Neapolitan Style Soup with Beans and Dandelion Greens, quick and easy

This hearty traditional Italian soup with bitter greens and white beans comes together quickly. Recipe below.

WE HAD A BIG DAY THE OTHER DAY, full of traipsing and talking and seeing people we love and getting home after dark all worn out. After all of that, all we wanted was something simple and comforting. As so often when we feel like that, the answer was: soup.

This dish is based on a traditional recipe from Naples that features escarole and white beans cooked from scratch, zuppa di scarola e fagioli. The market I ran into on our way home didn’t have escarole but, interestingly, did have big handsome bunches of dandelion greens, another bitter green we also love. And while we do love the unmatched creaminess of cooking beans from scratch, canned beans are really pretty wonderful, and it is thanks to them that we could be eating this nourishing, satisfying soup less than half an hour after we got home.

As with all traditional recipes, there are countless variations on this Neapolitan favorite. Yes, ours is a simple, quick version—and it’s one that we are totally ready to make and eat again.

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Neapolitan Style Soup with White Beans and Dandelion Greens

This hearty traditional Italian soup with bitter greens and white beans comes together quickly.

Course Soup

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
• 3/4 pound dandelion greens, washed and sliced into one-inch pieces (see Kitchen Notes)
• 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
• 1 cup cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
• salt, if needed

Instructions

• Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat—we used a 3.5 quart pot. Sauté the garlic and dried red peppers for two minutes, then add the dandelion greens and the chicken stock. The stock should just barely cover the dandelion. Bring to a boil and gently simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Cooking the greens this long reduces their bitterness.
• Add in the cannellini beans, the chicken and the 2/3 cup of Parmesan. If the soup is too thick, add a little water. Stir well over medium-low heat until everything is heated through. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, if needed. That’s it! Ladle into soup dishes, top with a tablespoon, or more, of grated Parmesan, and this is ready to serve.

Kitchen Notes

Dandelion greens or… Dandelion greens are a nice bitter green packed with distinctive flavor and plenty of nutrients. Escarole, a part of the chicory family, is an integral part of Italian cuisine that brings its own bitter qualities. You can use either with this soup.