Tuscan Bean Soup | #Kitchen Therapy

It’s starting to feel like December when the temperature is dropping by each passing day. Ruth Reichl writes: “the Tuscan bean soup is one of the most consoling dishes I know, a sturdy soup I first tasted in a tiny Tuscan hill town.” I couldn’t have agreed more, especially on cold wintry days. Everything feels right with a simmering pot of soup on the stove. A bowl of hot bean soup seems to have the magic of curing all ails — in mind and body.

It also helps that almost all the ingredients can be retrieved from the pantry. I only needed to get some “nice ham bones.” I didn’t get exactly that. But a ham shank with quite a lot of meat on the bone fits the bill. It delivers a uniquely smoky and porky flavor. I’m surprised how satisfying and hefty the Tuscan bean soup is. All that’s needed is one pound of dry white cannellini or navy beans.

I did pull one trick from the refrigerator. Remember I blogged about the spiced cod with spinach and chickpea stew in the fall. The spinach stew/sauce from this recipe is something I’ve received a lot of positive feedbacks from family and friends. Now, I make it from time to time and put in on everything: vegetables, fishes or soups. There is chile pepper in it which gives the spinach sauce some heat. Great, it has become my homemade green chili sauce of sorts. Put in on the Tuscan bean soup. It imparts a shot of flavor that’d invariably knock you out of any doldrums!

Tuscan bean soup, garnished with Parmesan and spinach sauce

Print Recipe

Tuscan Bean Soup

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 pound dry white cannellini or navy beans
• 2 onions, quartered
• 1 nice meaty ham bone
• 2 stalks celery
• 1 carrot
• bay leaf
• parsley (optional)
• salt
• peppercorns
• Parmesan cheese, grated
• olive oil

Instructions

1

Pick over the beans, wash well, cover with a lot of water and let them sit overnight.

2

Drain the beans and add about three times as much water as you have beans in a large pot.

3

Add the onions, ham bone, celery, carrot, bay leaves and some parsley, together with salt and pepper.

4

Bring to a simmer, partially cover, and cook until the beans are completely soft, about 2 to 3 hours.

5

Remove the vegetables and the ham bone. Puree about half of the beans and stir them back into the pot so you end up with a chunky puree.

6

Taste for seasoning. If you're so inclined, strip the meat off the bones. Chop it up and stir it back into the soup.

7

Serve the soup with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil. (I added some spicy spinach sauce.)

Notes

Adapted from My Kitchen Year by Ruth Reichl