Tuscan Bean Soup
- Time
- Soak: overnight / Prep: 15–20 minutes / Cooking time: 1½ hours
- Servings
- 4–6
Ingredients
- 3 cups cranberry or pinto beans
- 1 cup spelt or wheat berries (available at gourmet-food shops)
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- ½ pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
- 1 pound kale, preferably Tuscan, coarse stems removed, cut into thick ribbons
- 1 medium-large onion, diced
- 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
- 1 large rib celery, trimmed and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 5 cups homemade chicken stock, or canned low-sodium stock, plus more if needed
- 1 cup peeled, seeded, and diced tomatoes, or drained canned diced tomatoes
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 sprig fresh sage
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Method
- Soak beans and spelt overnight in separate bowls of cold water.
- Drain and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
- Add sausage.
- Cook stirring occasionally, until meat begins to separate and brown (3–5 minutes).
- Stir in kale, onion, carrot, celery, and garlic.
- Cook until softened (about 10 minutes).
- Add beans, spelt, chicken stock, and tomatoes.
- Bring to boil.
- Stir in rosemary and sage.
- Reduce heat.
- Simmer mixture for 60–70 minutes, until beans are tender; if soup is too thick, add chicken stock.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Ladle soup into bowls.
- Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle on cheese.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Have this soup first with bread, like ciabatta, then finish with some cold cuts, like salami and prosciutto.
- Instead of using spelt, you can substitute barley.
- If you can't find Tuscan kale, you can use regular kale, mustard greens, or Swiss chard.
- This soup tastes even better the next day.