Italian Bean, Kale and Bread Soup

I call this a soup (largely because it’s my take on Ribollita, the Italian soup), but it’s so thick and filing, to me it’s more of a stew – being it needs nothing to go with it, just a big bowl and a spoon.

Serves 4 | Prep: 10 mins + Cook: 27 mins

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 3 small onions – diced

• 3 carrots – diced

• 3 courgettes - diced

• 3 sticks of celery – diced

• 3 cloves of garlic - minced or grated

• 1 tsp fennel seeds

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• ½ tsp dried chilli flakes

• ½ tin anchovies – drained (optional)

• 1 tin plum tomatoes

• 2 tins beans - drained – I used mix of cannellini and butter beans

• 200g kale – washed, chopped and tough stems removed

• 2 slices sourdough bread

• Salt & Pepper to taste

To serve: extra virgin olive oil; almonds crumbs and garlic* (optional)

Method

1. In a large pot, sauté the onion, carrots, courgettes and celery in the olive oil over a medium heat until soft – about 5 minutes

2. Add the garlic, fennel, oregano, chilli and anchovies (optional). Cook for a further 2 minutes

3. Add the tomatoes, beans, kale and 2 tins of water. Bring the stew to the boil, clamp on a lid, turn the heat down low, and leave to simmer for 10 minutes

4. Tear up the bread, add to the stew, stir well and replace the lid. Leave to cook for a further 10 minutes - stirring and checking the liquid levels a couple of times. If the stew becomes too dry, add a little more water

5. Once the vegetables are soft and the soup thick, add salt & pepper to taste

6. To serve, pour into large bowls, drizzle over a little extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle over the mixed almonds and garlic (optional - see below)

*Note: instead of "breadcrumbs + garlic" - which the Italians refer to as poor man’s parmesan - I prefer a mix of almonds + garlic. Simply blitz a handful of almonds and a small clove of garlic in the food processor until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. It’s more nutritious and equally as delicious.

 Leftovers can be cooled and stored in the fridge for 2 days.

Nutrition per serving: ~470 kcal | 22g protein | 65g carbs | 11g fat | 20g fibre