A thick, rosemary-scented cannellini bean soup with cavolo nero, part of it blended so the broth turns creamy without any cream.
Prep
15 mins
Cook
45 mins
Servings
6
Per serving
£1.00
Difficulty
easy
This leans on the ribollita idea of a bean soup rich enough to stand a spoon in, but skips the bread so it stays coeliac-safe. Blending a third of the beans does the thickening job the bread normally would.
Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pan over a low heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook gently for 12 minutes until soft and translucent.
Stir in the garlic, chopped rosemary, bay leaves and chilli flakes and cook for two minutes, until the rosemary smells strongly resinous.
Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for five minutes, letting them reduce and darken slightly before any liquid goes in.
Cooking the tomato down before adding stock concentrates it. Add the stock too early and the soup tastes thin and watery no matter how long it simmers.
Tip in three quarters of the beans and all the stock. Season with the salt and pepper, bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, blend the remaining beans with a ladleful of the hot soup liquid until completely smooth.
Stir the bean puree back into the pan. The soup will thicken noticeably and turn a creamy pale colour.
Add the torn cavolo nero and simmer for a final 8 to 10 minutes, until the leaves are tender but still dark green. Fish out the bay leaves.
Taste and add more salt if it needs it, then ladle into bowls and pour a generous thread of extra virgin olive oil over each one.
The finishing oil is not a garnish here. Raw, peppery oil stirred in at the table is most of what makes this taste Tuscan rather than generic.