Tuscan white bean soup

Name: Tuscan white bean soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: 400 g cooked cannellini beans (or 2 tins, drained and rinsed); 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing; 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced; 2 sprigs fresh rosemary; 1 small dried chilli or pinch of chilli flakes; 800 ml vegetable or chicken stock; 1 tsp salt, or to taste; 0.5 tsp black pepper, freshly ground; 4 thick slices of Tuscan bread or sourdough, toasted (optional, for ribollita-style)

Italian ribollita-style cannellini bean soup with bread

Origin: Tuscany, Italy

From the journey of Beans.

White bean soup is the quintessential dish of Tuscan cucina povera ('poor kitchen'), the frugal, vegetable- and legume-focused cooking of the Tuscan countryside that has profoundly influenced Italian cuisine worldwide. Tuscany has been a region of bean cultivation since the Columbian Exchange of the 15th–16th centuries, when New World beans arrived and rapidly replaced the fava beans in local recipes. Tuscans became so associated with bean consumption that neighbouring Italians nicknamed them mangiafagioli ('bean-eaters'), a gentle taunt that Tuscans wear with pride. The most famous version of this soup is ribollita ('re-boiled'), made by ladling leftover bean and vegetable soup over day-old bread and baking or simmering it until thick enough to eat with a fork. This recipe produces the foundational white bean soup from which ribollita is made: a soulful, deeply flavoured broth thickened with partially mashed beans, perfumed with rosemary and garlic, and finished with a generous pour of peppery Tuscan olive oil.

Ingredients

Main

400 g cooked cannellini beans (or 2 tins, drained and rinsed)

Aromatics

4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

Herbs

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

Spice

1 small dried chilli or pinch of chilli flakes

Liquid

800 ml vegetable or chicken stock

Seasoning

1 tsp salt, or to taste
0.5 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

Serving

4 thick slices of Tuscan bread or sourdough, toasted (optional, for ribollita-style)

Method

Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic slices and rosemary sprigs. Cook gently, stirring, for 2–3 minutes until the garlic is lightly golden and fragrant but not brown. Add the dried chilli.
Add about two-thirds of the beans to the pot. Using a ladle or potato masher, roughly crush some of the beans directly in the pot: aim for about half-mashed, half-whole. This gives the soup its characteristic thick, creamy texture.
Pour in the stock. Remove and discard the rosemary sprigs (they've done their work). Add the remaining whole beans. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Season generously with salt and plenty of black pepper. The soup should be thick: more a porridge than a broth. Add a little more stock if needed.
Ladle into bowls. Finish each bowl with a very generous pour (at least a tablespoon) of your best extra-virgin olive oil and more black pepper. For ribollita-style: place a piece of toasted bread in the bottom of each bowl before ladling over the hot soup.

Notes

The finishing olive oil is not optional: it is structural to the dish. Use a robust, peppery Tuscan olive oil if possible. The soup thickens considerably as it cools and reheats beautifully the next day (this is ribollita: 're-boiled'). To make it heartier, add a handful of cavolo nero (Tuscan black kale), chopped and simmered until tender, 10 minutes before the end.

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control