Red Radicchio and White Bean Soup

Together with different other vegetables,
radicchio is one of the main ingredients
of several tasty soups that are
enjoyed all over the world.
Since radicchio takes a short time to cook,
it’s a favorite vegetable ingredient
for many cooks and professional chefs.
In many recipes you will notice that the
radicchio is only added towards
the end of the preparation time,
this is because it cooks rapidly
and adding it late enables it to
keep most of its nutritious elements.

Ingredients:
1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 sticks of celery, chopped
1 dried red chilli
A small bunch of marjoram, leaves only
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
10oz cooked white beans
1 litre of water
2 fresh bay leaves
1 head of radicchio, shredded
3oz freshly grated parmesan
12 little ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
A small bunch of basil, shredded
3oz cooked samphire
1 fl oz extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp good quality red wine vinegar

Directions:
Place the oil in a large pan.
Once warm, add the onions, carrots, celery,
chilli, marjoram, bay leaves and garlic.
Sweat for 20 minutes.
Season with salt, stir, then add the beans and water.
Cook for 10 minutes then stir in the radicchio and parmesan.
Remove.
For the salad, place the tomatoes in a bowl.
Add the basil, samphire and season.
Drizzle over the oil and vinegar, and toss.
Ladle the hot soup into four bowls
and spoon the cold salad on top.
Serve immediately.