Tuscan Tomato Bean Soup with Kale
User Reviews
4.9
Tuscan Tomato Bean Soup with Kale
Description
Tuscan Tomato Bean Soup with Kale uses dry white beans soaked overnight to ensure a tender but intact texture after simmering with sweet onions, garlic, carrots, and tomato paste. Fire-roasted canned tomatoes and vegetable stock form the base, while Italian bread chunks cook into the soup for thickness and rustic consistency. Parmesan cheese and rind add umami depth, with coarsely chopped Tuscan kale bringing earthy color and nutrition.
The soup is slowly simmered to allow the flavors to blend and the bread to partially disintegrate, thickening the broth and making it hearty without cream or flour. Seasoned with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes, the soup offers mild heat and savory complexity. The combination of beans, bread, and greens creates a textural balance from soft to slightly chewy.
Serve this soup with extra grated Parmesan on top for garnish. It works well as a substantial lunch or light dinner, paired with crusty bread if desired. The soup can be reheated gently and tastes even better after resting for flavor melding. The inclusion of kale boosts green vegetable content, while the Parmesan rind enriches without waste.
Notes suggest adjusting seasoning at the end for personal taste, as flavors deepen during cooking. The recipe is adapted from Real Simple and emphasizes attentive simmering to prevent sticking, making it suitable for cooks who can manage gentle heat control.
Ingredients
- 1 pound dry white beans soaked overnight, examples: navy, cannellini, etc
- 1 tablespoon butter unsalted
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion diced, sweet
- 4 garlic minced, cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper freshly cracked
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes crushed
- ¾ cup carrot chopped or sliced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 diced tomatoes fire roasted, canned 14 ounce
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 2 ½ cups Italian bread crusty, chunks
- ½ cup Parmesan Cheese plus more for topping, freshly grated
- 1 Parmesan Cheese rind
- 1 kale torn from stems and coarsely chopped, Tuscan, whole head
Instructions
- To soak the beans overnight, place them in a large bowl or pot and cover them with a few inches of water. Drain the beans in the morning.
- Heat a large pot over medium heat and add the butter and olive oil. Stir in the onion, garlic, salt, pepper and pepper flakes. Cook until the onions soften, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the carrots and cook for 5 minutes more. Stir in the tomato paste, stirring to coat all the vegetables in the pot.
- Add the diced tomatoes and vegetable stock. Add the bread in chunks. Stir in the beans, parmesan cheese and parmesan rind. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer and cover it. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom. If it is, reduce the heat!
- When the soup is finished, the bread will have mostly disintegrated into the soup. You can taste and season the soup here if you wish - add more salt and pepper if it doesn’t seem to have enough flavor. This step is important! All canned tomatoes can be different in salt quantities, so be sure to taste and adjust the flavor to your linking.
- 5 to 10 minutes before serving, stir in the kale. I love that the kale has a crisp chew and texture to it. If you prefer it to be softer and more wilted, you can add it in earlier or cook the soup a bit longer. The kale gets softer as it sits.
- Serve the soup with lots of grated parmesan for topping.
Notes
- This recipe is adapted from Real Simple magazine, incorporating traditional Tuscan soup elements.
- Adjust salt and pepper at the end after simmering to balance the flavors properly.
- Monitor cooking temperature carefully to prevent the soup from sticking to the pot during the long simmer.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
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