Pot O Soup

To make an enormous pot of soup you need a bunch of Swiss chard, ribs and stems, chopped coarsely and cooked until just tender in very little water but with a good amount of salt (don't go overboard on the salt, you can always add later). Reserve the cooking water and any juices that drain from the chard. Saute four chopped big cloves of garlic until golden in enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the soup pot, then stir in chopped anchovies to taste (I use at least four big filets) and a branch of rosemary (do not used dried rosemary), cook a few minutes, add the chard and cook a bit, then stir in about 2 1/4-1/2 pounds (preshelled weight) of shelled fresh cranberry beans, or a large can of well rinsed canellini beans. Add the reserved cooking liquid and enough water to cover the beans by a couple of inches. If using dried beans, cook them separately and stir in at the end. Remove the rosemary sprig. Separately cook some small pasta like ditalini, and then put some ditalini in a generously sized soup bowl, add ladles of soup and add a generous amount of freshly grated parmesan. 

Serve with crusty bread, toasted, brushed with olive oil.

I also made a big cucumber salad with feta, red onion, and chopped fresh dill.