Umbria
A thick, fortifying soup from the Umbrian hinterland — dried borlotti beans slow-cooked with a prosciutto bone (the knuckle of a Norcia prosciutto after the meat has been sliced away) and Tuscan kale (cavolo nero), finished with a drizzle of Umbrian olive oil and grilled bread. The prosciutto bone perfumes the broth with a sweet, cured-meat character quite different from fresh pork.
Sweet-salty from the prosciutto bone; earthy borlotti beans; slightly bitter cavolo nero; olive oil gives grass and pepper — a soup with the accumulated flavour of a whole prosciutto's ageing cycle distilled into one bowl
{"The prosciutto bone must be cracked to expose the marrow — this is what gives the broth its distinctive sweet-salty depth","Soak borlotti overnight; add the prosciutto bone to cold water and bring up together from the start","Add cavolo nero (stripped from its central rib and torn) in the last 20 minutes — it wilts and becomes silky without losing its colour","Pass a third of the cooked beans through a mouli and stir back in — this creates natural creaminess without cream","Season at the end only — the prosciutto bone releases salt slowly throughout cooking"}
{"The meat on the prosciutto bone, once tender, is extraordinary — pick it off and serve in the soup","A drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar (Umbrian vin cotto) over the finished soup is the classic modern Umbrian enhancement","This soup is the definitive use for a prosciutto bone — ask your salumeria to save them"}
{"Uncracked prosciutto bone — the marrow stays inside the bone and doesn't contribute to the broth","Adding cavolo nero at the start — 2 hours of cooking turns it yellow and bitter","Not passing any beans — the soup without the natural thickening from mouli'd beans is too thin"}
La Cucina Umbra — Tartufo, Olio e Legumi