Tuscan Kale & White Bean Bread Soup

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A thick, spoon-standing Tuscan soup built on a slow-cooked soffritto, cannellini beans and lacinato kale, then thickened with torn day-old bread until it turns velvety. Half the beans get mashed for body, so there's no dairy anywhere — just good olive oil, vegetables and time. Even better reheated the next day, which is exactly how it got its name.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots, finely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp tomato paste

• 2 cans (15 oz each) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with their juice
• 6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 small russet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1/2 small head savoy cabbage, cored and shredded (about 4 cups)
• 1 large bunch lacinato kale, stems removed, leaves torn (about 6 cups)
• 1 piece (2-inch) parmesan-style rind substitute: dried porcini mushrooms
• 2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

• 8 oz day-old crusty country bread, crusts on, torn into 1-inch pieces (about 5 cups)
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Instructions

1. Heat 1/3 cup olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy 6-quart pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and cook, stirring every couple of minutes, for 15 to 18 minutes, until the vegetables are very soft, sweet-smelling and just starting to color at the edges. This slow start is what gives ribollita its depth, so don't rush it.
2. Stir in the sliced garlic, rosemary and red pepper flakes and cook 1 minute, until fragrant. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes more, until it darkens to brick red and coats the vegetables.
3. Scoop about 1 cup of the drained cannellini beans into a bowl and mash them to a coarse paste with a fork or potato masher. Set aside — this replaces any cream or cheese for thickening.
4. Add the diced tomatoes with their juice to the pot and cook 3 to 4 minutes, scraping the bottom, until the liquid has mostly reduced. Pour in the vegetable broth, then add the potato, dried porcini, whole beans, mashed beans, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and the black pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat.
5. Reduce to a bare simmer, cover partly, and cook 20 minutes, until the potato is tender enough to crush against the side of the pot.
6. Stir in the shredded cabbage and cook uncovered 15 minutes, then add the torn kale and simmer 10 minutes more, until both greens are silky and fully tender — Tuscan greens here should be soft, not crisp. Fish out and finely chop the softened porcini, then stir them back in.
7. Add the torn bread, pressing it down into the soup with a spoon. Simmer over low heat 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bread dissolves into the broth and the soup is thick enough that a spoon dragged through it leaves a trail. If it tightens too much, loosen with 1/2 cup hot water at a time.
8. Turn off the heat, stir in the red wine vinegar, and taste carefully for salt — bread soaks up a lot of seasoning, so it will likely need another 1/2 teaspoon. Let the pot rest off the heat 10 minutes before serving.
9. Ladle into wide bowls, drizzle each generously with olive oil (about 1 1/2 teaspoons per bowl) and scatter with parsley and a few extra grinds of black pepper.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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