Chicory (cicoria in Italian) is one of my very favorite greens. It brings back memories of Angelina for whom cicoria and escarole were almost daily staples. Maybe that’s why she lived well into her 90s… A great weeknight dinner option, the recipe for chicory and rice soup is very fast, very simple and very healthy. (If you omit the cheese at the end, it’s entirely vegan.)
Ingredients
Serves 4-6 people
- 2 heads of chicory
- 2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and slightly crushed
- Olive oil, preferably of the dark green ‘fruity’ kind
- 200g (7 oz) of rice
- Salt and pepper
- Grated pecorino romano cheese for topping (optional)
Directions
You trim and cut up the chicory (or just the green parts—see Notes below) into smallish pieces, throw it into some well salted boiling water and cook for about 5 minutes or so.
You then transfer the chicory (use a slotted spoon, as you’ll need the “broth” for later) into a pan in which you will have sautéed the garlic in olive oil. Let the chicory insaporire—absorb the flavors of the seasoned oil—for a minute or two, then add a few ladlefuls of the chicory ‘broth’ until you have the quantity of soup you like.
Add rice and allow to simmer until the rice and chicory are tender. (If you have some cooked rice on hand, just add it at the very end, as when I made this soup, using some leftover white rice from a Chinese restaurant).
Serve your chicory and rice soup in deep plates and top with pecorino cheese, freshly ground pepper and un filo d’olio–a drizzle of olive oil.
Notes
Variations: You can add potatoes in addition to, or instead of, the rice. You can also substitute soup pasta for the rice. For a softer taste, use chopped onion instead of (or in addition to) the garlic. You can add hot red pepper in addition to garlic to the oil as well if you want a little ‘heat’. And you can use butter instead of (or in addition to) the olive oil. For a richer dish, use chicken broth instead of the chicory broth. If you omit the rice, etc. altogether, and instead add some beaten egg mixed pecorino, you’ll have another favorite soup, cicoria cacio e uova.
Other ways to make chicory: Chicory is a versatile vegetable. Without the addition of broth, the recipe above becomes a great side dish. It goes very well with fava beans, as well. Chicory makes for a quick and tasty condimento for pasta. The white ‘heart’ of the cicoria is also a wonderful salad green, either as part of a mixed salad or–my favorite–as a substitute for punterelle, a special kind of chicory grown around Rome that is dressed with a very particular salsina made as follows: in a mortar and pestle, crush garlic, anchovy fillets and a bit of salt together until they make a paste, then add olive oil, a bit of vinegar and lots of freshly ground pepper. (NB: This is the only instance that I know of in Italian cooking that a salad dressing is made separately from the salad–the exception that proves the rule, I guess.) Served with some crusty bread and cold white wine, this salad is so satisfying, it’s a meal in itself!
Minestra di riso e cicoria (Chicory and Rice Soup)
Ingredients
- 2 heads of chicory
- 2-3 cloves of garlic peeled and slightly crushed
- Olive oil preferably of the dark green 'fruity' kind
- 200 g 7 oz of rice
- Salt and pepper
- Grated pecorino romano cheese for topping optional
Instructions
- You trim and cut up the chicory (or just the green parts—see Notes below) into smallish pieces, throw it into some well salted boiling water and cook for about 5 minutes or so.
- You then transfer the chicory (use a slotted spoon, as you'll need the "broth" for later) into a pan in which you will have sautéed the garlic in olive oil. Let the chicory insaporire—absorb the flavors of the seasoned oil—for a minute or two, then add a few ladlefuls of the chicory 'broth' until you have the quantity of soup you like.
- Add rice and allow to simmer until the rice and chicory are tender. (If you have some cooked rice on hand, just add it at the very end, as when I made this soup, using some leftover white rice from a Chinese restaurant).
- Serve your chicory and rice soup in deep plates and top with pecorino cheese, freshly ground pepper and un filo d'olio--a drizzle of olive oil.
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20 Comments on “Minestra di riso e cicoria (Chicory and Rice Soup)”
Just found you today and couldn’t be happier. I made this with endive, because that’s what I had in the fridge, and little conchiglie pasta. Delicious. A dab of butter was a great idea.
So glad you liked it, Jo!
Finally got a hold of chicory and tried this recipe. Heavenly – balancing the hint of natural chicory bitterness against a touch of spicy Pecorino, brought together by a drizzle of fruity olive oil, on a bed of creamy rice broth. So simple, yet so good.
Since I have never eaten this soup before, I would like to understand better how long to simmer the rice/chicory base. I have given it 10+ minutes, resulting in an almost porridge-like (i.e. Asian rice porridge) consistency. Is this what the recipe is aiming for? Or is more desirable to cook the rice just long enough so that the rice only reaches sort of “al dente” consistency? Thank you.
I most appreciate you documenting all these incredible authentic Italian recipes, so that we can cook and enjoy them with our families and friends, keeping them alive for generations to come.
It’s really up to you. There’s no right or wrong here, although for me I prefer it when the rice is a bit beyond al dente, fully cooked but not yet at the porridge stage. Timing can vary a lot depending on the kind of rice you use.
Thanks so much for your readership! I’m delightedto hear you’re enjoying the blog and cooking the recipes for your family and friends. 🙂
Thank you Frank, makes sense.
Perfect on a late winter evening. Such amazing flavor from a few ingredients. The pecorino was perfect with it. Thank you for preserving these wonderful traditions!
Una delle mie ricette preferite di “Memorie”, ci torno sempre quando ho le foglie di cicoria che mi rimangono dalle puntarelle. Grazie, Frank!
Grazie a te, Daria per il tuo gentilissimo commento! 🙂
Dear Duespaghetti, if you have a windowsill or better, why not try growing some cicoria? The simple kinds, like in this recipe, grow like weeds! Any seeds with Catalogna in the name will work.
You can also learn to love dandelions, like the Greeks!
Sounds delicious and reminds me of this: http://www.thewednesdaychef.com/the_wednesday_chef/2013/02/marcella-hazans-broccoli-and-pasta-soup.html
Stefano’s Nonna Pierina had hardly even left her native Lazio when she came to visit in the U.S.. We still laugh at the memory of her exclaiming in awe, “Ma guarda la cicoria!” when she noticed the pesky dandelions growing in people’s yards. We’ve had greens on our mind lately, and this looks delicious – the potato version has me hooked. But do tell – can you find cicoria out east? Sadly, it’s not available here.
E’ sempre un piacere passare da te, anche questa volta hai proposto un piatto che sa di famiglia ,di affetti, di tradizione…Grazie !
Grazie, Chiara, altrettanto!
Frank! I love this, so simple and green!
Looks so pretty in your colorful soup bowl.
LL
Thanks, Lori!
Frank, Grazie e grazie tante, sarebbe bello ricevere un menu diario, capisco la difficolta´e mi contento di quello che ci mandi, ci fai ricordare ogni volta quanto e´bella ed importante la nostra cucina Italiana, non importa la regione.
Un abbraccio e tante belle cose.
Vittorio Orsi
Grazie a te, Vittorio! Magari io potessi scrivere ogni giorno, sarebbe bello anche per me. Ma sai, in settimana il lavoro non lascia tempo per nient’altro!
So perfect on these chilly winter eves… and who doesn’t want to live until they are 90?
I know I do!
These promise to be delicious. Thanks!