Today I am going to share with you the recipe for one of my favourite soups. I know it’s summer here, but to tell you the truth, it has been a rather unusual summer… quite cool and rainy. And I am thankful for that as it makes it easier to have a healthy and tasty soup for dinner!! This is a recipe from Tuscany and it is part of my series on Regional Italian dishes. It is made with Tuscan cabbage and it is a very hearty dish that is very easy to make. I love the addition of polenta to it and if, like me, you like thicker and creamier soups, this is the perfect dish for you. Enjoy… and don’t forget to take a look at all the other Regional Italian dishes that I have already posted.
Ingredients (for 4 persons):
1 tin of cannellini beans, rinsed
500 gms – 1 lb. Tuscan cabbage, shredded
2 small onions, chopped
2 small carrots, chopped
2 small potatoes, chopped
100 gms – 5.25 oz. lardo or pancetta (optional)
8 tbsp tomato purée
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1.5 to 2 lt – 6 to 8 cups water
Salt and pepper to taste
4 tbsp polenta
Sauté the onions, carrots and lardo/pancetta in the extra virgin olive oil for 3 or 4 minutes (1). Then add the potatoes and sauté for another couple of minutes (2). Now add the shredded Tuscan cabbage (3), the tomato purée and the cannellini beans (4). Add the water, cover and cook until all the vegetables are well cooked.
Then add the polenta and let it cook following the package instructions.
Season with salt and pepper and serve hot with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
It has been a lousy summer. I have all but given up on it! Bring on ugg boots, blankets and soups like yours I say! Looks beautiful.
HI Manu
This soup looks to die for!! However what would be Tuscan Cabbage?
Hi Racheal! I checked online and it appears to be a kind of Kale. Wiki says: “Cavolo nero (also known as black cabbage, Tuscan Cabbage, Tuscan Kale, Lacinato and dinosaur Kale)”. It is usually grown in Tuscany, thus the name. I find it easily in Sydney, but I think it could be substituted with normal kale or like MJ suggested dino kale. Hope it helps! 🙂
Wonderful combination of ingredients, Manu! A bowl of this hearty soup is what I need now!
I loooooove cannellini beans! Yummm!
The soup looks delicious and I agree with such a cool summer this year, soup can still be on the menu. To be honest I can soup for lunch even on a hot day!
This soup would definitely warm be up! I have never heard of Tuscan cabbage but when I saw the picture, it looks like what (here in NM) we call dino kale. I looked it up and sure enough – one in the same! So now I know I would love this soup, because dino kale and swiss chard are my two favorite greens! Love the use of the polenta as a thickener. Tasty, tasty soup!
Oh that soup looks hearty, healthy and delish. I love kale in soup and those beans too! YUM
We’ve had an unusual winter in Canada…not a lot of snow yet and very mild. Your soup looks great..never heard of this before.
Oh Manu, you always have amazing recipe..and this one is incredible! Love the soup and I think my family would enjoy this one very much! Thank you sweetie for sharing and have a wonderful day/night!:)))
I’ve never had this soup, but it does indeed look wonderfully creamy and hearty. Our winter has been very mild, yesterday it was a balmy +10°C! And we really haven’t had any snow to speak of. I’m really enjoying it.
What an interesting soup! I never tried adding polenta… I bet is delicious!
Looks gorgeous 🙂 I love cabbage, and cannellini beans are a perfect match. Well done!
That soup looks so good. I think I’ll wait a few months before I try it. It might be cold down there but up here it’s hot and humid. I go from one air conditioner to the next. 🙂
We certainly have had strange summer weather haven’t we? This soup look just lovely; I’ll be keeping my eyes out for some tuscan cabbage.
Now that is just what I’m needing for lunch! Sub-zero temps here are calling for this soup, Manu. Perfect (love the glass of wine, too ;-))