1 pound brown beans soaked overnight (I used the local Bruni Amaratini dei Volsini)

½ small onion, celery leaves and parsley sprigs

1 T olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 generous pinch of red pepper flakes

1 medium onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 medium carrots chopped

3" sprig rosemary, leaves coarsely chopped

½ c. or so chopped flat leaf parsley

1 medium potato, peeled and diced into ¼" cubes

1 15 oz. can chopped tomatoes, with their liquid

Another T of olive oil and some more chopped garlic

1 pound broccoli rabe, chopped and washed (other greens, i.e. mustard, are OK)

Salt and black pepper to taste

Toasted stale country bread

Piece of rind from parmigiano reggiano (optional)

Cook the beans with the onion, parsley sprigs and celery leaves in water to cover by 2" for 1-3 hours, until the beans start to get soft (a pinch of salt will help).  Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the garlic, red pepper flakes, chopped onion, celery, carrots, rosemary, and parsley, and sauté until the vegetables soften.  Add the diced potato, stir and cook until it starts to stick to the bottom of the pan, then add the cheese rind, tomatoes and a can full of water and cook, stirring frequently, for about 15 minutes.  When the beans are cooked, remove the onion and greens, then add the vegetable mixture to the pot.  At this point you may want to remove some of the bean mixture and puree it, or remove some of the beans and puree the rest of the mixture.  I don't have a food processor here, so I just had Larry mash some of the beans with a fork and then mashed the mixture against the pan with the back of the spoon as I stirred it.  Meanwhile, heat some oil in an another saucepan, add a bit of chopped garlic, then add the broccoli rabe with water still clinging to its leaves; put a lid on the pan and let the greens steam, stirring occasionally, until they soften.  Finally, add the greens to the soup mixture and adjust for salt and pepper.  Cook for another 30-60 minutes.  The soup is best if you let it cool and spend the night in the refrigerator before reheating and serving the next day, over toasted country bread with a bit of olive oil on top.