White bean velouté with salsa verde and candied pancetta

Restaurant: Comme Kitchen (VIC)
Recipe from Chef Daniel Southern (recipe from Gourmet Traveller website)
2010 Rating: Number 93, 1 Star

Its funny how sometimes you come across recipes. On this occasion the thinking process went a little something like this;

I have a leek and a can of beans, I wonder what I can make with them? Google my old friend, bingo....leek and bean soup.

So simple, and the recipe looks pretty darn simple too. So heres the recipe with the results to follow soon.


White bean velouté with salsa verde and candied pancetta
Serves 4

Cooking Time Prep time 20 mins, cook 1 hr 25 mins(plus resting, proving)

100 gm unsalted butter, coarsely chopped
2 leeks, white part only, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 thyme sprigs
1 fresh bay leaf
2.2 litres chicken stock
110 gm dried cannellini beans, soaked overnight in cold water, drained
200 ml thickened cream
120 gm round mild pancetta, thinly sliced (about 8 slices)
For dusting: pure icing sugar
Salsa verde
1 cup (loosely packed) flat-leaf parsley
½ cup (loosely packed) mint
¼ cup (loosely packed) basil
3 anchovy fillets, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp small capers in salt, rinsed
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
175 ml extra-virgin olive oil


1 Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat, add vegetables, garlic, thyme and bay leaf and stir occasionally until tender (7-10 minutes). Add stock and beans, bring to a gentle simmer and cook until beans are very soft (1-1¼ hours). Discard herbs, process mixture in a blender until smooth, pass through a fine sieve, stir through cream, season to taste and keep warm.

2 Meanwhile, preheat oven to 160C. Place pancetta on a baking-paper-lined oven tray, sift icing sugar over in a thin, even layer, top with baking paper and weight with another oven tray. Bake until crisp (10-12 minutes), set aside.

3 Meanwhile, for salsa verde, process herbs, anchovies, garlic, capers and mustard in a food processor until finely chopped. With motor running, add oil in a continuous stream until emulsified and set aside. Makes 270ml.

4 To serve, divide white bean velouté between bowls, drizzle with salsa verde and crumble over candied pancetta.