Tuscan Bread and Bean Soup
A traditional Tuscan Bread and Bean Soup Recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh cranberry beans
- extra virgin olive oil
- 1 shallot, diced
- 1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
- salt
- 4 stalks of celery
- 4 carrots
- 2 medium onions
- 1/4 teaspoon chopped rosemary
- 1 teaspoon chopped sage
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 1 bundle of kale, washed and torn into 1 in leaves
- 3 ripe tomatoes
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 loaf day-old Italian-style bread, cut into 1 in pieces
- pepper
- Parmesan Reggiano Cheese for garnishing
Instructions
- Soak cranberry beans over night, covered in water by 1 inch. The next day, drain the beans. Sauté a diced shallot in a couple tablespoons of olive oil, add the beans and thyme and a dash of salt, then cover with water by 1 inch and cook for about 30 minutes, or until soft but not falling apart. Reserve cooking liquid and set aside.
- While beans are cooking, dice the celery, carrot, and onions. Warm 1/2 cup olive oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot. Saute the diced vegetables, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the rosemary, sage, bay leaf, garlic and 2 teaspoons of salt. Cook for a couple of minutes. Finely chop the tomatoes and add into the mixture cooking for another 5 minutes. Cover with the broth and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the beans and 1 cup of their cooking liquid -save any extra liquid in case more is needed later. Taste for saltiness. Cook for an additional 5-10 minutes then remove the bay leaf.
- Meanwhile, coarsely chop the kale or tear into bite sized pieces, and cut the bread into 3/4 inch cubes- you will need about 6 cups of loosely packed cubes. Day-old (or several days old) bread is best; otherwise dry the cubes in a low oven. Add the kale to the soup, cooking just until it's wilted. At this point you can also add the bread or serve the soup with the bread to be mixed in with each portion. I personally like to toss a handful of bread into my bowl, then ladel the soup over the bread. I top it all off with grated Parmesan-Reggiano.
Notes
This soup is even better the day after it's made. A few tips - for more flavor add a piece of meaty prosciutto bone or a thick slice of pancetta to the beans. To thin the soup, add more broth or bean liquid, or water. The bread can be added in even if you're serving the soup the next day, or you can store the bread and mix it in right before serving.