Tuscan Minestrone & Bread Soup

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Tuscan Minestrone & Bread Soup

 

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 red onion, chopped

1 leek, white part only, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

4 carrots, sliced into half-inch rounds

4 zucchini, sliced into half-inch rounds

One-quarter whole Savoy cabbage, shredded and chopped

1 bunch cavolo nero or kale

1 small bunch spinach, shredded and chopped

4 potatoes, peeled and cut into one-half inch cubes

1 cup green beans, cut into bite-size pieces

2 cups Tuscan white beans, one-half cup pureed and one-half cup whole

2 tablespoons coarse sea salt or kosher salt

4 tablespoons tomato paste

2 cups Tuscan white beans, one-half cup pureed and one-half cup whole

1 pound stale Italian bread, sliced

 

Heat the olive oil in a large pot and sauté the onion and leek

together over low heat until they begin to burn slightly. Add the

garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add all the remaining vegetables.

Season with sea salt and stir to mix in the onions and leeks evenly.

Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until the vegetables have reduced in

volume by half. Stir again and cover with water to the top of the

pot. The more water you add, the more broth you will have with the

soup. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat. Add the tomato paste

and stir to dissolve. Cover and cook the soup for 1 hour. Add the

Tuscan beans.

 

This is the minestrone soup. The next day layer the soup in a deep

baking dish with the stale bread and bake. Top with thinly sliced red

onions before baking.

 

The next day, if there's any soup left over, reboil the soup,

stirring well to break up the bread slices. The soup should be thick

enough to eat with a fork! It is served with the traditional drizzle

of extra virgin olive oil on top.