Great flavorful soup. I used half chicken broth and half water where the recipe called for water. Also used canned beans instead of soaked dried beans.
Tuscan Bean Soup
Author Nancy Harmon Jenkins uses olive oil three ways in this version of the venerable Italian soup: for sautéing garlic, rubbing on the toasts that accompany the dish, and finishing the soup.
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Credit: André Baranowski
2 cups dried cannellini beans, soaked overnight
2 medium carrots, roughly chopped
1 rib celery, roughly chopped
1⁄2 yellow onion, roughly chopped
3⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic (3 minced, 1 halved)
10 oz. squash, such as butternut,
peeled and cut into 1⁄2" cubes
(about 2 cups)
4 large kale leaves, preferably
lacinato or cavalo nero,
stemmed and chopped
1 medium waxy-style potato, peeled
and cut into 1⁄2" cubes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black
pepper, to taste
1⁄2 tsp. crushed fennel seeds
8 thick slices country-style bread
1. Drain beans and transfer to a 3-qt. saucepan along with half the carrots, the celery, the onions, and 5 cups water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low; simmer, covered, until beans are tender, 40–45 minutes. Set 3⁄4 cup beans aside; transfer the remaining beans and their cooking liquid to a blender and purée. Set puréed beans aside.
2. Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a 5-qt. pot over medium heat. Add minced garlic and cook, stirring often, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add reserved bean purée, along with the remaining carrots, the squash, kale, potato, and 1 cup water. Season with salt and pepper, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to medium-low; cook, covered, until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in the crushed fennel seeds and reserved whole beans. Meanwhile, toast the bread and rub it with the cut end of the halved garlic clove. Drizzle each toast with 1 tbsp. oil. To serve, place 1 to 2 pieces toasted bread in the bottom of soup bowls and ladle soup over the top. Drizzle soup with remaining oil.
SERVES 4 – 6
Ratings & Reviews (9)
I made the soup as is and while the taste is good I find it looks nothing like the picture. Because we purée half of it, it becomes opaque and a beigeish color, not clear like in the picture. OK taste but very unappetizing. There are other ribollita recipes on the Web better than this one (Jamie Oliver's comes to mind).
The soup had a lot of promise, but didn't deliver. It needed the addition of rosemary or sage and more garlic. The squash seemed to add a lot to the blandness and make it too sweet. The fennel seemed to get lost in such a big pot of soup.
We thought this was delicious!
Very nutritious but extremely bland. Would not make again.
Delicious. I used chicken broth + water as well. Could have used more beans though.
I think this is a great base recipe. Although it is great as is, it can always be modified to suit individual tastes. That's the great thing about cooking vs baking. Nothing is written in stone. I added some white wine and lemon thyme from my potted herb garden. I also doubled the garlic because I love garlic. I had a fourth of a small rutabaga and threw that in to use it up. Yummy!
Tasteless--we jacked it up with worcestershire sauce, parm cheese, italian sausage, oregano, a bay leaf. I doubt that any Italian would claim this as his/her own. But it's a good base soup, and begs some culinary experimentation. I wanted to throw some anchovies in there, but my husband nixed it--I think it would have given the broth more depth.
I was so eager to try this recipe because it sounded healthy and yummy. Ugh, I agree with some of the other posters who gave it a low rating. So disappointing after taking all the time to make it. It does not look like the picture, very bland, the butternut squash doesn't work with the other flavors, and needs a lot more garlic. I am thinking of doctoring it by adding tomatoes to give it some zing.
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