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Prepare: 1 cup dried cannellini or borlotti beans (see page 78).
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This will yield 2 1/2 to 3 cups of cooked beans.
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Reserve the cooking liquid.
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Heat in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat: 1/4 cup olive oil.
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Add: 1 large onion, finely chopped, 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped.
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Cook for 15 minutes, or until tender.
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Add: 4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped, 5 thyme sprigs, 1 bay leaf, 2 teaspoons salt.
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Cook for 5 minutes longer.
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Add, and bring to a boil: 3 cups water.
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When boiling, add: 1 small leek, diced, 1/2 pound green beans, cut into 1-inch lengths.
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Cook for 5 minutes, then add: 2 medium zucchini, cut into small dice, 2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped.
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Cook for 15 minutes.
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Taste for salt and adjust as necessary.
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Add the cooked beans, along with: 1 cup bean cooking liquid, 2 cups spinach leaves, coarsely chopped (about 1 pound).
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Cook for 5 minutes.
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If the soup is too thick, add more bean cooking liquid.
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Remove the bay leaf.
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Serve in bowls, each one garnished with: 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon or more grated Parmesan cheese.
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Follow the recipe, but add 2 finely chopped celery stalks to the soffritto and cook to a rich golden brown.
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Instead of thyme, add about 1/2 teaspoon chopped rosemary and 1 teaspoon chopped sage with the garlic.
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Borlotti or cranberry beans can be substituted for the cannellini beans.
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Omit the green beans, zucchini, fresh tomatoes, and spinach, and use instead 1 bunch kale, stemmed, washed, and chopped; 1 small can of tomatoes, drained and chopped; and 1/2 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes (about 2 cups).
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Cook the tomatoes and kale with the soffritto for 5 minutes, add the water, and cook for 15 minutes.
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Add the squash and continue cooking until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes, before adding the cooked beans.
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Follow the recipe, but to the soffritto add 2 celery stalks, chopped fine, and cook to a rich golden brown.
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Cut up 1/2 head cabbage into bite-size pieces and cook until tender in salted boiling water.
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For the green beans, zucchini, and tomatoes, substitute 1 pound turnips and 1/2 pound yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces.
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If the turnips have fresh greens attached, stem, wash, and chop them and add them to the soup with the turnips and potatoes.
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Towards the end of the cooking, add the beans and, instead of the spinach, the cooked cabbage.
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Instead of carrot in the soffritto, use 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces.
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Do not let it brown.
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If green garlic is available, use 2 or 3 stalks, trimmed and chopped, instead of garlic cloves.
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Use 2 leeks instead of one.
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Add the liquid (half water, half broth, if possible), bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes.
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Omit the green beans, zucchini, and tomatoes.
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Substitute 1 cup shelled peas (from 1 pound in the pod) and 1/2 pound asparagus, trimmed and sliced on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick pieces.
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Add with the beans and cook for 5 minutes before adding the spinach.
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If not serving this soup right away, cool it down quickly in an ice bath so the asparagus does not lose its bright green color.
