Pink Bean Soup With Radicchio

• 1/4 pound pink beans, preferably Spanish habichuelas rosadas
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 2 heads radicchio
• 2 1/2 cups liquid (veal stock, chicken stock, cooking liquid from other radicchio recipes or a combination of these)
• Kosher salt to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 medium-size potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks, cooked in boiling salted water until almost done
• 2 teaspoons shredded fresh basil leaves
• 2 teaspoons fruity olive oil
• Grated Parmesan cheese

1. Rinse beans.
2. In a small soup pot, add beans and 2 1/2 cups water.
3. Bring quickly to a boil, shut off heat and cover.
4. Allow to sit 1 hour.
5. Put radicchio in a saucepan and add stock.
6. Simmer for 40 minutes, turning once.
7. Drain, but reserve cooking liquid.
8. Cut radicchio crosswise into half-inch strips.
9. There should be about a cup.
10. Drain and rinse beans.
11. Return to soup pot and cover with reserved cooking liquid.
12. Simmer 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until tender.
13. Stir in cooked and sliced radicchio, plus salt and pepper to taste .
14. Add remaining ingredients, except cheese, and reheat to boiling.
15. Remove from heat and serve with Parmesan cheese.

beans, water, radicchio, liquid, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, potato, fresh basil, olive oil, parmesan cheese

Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1177 (may not work)