Traditional Tuscan White Bean and Kale Soup

Last year, our Tuscan adventure helped me collect wonderful recipes and cookbooks that I am gradually and happily trying, including this Tuscan white bean and kale soup that our friend Roberto, from the hilltop village of Monticchiello, shared with me.

Whenever I make it, I think of winter.

I remember my first Italian winters vividly. I was born in Venezuela, where winter simply doesn’t exist, so the cold came as quite a shock. I clearly remember two sensations: the lack of physical flexibility (layers upon layers of socks, itchy wool sweaters, coats, scarves and hats) and, strangely enough, aching cheeks. Don’t ask me why.

Time, however, taught me not only how to survive winter, but how to love it. Now I almost look forward to it. Winter is the season of coziness, and I adore coziness.

I have a few secrets: oversized boots that hide the thickest socks imaginable, hats, litres of burning hot tea, the occasional spirit… and comforting Tuscan soups.

Tuscan white bean and kale soup recipe #gourmetproject #fallrecipes

Why I Love Tuscan Winter Soups

I love Tuscany in winter, especially some parts of it. They seem built from traces of snow, chimney ashes, and an old man slowly sipping from a glass of robust, dense, almost offensive red wine.

Everything feels comforting, especially the rustic wooden tables that welcome you, whoever you are and wherever you’ve come from.

Tuscan cuisine certainly has pasta (I mean, have you ever had pici?), but soups play an equally important role as the primo piatto. Served with toasted bread and a generous shower of grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Toscano, they are an adventure from the very first moment.

It begins when the bowl arrives at the table and you breathe in its aroma. Then comes the inevitable moment when you touch it too soon and burn your fingers. But my favourite part always comes towards the end, when a piece of bread has absorbed every drop of the soup, bringing together every flavour, every hue and every texture in a single bite.

A Soup from Monticchiello

This recipe came from Roberto, whom we met during our stay in Monticchiello.

Like so many of the recipes I bring home from my travels, it wasn’t written in a notebook or found in an old cookbook. It was shared over a conversation, one of those quiet exchanges that often become the memories I treasure the most.

Simple, nourishing and deeply Tuscan, it’s exactly the kind of dish I crave on cold, windy winter days.

Tuscan white bean and kale soup recipe #gourmetproject
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Tuscan white bean and kale soup recipe

Course Soup
Cuisine Italian
Servings 2
Author Claudia Rinaldi | Gourmet Project

Ingredients

  • 1 fresh onion
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 bunch of kale
  • 2 medium potatoes
  • 1 can white cannellini beans (pre-cooked) 17.5 oz
  • 1 cup of tomato puree
  • 2 cups of water
  • salt
  • extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 slices of Italian bread Casareccio - sourdough is the best

Instructions

  1. Peel and dice the potatoes. Trim (remove the stem and center vein) and julienne the kale.

  2. Peel and thinly chop carrots and onion.

  3. Brown them in a medium-size pot with a few tablespoons of olive oil.

  4. Add the tomato puree, stir and let cook a few minutes.

  5. Add potatoes, kale and a teaspoon of salt and stir. Add water and cook for about an hour.

  6. After 30 minutes, puree half of the beans and add both the bean cream and the whole beans to the soup.

  7. When the cooking hour has passed, serve the soup hot into bowls where you have previously laid sliced Italian bread.

  8. You can season the soup with parmesan or pecorino cheese, olive oil or crunchy toasted pancetta (my fave).

Enjoy your Tuscan soup!

Claudia