An authentic Italian recipe from our kitchen to yours. Buon
Appetito!
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried cannellini beans
- 3 cups lacinato kale, cleaned, destemmed and chopped into small pieces
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 stalks celery, minced
- 2 medium carrots
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- 1 cup cornmeal, medium grind
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Directions
1.
If
using
dried
beans,
pick
through
the
beans
and
discard
any
bad
beans
and
debris.
Place
the
beans
in a
colander
or
mesh
strainer
and
rinse
well,
rubbing
the
beans
together
to
loosen
any
dirt.
Once
rinsed,
add
the
beans
to a
bowl
and
fill
the
bowl
with
water
2 -
3
inches
above
the
beans.
Set
the
bowl
aside
for
8 -
12
hours
(preferably
overnight)
to
rehydrate
the
beans.
2.
When
you
are
ready
to
make
the
soup,
drain
the
soaking
water
from
the
beans
and
rinse
the
beans
once
more
to
remove
any
excess
dirt.
Add
the
beans
to a
large
pot
or
Dutch
oven
and
fill
with
water
to
cover
the
beans
about
3
inches.
Add
a
pinch
of
salt
and
place
the
pot
over
high
heat.
Bring
the
water
to a
rolling
boil,
then
cover
the
pot,
lower
the
heat
to
medium
and
simmer
the
beans
for
30 -
40
minutes,
stirring
occasionally,
until
they
have
softened
to
your
preference.
Once
the
beans
have
finished
cooking,
remove
the
pan
from
the
heat
and
strain
the
beans
from
the
cooking
water
into
a
bowl.
Keep
all
of
the
cooking
water.
3.
In a
separate
pot,
Dutch
oven
or
large
sauté
pan
over
medium
high
heat,
add
the
olive
oil,
garlic,
celery,
carrot
and
onion.
Sauté
the
ingredients
for
3 -
5
minutes
or
until
the
onions
and
garlic
begin
to
turn
translucent.
4.
Once
the
onions
begin
to
turn
translucent,
pour
the
cooking
water
from
the
beans
into
the
pot
and
add
the
kale
and
tomato
paste.
Stir
all
of
the
ingredients
well
to
combine.
Bring
the
liquid
to a
boil
5.
At
this
point,
when
the
water
is
boiling,
add
the
cornmeal
to
the
pan
and
whisk
or
stir
thoroughly
to
combine.
Lower
the
heat
to
medium,
cover
the
pot
and
simmer
for
25 -
30
minutes,
stirring
frequently
so
that
the
cornmeal
does
not
stick
to
the
bottom
of
the
pot.
6.
When
the
cornmeal
has
softened
and
the
kale
has
cooked
down,
add
the
cooked
cannellini
beans
to
the
pot
and
stir
well.
Simmer
for
another
5 -
10
minutes.
7.
Taste
the
soup
and
add
salt
and
pepper
as
desired.
If
the
cornmeal
has
made
the
soup
too
thick,
add
water
to
the
soup
until
it
thins
to
your
desired
consistency.
However,
the
soup
should
be
very
hearty
and
velvety
thick.
8.
Serve
hot.
