A Miraculous Sicilian Soup of Beans and Celery

And not much else!

At some point during most recent conversations I have, the topic of AI comes up. Speculating as to how it’ll upend the work we do, things typically turn either bleak or cautiously hopeful, or both, with everyone contributing some tidbit they’ve picked up from a podcast that sheds a glimmer of light into the future. Who knows what’s going to happen? Or what’s already started happening, for that matter? I certainly don’t.

But in the realm of “content creation” (not my favorite phrase) I think that the chasm between “information” and “knowledge” is going to spread a whole lot wider than already is the case, and that feels like a positive thing? I also think, or am at least hopeful, that while volume-oriented, SEO-enhanced internet “content” will take a hit, good writing (and “content”) will continue to distinguish itself. At least for those who appreciate it.

This was on my mind recently as I was doing some research for a recipe, and stumbled upon a COVID-era cooking video for ricotta “meatballs” from the Southern Italian food expert Rosetta Costantino. I found myself in an hours-long, delicious rabbit hole. An experienced and natural teacher, the knowledge so engrossed me, and felt like such a breath of fresh air.

It reminded me a bit of the blog days of the internet, which I experienced as full of passionate amateurs and savvy experts and many of us simply testing things out and soaking it in. Reflecting on the inevitable age of AI as I watched Rosetta’s videos, I thought: There must always be this. I can’t fathom AI being able to co-opt this kind of expertise.

This is a lengthy preamble to one very exciting discovery from my little journey: a recipe for bean and celery soup (Fasouli cu l’accia). I love the crunch and salty flavor of celery, and I’m even one of those people who’s sometimes called it an “underdog vegetable” because it so rarely steals the spotlight. I’m always looking for new ways to showcase it.

This brilliant Sicilian soup, which Rosetta describes as of the cucina povera tradition, combines two loves of mine, beans and celery, and it’s generous with the celery (a whole bunch!), which cooks to a melting-but-not-mushy tenderness along with white beans. And it’s so absurdly simple, you only need an onion, olive oil, and salt. In fact, the challenge is to resist the urge to add more stuff to the pot.

It may not be soup weather where you live, but for the soup-all-year folks and anyone still dealing with a chill outside, I encourage you to give this one a try. And if you ever find yourself feeling grim about the future of knowledge and information, go find a quality cooking instructor like Rosetta to restore your hope.

Recipe Video