You can achieve this by cooking the dried beans from scratch, or course. Or you can skip the long simmer and cook them in the pressure cooker, or just pop open a can! Bean soups have the distinct advantage of tasting terrific either way. This Tuscan White Bean soup uses canned beans to make a 30-minute meal that tastes like it took all day.
What Is Tuscan Bean Soup?
Long-simmered pots of bean soup are traditional all over Italy. This one takes a few short-cuts by using canned beans, but in the end the taste will be quite close to soups that simmered for hours.
How to Make Tuscan Bean Soup
When you start this soup, sauté vegetables first to give the soup lots of flavor. Let carrots, onion, and celery cook with sprigs of oregano, then stir in the beans and chicken stock. To make sure your soup has that appealing “simmered all day” quality when using canned beans, just mash some of the beans before they go into the pot. This will give your soup the slightly distressed texture that a good bean soup should have. Simmer the soup briefly, then add baby kale or spinach for their pretty green color and texture. Sprinkle the bowls with olive oil and more Parmesan. You’re done in less than half an hour, but your soup will taste like an afternoon’s effort.
What to Serve With Tuscan Bean Soup
Parmesan toasts are an easy side dish to make while the soup is simmering. You only need baguette slices, olive oil, and grated Parmesan. Toast the bread sprinkle with olive oil and cheese, and let it melt in a toaster oven for a minute. They give your dinner plenty of crunch. You could also serve the soup with garlic bread or Homemade Light Rye Bread.
Can You Freeze Tuscan Bean Soup?
Yes, you can freeze this soup. Just make sure you take care to submerge the greens in the liquid before you do, so they don’t dry out in the freezer (this applies to all vegetable soups). Let the soup thaw completely in the refrigerator for one day.
Italian Soups Are Such Classics! Try These!
Minestrone Italian Wedding Soup Vegan Chickpea Minestrone Italian Egg Drop Soup
3 tablespoons olive oil 2 medium carrots, thickly sliced 1 large onion, coarsely chopped 1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 3 sprigs fresh oregano 1/4 teaspoon salt Black pepper, to taste 2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, or other small white beans, drained and rinsed 5 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock 4 cups baby kale or baby spinach, stems removed if tough 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano, for garnish Olive oil, to serve Extra grated Parmesan, to serve
For the parmesan toasts:
1/2 baguette, thinly sliced Olive oil 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Discard the oregano sprigs; the leaves will have fallen into the soup. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
