Hearty Minestra Base with Cranberry Beans, Potatoes, and Pork

• 1 1/2 cups dried cranberry beans, soaked overnight or quick-soaked (see box, page 59)
• 5 quarts cold water
• 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch cubes (about 5 cups)
• 3 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon dried peperoncino (hot red pepper flakes), or to taste
• 3 ounces smoked bacon, cut in 1-inch pieces (about 1/2 cup packed)
• 1 tablespoon (packed) fresh rosemary leaves, stripped from the stem
• 8 plump garlic cloves, peeled (about 1/4 cup)
• 1 pound bony fresh pork: a small slab of spare ribs, pork hock, or pork neck (for more meat to eat, see below)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup canned San Marzano tomatoes and juices (see box, page 124)
• 2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
• A heavy-bottomed soup pot, 8-quart capacity, with a cover
• A food processor for the pestata

1. Drain the soaked beans and put them in the pot with the water, potatoes, bay leaves, and peperoncino.
2. Cover, and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally so nothing scorches on the bottom of the pot.
3. While the water is heating, make the pestata in the food processor, chopping the bacon, rosemary, and garlic to a fine paste.
4. Scrape every bit into the soup pot.
5. Rinse in hot water the spare ribs, pork hock, or other bony pork, and add it to the pot too.
6. When the water is at a full boil, set the cover on ajar; adjust the heat to maintain a steady gentle boiling, and cook for an hour to 1 1/2 hours, until the beans and the potatoes are tender and are beginning to break apart.
7. Skim the fat or residue from the pork now and then, as it collects on the surface.
8. Meanwhile, prepare the soffritto.
9. Pour the oil into a small skillet, stir in the onion, and set over medium heat.
10. Cook the onion, stirring, until wilted, about 6 minutes.
11. Crush the tomatoes into bits with your hands, and pour them with all the juices into the skillet.
12. Stir in the 2 teaspoons salt, and simmer rapidly for about 5 minutes, until the juices have reduced a bit.
13. When the beans are tender, pour the tomato mixture into them, dipping the skillet into the soup pot to slosh out every bit, and keep the minestra boiling.
14. Cook the minestra for another hour or more, 2 1/2 to 3 hours total, until the volume has reduced to about 4 quarts (about midway up an 8-quart pot, when you take out any bones and meat).
15. If theres too much broth, raise the heat and cook uncovered, but stir frequently to prevent burning.
16. Taste the soup when reduced, and correct seasoning.
17. Take some of the base for a finished soup now if you want, or let the whole pot cool.
18. Before using or storing, lift out the pork bones, pick off all the meat, shred it, and stir into the base; pick out the bay leaves and discard.
19. Keep the soup refrigerated for 3 or 4 days, or freeze, in filled and tightly sealed containers, for 4 to 6 months
20. I will often add extra pork pieces to the big minestra pot for an hour of so of cooking, then serve the meat as a separate course.
21. If your pot is big enough, you should be able to drop in a pound or more of meat, either bony spare ribs or hocks, or meatier cuts, such as pork butt or country-style ribs, in addition to the ones already cooking with the soup.
22. Italian sausages and kielbasa are also great cooked this way.
23. Wash meat well with hot water before, or you might give it a quick boil before adding to the pot.
24. You can cook such main-course meat anytime the minestra is perking away, though it will take on the best flavor after youve added the tomato-onion soffritto and salt.
25. Remove the meat when tender, keep warm until ready, slice, and serve on a plattermoistened with a ladle of delicious minestra broth.
26. If you prefer a vegetarian minestra, flavor it during the long cooking with an herb pesto instead of the bacon pestata: in the food processor, chop the garlic and rosemary in 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil, and scrape this into the soup pot as it comes to the boil.
27. Then just follow the recipes for the base and any of the finished minestre.

cranberry beans, cold water, russet potatoes, bay leaves, peperoncino, bacon, rosemary, garlic, pork, extravirgin olive oil, onion, tomatoes, salt, processor

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/hearty-minestra-base-with-cranberry-beans-potatoes-and-pork-384415 (may not work)