I used a type of pasta called tripolini in this recipe. The pasta in Tuscan Kale and cannellini soup. However, you can also find versions of this recipe with potatoes as well. This simpler Tuscan kale and white bean soup has pasta. Step 5 Add washed and chopped kale to pot and cook until the kale wilts. Nowadays, most people make it without meat. Originally, ribollita wasn’t a vegetarian dish and contained pancetta or pork rind. That Tuscan recipe is really a great example of the typical recycling cuisine of past peasant populations.Īccording to tradition, ribollita was prepared on Fridays with all the leftover vegetables of the week cooked together with stale bread. The best-known Tuscan dish with kale and white beans is a very hearty soup called Ribollita. Of course, you can also use curly kale for this Tuscan kale, white bean and pasta soup if the Tuscan variety isn’t available. It’s also milder in flavour and better in raw kale recipes. It’s also more versatile because the leaves are thinner and more tender, so they cook more quickly. Tuscan kale is darker in colour than curly kale. What’s the difference between Tuscan kale and curly kale? Cato apparently wrote that kale was one of the best topical remedies for arthritis, wounds, rashes, sores, and even the plague! Step 4 Add halved cherry tomatoes and cook until they soften. The ancient scientists Galen, Hippocrates and Cato the Elder used it. In fact, black kale has been cultivated in Italy since antiquity. Also known as lacinato kale, dinosaur kale or black kale from the Italian name ‘cavolo nero’, this is an Italian kale that’s long been used in soups and stews. The star of this traditional soup is Tuscan Kale. Step 3 Sauté onions, garlic, carrots and celery in olive oil until soft. Both these types of beans are traditionally used in soups, with pasta and as side dishes. Borlotti (cranberry beans) are also very popular. The most favourite beans in Tuscany are definitely cannellini, which I have used in this Tuscan kale, white bean and pasta soup. The latter are so common in local dishes that Tuscans are often referred to as ‘mangiafagioli’, meaning bean eaters! Step 2 Prepare the ingredients

The main staples in the regional diet are meat, bread and legumes, particularly beans. Nowadays, these dishes are still an important part of Tuscan cuisine but by choice instead of by economy. Many traditional dishes come from a time when poverty was the culinary mother of invention! The peasant and rural population made tasty, nutritious and filling meals from what was available and what they cultivated themselves without spending much money. Traditional food in Tuscany.ĭespite the fact that Tuscany is famous for its beautiful and elaborate art and architecture, the traditional cuisine in this central Italian region is very rustic! Like other parts of Italy, the Tuscan kitchen is based on what Italians call ‘la cucina povera’ (the kitchen of the poor). This warming and super nutritious soup is hearty enough to be eaten as a meal on its own or makes a great starter to a cold weather family lunch. This Tuscan kale, white bean and pasta soup is one of many versions of kale soup from Tuscany.

Curly macaroni pasta