! Of course we killed that bottle and moved on to Casas del Bosque Gran Reserva, a Chilean Chardonnay that I thought was perfectly creamy.

After dinner we retired to the rumpus room where we enjoyed a fun game of Apples to Apples that complimented dessert - an orgasmic Apple Cake w/caramel sauce and some pink bubbly (to match my pink stove) brought by my friend TC.

I'll share that recipe next.


Pancetta White Bean Soup with Swiss Chard

1 lb of dry white beans
1 lb of pancetta (unsliced)
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 Tbsps extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion - diced
2 stalks of celery - diced
1 leek - diced
4 cloves of garlic - sliced
1 cup of white wine
1/3 cup of white wine vinegar
6 cups of chicken broth
2 cups of swiss chard - cut into strips
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1 Tbsp fresh parsley

Soak the beans overnight at room temperature.

The next day, drain and rinse the beans. Put in a large pot and cover with water. Add 4 sprigs of fresh thyme and 1/4 lb of the pancetta. Bring to a boil over a high heat and then reduce to low and cook until the beans are just tender - approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Set aside to cool.

Dice the remaining 3/4 lb of the pancetta. Heat the olive oil over low heat. Add the remaining diced pancetta and cook until slighty brown - approximately 10 minutes. Add the celery, onion, leek and garlic. Saute over medium heat until onion is translucent - 3 to 5 minutes.

Turn up the heat to medium and add the wine and vinegar and boil until the liquid has reduced by half - about 10 minutes.

In the meantime, drain the beans and puree about half of them. Add to the soup pot along with the remaining whole beans. Stir well. Add fresh thyme leaves and parsley. (I'm a freak for thyme so I added about 2 Tbsps). Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally until the soup thickens - about 30 minutes.

A few minutes before serving, stir in the swiss chard.

Serve with freshly grated Parmesean.