Hearty Minestra Base with Cranberry Beans, Potatoes, and Pork - Cranberry Beans

Method

• Drain the soaked beans and put them in the pot with the water, potatoes, bay leaves, and peperoncino.
• Cover, and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally so nothing scorches on the bottom of the pot.
• While the water is heating, make the pestata in the food processor, chopping the bacon, rosemary, and garlic to a fine paste.
• Scrape every bit into the soup pot.
• Rinse in hot water the spare ribs, pork hock, or other bony pork, and add it to the pot too.
• 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.
• Skim the fat or residue from the pork now and then, as it collects on the surface.
• Meanwhile, prepare the soffritto.
• Pour the oil into a small skillet, stir in the onion, and set over medium heat.
• Cook the onion, stirring, until wilted, about 6 minutes.
• Crush the tomatoes into bits with your hands, and pour them with all the juices into the skillet.
• Stir in the 2 teaspoons salt, and simmer rapidly for about 5 minutes, until the juices have reduced a bit.
• 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.
• 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).
• If theres too much broth, raise the heat and cook uncovered, but stir frequently to prevent burning.
• Taste the soup when reduced, and correct seasoning.
• Take some of the base for a finished soup now if you want, or let the whole pot cool.
• 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.
• Keep the soup refrigerated for 3 or 4 days, or freeze, in filled and tightly sealed containers, for 4 to 6 months
• 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.
• 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.
• Italian sausages and kielbasa are also great cooked this way.
• Wash meat well with hot water before, or you might give it a quick boil before adding to the pot.
• 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.
• Remove the meat when tender, keep warm until ready, slice, and serve on a plattermoistened with a ladle of delicious minestra broth.
• 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.
• Then just follow the recipes for the base and any of the finished minestre.