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and minced cilantro.
    serves 8

Greens ’n’ Beans Soup
    This simple vegetable soup gets its rich flavor from escarole, creamy white beans, and the rind from Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Although you can put everything directly into the slow cooker, I recommend the sauté at the beginning to develop the flavors of the onion and garlic.
    2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    1 large sweet onion, coarsely chopped
    3 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
    2 carrots, coarsely chopped
    2 cloves garlic, minced
    2 heads escarole, tough outer leaves removed, cut into 1-inch pieces (see savvy)
    2 cups small white beans, picked over for stones, soaked, or two 15-ounce cans small white beans, drained and rinsed (see savvy)
    4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
    ¼ cup chopped rind from Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus ½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for garnishing (optional)
    Freshly ground black pepper
    Salt
    heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrots and sauté until the onion begins to soften. Add the garlic and continue to cook for about 2 minutes, until the vegetables are fragrant but not soft.
    transfer the contents of the skillet to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Top the vegetables with the escarole, stir in the beans, and pour the broth over the escarole. Add the cheese rind (if using) and ½ teaspoon of pepper and stir to combine.
    cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 4 hours or on high for 2 hours. Remove the cover and season with salt and pepper. serve the soup garnished with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, if desired.
    serves 8
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    bean savvy
    If you are in a hurry and don’t have time to soak the beans overnight, canned beans will work. Make sure to rinse and drain them in a sieve before adding them to the cooker.
    escarole savvy
    If escarole is pricey or not available, Swiss chard or Savoy cabbage are nice replacements. Chop the chard, including the stems, which will become tender during the long cooking process.
    slow-cooker addition
    Add 2 cups cooked chicken with the other ingredients and proceed as directed.

Many Bean Soup
    This hearty soup requires soaking the beans overnight and then putting everything in the slow cooker for the day. It’s a colorful, flavorful, and healthful choice for dinner, and your slow cooker makes it a no-brainer for a day when you want to come home to a bowl of comfort food. A loaf of crusty bread or freshly baked cornbread makes the perfect accompaniment.
    The choice of beans is up to you; it’s really more about color, texture, and the beans that you like. (You can double up on one type if that appeals.) I like to buy my beans at health food stores where they have bulk-food bins, so that I only buy what I need. Many markets sell a blend of beans for this soup, so you can keep a bag of beans in your pantry just in case of a soup emergency!
    ¼ cup dried red beans
    ¼ cup dried small white beans
    ¼ cup dried pinto beans
    ¼ cup dried kidney beans
    ¼ cup dried cranberry beans
    ¼ cup dried baby lima beans
    ¼ cup dried black-eyed peas
    ¼ cup dried green split peas
    ¼ cup dried yellow split peas
    ¼ cup dried red lentils
    ¼ cup dried brown lentils
    1 large onion, finely chopped
    3 medium carrots, chopped
    3 stalks celery, finely chopped
    2 teaspoons dried thyme
    1 bay leaf
    One 15-ounce can chopped plum tomatoes, with their juice
    1 smoked ham hock or ham bone
    8 cups chicken or vegetable broth
    Salt and freshly ground black pepper
    soak the red, white, pinto, kidney, cranberry, lima beans, and black-eyed peas overnight in water to cover. Drain and rinse thoroughly.
    add the soaked beans, split peas, and lentils to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients up through the broth and stir to combine.
    cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, until the beans are tender and the ham is falling off the bone.
    remove the ham hock or bone from the soup, chop any meat, removing the fat, and return the meat to