Name: Hearty Tuscan White Bean Soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1/4 cup (50g) extra virgin olive oil; 3 medium shallots, minced (150g minced); 2 large carrots, chopped into half moons (160g chopped); 2 stalks celery, diced (160g chopped); 1 tbsp tomato paste; 5 cloves garlic, minced (15g minced); 2 ½ tsp dried Italian herbs (or 1 tsp each of dried basil, oregano, and parsley); 1 tsp finely minced fresh thyme (optional); 2 tsp aleppo pepper; 2 cans (14 oz or 15 oz) cannellini beans, butter beans, or any white bean, drained and rinsed; 2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, plus more as needed (I used 4 tsp total); 2 bay leaves (optional); 4 cups water or stock; 2 cups (40g) finely chopped dino kale (sub with spinach)

Description

This Tuscan white bean soup is packed with herbs, shallots, garlic, beans, and all the good stuff you crave in the winter. Make a big batch ahead of the week or whip it up on the weekend – you can’t go wrong with this recipe. It’s a new family staple!

Ingredients

Scale

1/4 cup (50g) extra virgin olive oil
3 medium shallots, minced (150g minced)
2 large carrots, chopped into half moons (160g chopped)
2 stalks celery, diced (160g chopped)
1 tbsp tomato paste
5 cloves garlic, minced (15g minced)
2 ½ tsp dried Italian herbs (or 1 tsp each of dried basil, oregano, and parsley)
1 tsp finely minced fresh thyme (optional)
2 tsp aleppo pepper
2 cans (14 oz or 15 oz) cannellini beans, butter beans, or any white bean, drained and rinsed
2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, plus more as needed (I used 4 tsp total)
2 bay leaves (optional)
4 cups water or stock
2 cups (40g) finely chopped dino kale (sub with spinach)

Instructions

Saute the shallots. To a large pot or Dutch oven, add the olive oil and shallots. Heat the pot over medium heat and let the shallots cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes until translucent.
Cook down the sofrito. Next, add in the carrots and celery, and continue to cook for an additional 10-12 minutes (make sure to stir now and again). It’s super important to let the sofrito mixture cook down as it’ll build tons of flavor and caramelize the carrots.
Add in the tomato paste and garlic, and bloom spices. Add the tomato paste and garlic towards the tail end of cooking down the sofrito mixture – I like adding the garlic at the end of the saute so there’s enough time to toast it without burning it. Saute for an additional 2 minutes to toast the garlic and cook off the sharpness of the tomato paste. Then sprinkle in the dried herbs and aleppo pepper, and stir to bloom the spices, about 1 minute.
Simmer the soup. Finally, add the beans, salt, bay leaves, and water/stock. Stir to combine. Cover the pot partially with a lid, reduce the heat to medium-low, and let the soup simmer for 10-15 minutes. Taste the broth and adjust for salt as needed.
Blend some of the soup. Once 15 minutes is up, remove 1 cup of the soup and blend it in a high-speed blender or a jar with an immersion blender. Pour the blended soup back into the pot, along with the kale, and stir to combine. Continue to simmer the soup until the kale (or spinach) has wilted, about 10 minutes. Keep in mind that the longer you simmer this soup, the more flavor will develop. Season with additional salt if needed, before serving.