The Great American Slow Cooker Book (16 page)

1
Stir the broth, tomatoes, beans, carrots, onion, celery, tomato paste, basil, rosemary, salt, and pepper in the slow cooker until the tomato paste dissolves. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6 hours, or until the vegetables are tender and the aromas are irresistible.

2
Stir in the macaroni. Cover and continue cooking on low for 1 hour, or until the pasta is tender.

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
To brighten the flavors, add up to 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest to the soup along with the herbs.

•
Although we usually prefer whole wheat pasta, the traditional macaroni in this recipe has less tooth and more creaminess in every bite.

1
Pour the lima beans into a big bowl, fill it about two-thirds with water, and set aside to soak for 12 hours or up to 16 hours (that is, overnight).

2
The next day, heat a large skillet over medium heat for a few minutes, then pour in the olive oil. Add the sausage and brown well, turning occasionally, for 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the batch size. Use tongs or a
fork to transfer the sausage pieces to the slow cooker.

3
Drain the lima beans in a colander set in the sink; transfer them to the slow cooker. Stir in the broth, onion, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.

4
Stir in the kale. Cover and continue cooking on low for 4 hours, or until the lima beans and kale are tender. Stir in the vinegar and salt before serving.

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
Since acid and salt can toughen the lima beans as they cook, we add both at the end. As a bonus, their flavors remain brighter against all the intensely dusky savoriness in the stew.

•
For a somewhat lighter, less robust soup, substitute chicken broth for the beef broth.

1
Pour the beans in a large bowl, then douse them with water until the bowl is about two-thirds full. Set aside to soak overnight.

2
Drain the beans in a colander set in the sink and pour them into the slow cooker. Stir in the broth, tomatoes, potatoes, onion, celery, carrot, oregano, rosemary, garlic, and bay leaves. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours, or until the beans are quite tender.

3
Remove and discard the bay leaves. Stir in the vinegar and salt before serving.

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
There’s a great divide in various interpretations of this classic, including whether it has pasta or not. You can see which side we’re on.

•
For a more luxurious soup, save the rind from a hunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano, especially if it has a little cheese left on it. Add it with the beans: a 2-inch piece for the small batch, a 3-inch piece for the medium one, and a 4-inch piece (or two 2-inch pieces) for the large one. Scrape any soft cheese off the rind and discard the remainder before serving.

INGREDIENTS EXPLAINED
White balsamic vinegar is made from white wine vinegar and the
must
(the pressings of the skins and pulp) from white grapes. It’s milder than dark balsamic vinegar, and even sweeter than standard bottlings of the dark stuff (although not nearly as sweet as the syrupy aged balsamics). Look for it among the other vinegars at the supermarket; it’s a sweeter substitution in most salad dressings that call for white wine vinegar.

Serve It Up!
Drizzle heady, aromatic extra-virgin olive oil over each bowlful. And don’t forget the bread—lots of crunchy bread, preferably rubbed with a peeled garlic clove and then toasted.

1
Heat a large skillet over medium heat, then swirl in the oil. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until translucent, between 4 and 8 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until they give off their liquid and then it boils down to almost nothing, between 5 and 10 minutes.

2
Scrape the contents of the skillet into the slow cooker. Stir in the broth, tomatoes, carrots, barley, lentils, celery, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper, and bay leaves.

3
Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 9 hours, or until the lentils and barley are tender. Remove the bay leaf or leaves before serving.

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
Everybody knows about beef barley soup, but here’s a vegetarian version with lots of savory notes, thanks to all those lentils.

•
You must cook the mushrooms first; otherwise they’ll water down the soup. If you’re working with the quantity
for a large batch, you’ll need a very big skillet to hold them all. Or work in two batches, half the oil, onion, and mushrooms in each.

•
Our preference here is for the green French lentils (
lentils de Puy
). They hold up a bit better in the long run.

1
Place a large skillet over medium heat for a few minutes, then swirl in the oil. Add the pancetta; cook, stirring often, until browned and even a bit crisp, between 3 and 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for about 15 seconds, stirring constantly.

2
Scrape the contents of the skillet into the slow cooker. Stir in the broth, beans, onion, and sage. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.

3
Stir in the escarole. Cover and continue cooking on low for 2 hours, or until the escarole is tender. Stir in the cheese and pepper before serving.

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
An Italian favorite, this soup won’t keep well because the escarole starts to turn mushy.

•
As we developed these recipes, we wanted many bean soups that didn’t involve soaking the beans. We usually prefer the texture of dried beans softened in the slow cooker, but convenience counts for a lot, too.

•
For some heat, add up to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes with the sage.

INGREDIENTS EXPLAINED
Escarole is a broad-leaf green, like a head of lettuce, sometimes called
broad leaf endive
(it is indeed related to Belgian endive). Look for compact heads without any dark green bits. Remove the
tough core, then wash the leaves carefully—they’re often coated with grit down by the core. Cut out any tough, large, white veins in the center of the leaves, then chop the remainder.