Tuscan Bean Soup Recipes

TUSCAN VEGETABLE SOUP

Steps:

• In a small bowl mash half of the beans with a masher or the back of a spoon, and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, garlic, thyme, sage, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and cook stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
• Add the broth and tomatoes with the juice and bring to a boil. Add the mashed and whole beans and the spinach leaves and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes more.
• Serve topped with Parmesan, if desired.

TUSCAN BEAN SOUP (RIBOLLITA)

Steps:

• Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat; saute onion, carrots, celery, and garlic until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add zucchini and cook until slightly softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir vegetable stock, cannellini beans, chopped tomatoes, chicken stock, and pesto into vegetable mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until vegetables are tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet or frying pan over medium heat; saute spinach until wilted, about 5 minutes. Spoon sauteed spinach into each serving bowl; ladle soup over spinach.

TUSCAN BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and onions and cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes, getting lots of flavor in the bottom of the pot. Stir in the red pepper flakes and dried oregano; cook and stir for another 30 seconds.
• Pour in the wine and whisk, scraping the bottom of the pot a bit as you go. Allow this to bubble up and reduce, cooking until the wine is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes, then the beans. Pour in the chicken broth. Stir to combine, bring to a simmer and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Sprinkle in salt and pepper to taste.
• Rinse the kale and tear it into chunks. Stir it into the soup (it'll shrink quite a bit, so don't be afraid when you first add it!). Simmer the soup for another 5 minutes, tasting and adding salt and pepper (or even more red pepper flakes) as needed.
• Transfer the soup to a large serving bowl. Add big, fat Parmesan shavings and garnish with torn basil.

CHEF JOHN'S TUSCAN BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pot. Add butter; allow butter to melt. Add onion, celery, and carrot and cook and stir until onion begins to turn translucent and golden, about 7 minutes. Stir in garlic; cook 1 more minute. Add beans and broth. Season with salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, and cayenne pepper. Set heat to medium high and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and let simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
• Place bread cubes in a saute pan. Drizzle with olive oil; season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Toast bread cubes over medium heat until golden brown and crunchy, tossing occasionally, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle grated cheese over the bread cubes and continue to brown cubes about 2 more minutes.
• Puree soup with an immersion blender until it is very smooth. Whisk in creme fraiche. Stir in lemon juice. Serve topped with browned bread cubes and chopped parsley.

TUSCAN BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Place the kidney beans in a medium pot, add water to cover by 2-inches and bring to a boil. (If using canned kidney beans, skip this step.) Turn the heat down, let simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until just-tender. Use the same process for the cannellini beans.
• In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the pancetta, rendering the fat and cooking until slightly crispy about 3 minutes. Saute the onion, celery, carrot and garlic for 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Add the diced tomatoes, the cooked and drained kidney beans, cannellini beans, chick peas, and the chicken stock. Using kitchen twine, tie the herbs and the bay leaf into a bundle and add to the pot. Season with the red chili flakes, salt and pepper. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, then add the kale. Continue cooking until the beans are completely tender.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Drizzle olive oil over the slices of peasant bread, season with a little salt and pepper and toast in the oven. Serve the soup in large bowls with grated Parmesan and a slice of toast.

RUSTIC RIBOLLITA (TUSCAN WHITE BEAN SOUP)

Steps:

• Chop all the produce.
• Set a large 7-8 quart saucepot over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the pot. Add in the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic. Generously season with salt and pepper. Sauté the veggies for 10 minutes, stirring regularly.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Set out a rimmed baking sheet. Tear the bread (sliced or unsliced) into chunks and place on the baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoon olive oil and toss well. Then spread the bread chunks out in an even layer. Toast in the oven for 8-10 minutes, flipping once. Set aside.
• To the soup pot, add in the vegetable broth, tomatoes, cannellini beans, parmesan, anchovy paste, oregano, bay leaf, and crushed red pepper.
• Partially cover the pot and simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium-low if needed. (If the soup base starts to thicken too much, feel free to add in 1-3 cups of water.)
• Add in the chopped kale and toasted bread pieces. Stir well and simmer another 5 minutes, until the bread disintegrates into the broth. The texture should be thick like a stew. Taste, then salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm.

TUSCAN SOUP

Steps:

• Remove skin from sausage and crumble into frying pan. Add chopped onion, and cook over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. If you are trying to cut fat, remove meat from pan, place in a colander, and rinse under cold water.
• Place meat in a large pot; add stock and potatoes. Boil until potato is cooked.
• Add spinach. Continue boiling until spinach is lightly cooked.
• Remove soup from heat, stir in evaporated milk, and season to taste. Do not add any salt if using canned stock.

TUSCAN BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• For the beans, Cut the pancetta into 1 inch thick slices, 2 inches long.
• In a large stock pot, cook the pancetta over medium heat until golden brown in color, then add the quartered onion, whole garlic cloves, and cook a couple of minutes in the oil rendered from the pancetta.
• Add the beans (drained), bay leaf, and 12 cups of water to the pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, and cook for about an hour and a half, or until the beans are almost tender.
• Remove from the heat, cover and let site 30 minutes.
• Drain the beans reserving the cooking water, and remove the bay leaf, onion, and garlic cloves.
• For the soup, heat the oil in the stock pot, and once hot add the onions, celery and carrots and cook until the onions are soft and translucent.
• Add the garlic, and cook until fragrant, then add the cooked beans, rosemary sprig, and 5 cups of the cooking liquid.
• Cook on low for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Remove the rosemary sprig and discard.
• Remove 1/3 of the bean mixture and pulse in a food processor until creamy.
• Alternately, you could use a wand blender and blend part of the beans.
• Return the pureed beans to the pot, and mix.
• Serve the soup in bowls, with a drizzle of the extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkling of cracked black pepper on each.
• Sprinkle a little fresh herbs just before serving.

TUSCAN KALE SOUP WITH WHITE BEANS

Steps:

• Heat dutch oven over medium high heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add pancetta and cook for 1 minute while stirring, until the pancetta begins to brown.
• Add onion, celery, carrots, and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium and cook 15 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Add garlic and cook while stirring for up to an additional minute, until fragrant. Add tomatoes and season with salt as needed. Simmer tomatoes for about 10 minutes, until they cook down to a jam-like consistency.
• Add beans, their cooking liquid, half the grated parmesan, and the parmesan rind. Add 3 to 4 cups chicken stock, as much as is needed to cover vegetables.
• Add 1/4 cup olive oil and bring the soup to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Add kale and cabbage. Bring to a simmer again and add more stock as needed to cover vegetables.
• Gently simmer for 20 more minutes, or until greens are tender and flavor is right. Season with salt to your taste. For a thinner lighter soup, add more stock.
• Remove parmesan rind and bay leaves, and optionally stir in a splash of fresh lemon juice before serving. Garnish soup bowls with drizzle of good quality olive oil and grated parmesan.

TUSCAN STYLE BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• In a large pot over medium high heat, combine the oil, onion and garlic and saute for 5 minutes. Add the red bell pepper and saute for 3 more minutes. Add the broth, tomatoes and beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the thyme, spinach and pasta. Simmer for 5 more minutes and pepper to taste.

TUSCAN BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the capicola, red onion and minced garlic. Cook, stirring, until the onion softens, about 2 minutes. Add the carrots and celery. Cook, stirring, until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Add the beans, tomatoes, 2 cups water, the parmesan rind, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook until the vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the parmesan rind.
• Meanwhile, lightly toast the bread; rub both sides with the whole garlic clove and sprinkle with grated parmesan. Stir the escarole into the soup and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 5 minutes. Top each serving of soup with a piece of toast. Drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil.