Soup: Zuppa di Faragoi (Tuscan White Bean Soup

(Tuscan White Bean Soup)

Ingredients

• 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

Method

Cook the vegetables • In a soup pot, heat the olive oil. When it is hot, add the carrots, onion, celery, garlic, fresh oregano sprigs, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes until the vegetables look softened and the onions turn translucent.

Prepare the beans • On a plate, mash 1/2 cup of the beans with a fork or potato masher. Add them to the vegetables in the pot. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Simmer the soup • Add the remaining beans to the pot and stir well. Stir in the chicken stock and bring to a boil.

Lower the heat, partially cover with the lid placed askew, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the carrots are tender and the liquid is flavorful. • Discard the oregano sprigs; the leaves will have fallen into the soup. Add additional salt and pepper to taste. • Add the kale or spinach to the pot and simmering for another 2 minutes, or just until the greens wilt.

Pair with a Tuscan Sangiovese.

Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its influence on high culture. It is regarded as the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance and has been home to many figures influential in the history of art and science, and contains well-known museums such as the Uffizi and the Palazzo Pitti.

Tuscans are known as “mangiafagioli” all over Italy. Mangiafagioli means “beaneaters.”