Black kale is typical of Tuscan cuisine, and is indeed also called Tuscan kale, with long leaves that are dark green, almost black. In Tuscan cooking, it is used mainly in ‘ribollita’, but here we will make a soup for a complete meal, finished with homemade bread croutons.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 12 Hours
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Other
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients
- 14 oz black kale
- 10.5 oz dried cannellini beans
- 1 fresh spring onion
- 1 carrot
- 1 celery stalk
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 leaves bay leaf
- 1 peeled tomato
- to taste vegetable broth
- salt
- chili pepper (to taste)
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
Steps
If using dried beans, soak them in cold water the night before. In the morning, place them in a saucepan with clean water and bring to a boil. Cook them for about an hour with a bay leaf.
Chop the celery, onion, and carrot and sauté them in a terracotta pot with 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, add the crushed garlic and let it brown.
Add a couple of peeled tomatoes and the beans, cook for 10 minutes. Roughly chop the black kale leaves and add them to the pot, add a few ladles of broth and cook for 20 minutes, season with salt, and if it dries out too much, add a ladle of broth to continue cooking. If you like, add some chili pepper. Cut the homemade bread into cubes and toast it in a non-stick pan. Serve the soup garnished with the croutons.
