Tuscan kale, white bean and pasta soup

5 from 46 votes

Tuscan kale, white bean and pasta soup

This Tuscan kale, white bean and pasta soup from Tuscany is warming and nutritious and hearty enough to be eaten as a meal on its own or makes a great starter to a cold weather family lunch.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1

Course: Main Course, Soup, starter

Cuisine: Central Italy, Italian, Mediterranean, Tuscany

Keyword: authentic Italian pasta recipe, cannellini, kale and bean soup, kale soup, pasta soup, Tuscan cuisine, Tuscan kale

Servings:

Calories: 451kcal

Author: Jacqui

Ingredients

400 g cooked cannellini beans (14oz) 160 g dried beans (5.5oz)
250 g Tuscan kale (9oz)
1 Lt vegetable stock (4 cups)
1 celery stalk washed and chopped
2 carrots washed and chopped
1 onion peeled and chopped
200 g cherry tomatoes (7oz) washed and halved or passata
1 garlic clove peeled and chopped
1 sprig fresh rosemary chopped
2 bay leaves
150 g soup pasta (5 oz) tripolini, orzo, ditalini etc
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper. to taste
3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil.
50 g Parmigiano Reggiano (1.7 oz) optional or vegetarian parmesan or vegan cheese

Instructions

Prepare the ingredients

If using dried beans, soak them in salted water overnight. Then rinse and cook covered in fresh salted water for about 1 hour or until ready.
Eliminate the central stem of the kale leaves. This is best done by folding the leaves in half and cutting the stem off from the back. As you remove the stems, cut the kale leaves in half or in three pieces, then put them in a large bowl of water. Wash and then rinse the chopped kale leaves well.
Peel and chop the onion, peel and chop the garlic, chop the rosemary and wash and chop the carrots and celery. Wash the cherry tomatoes if using and cut them in half.

Make the Tuscan kale, white bean and pasta soup

Sauté the garlic, onion, carrots and celery in olive oil until they start to soften. Next, add the cherry tomatoes and continue cooking until the tomatoes soften, then add the kale. Once the kale has wilted add the cooked or canned beans then the bay leaves, rosemary, salt and pepper. Mix everything together well and then pour in enough stock or hot water to cover the beans and vegetables.
Cook the soup for about 40-45 minutes on a medium to low heat. Finally add the pasta and more hot stock or water if necessary and cook until the pasta is al dente. Serve immediately with toasted bread, a dash of extra virgin olive oil and some grated parmigiano.

Notes

Italian parmigiano isn’t vegetarian so strict vegetarians will want to use a vegetarian parmesan. This recipe is vegan if served without cheese.

For how to conserve leftovers see text above.

You can add other vegetables to this soup such as zucchini. You can also replace the pasta with potatoes. These need to be peeled and cut into cubes and added with the stock.

Nutrition