Tuscan Vegetable Soup

(This post is a little delayed because I forgot I needed to add the pics and hit publish. Oh well. You get the idea.)

As I've already mentioned, one of my goals during my time in London is to improve my cooking. Under the umbrella of that goal is the London List checkbox for using all of the fruits and vegetables that come in a single week's delivery within that same week. This can be surprisingly difficult, depending on the variety Abel & Cole offers and our schedule. For weeks we were sent clementines that we kept forgetting to eat. Sometimes we have so many carrots that I just can't get through them all in 7 days. (Then I look up a ton of recipes to get rid of a particular ingredient and end up having to buy more at the store in order to make all of them...)

This week, I think I may have done it!

The box included:

     - Fair Trade bananas (eaten and in smoothies)

     - Green curly kale

     - Carrots

     - Apples (eaten in Joe's lunches)

     - Pears

     - Red Pepper

     - White Mushrooms

     - Red Potatoes

kale this gorgeous can only mean one thing: veggie soup time!

Recipes of the Week

Poached Pears

with sugar, vanilla, and lots of cinnamon

Thai Red Curry

using A&C red pepper and mushrooms

recipe here, I added zucchini

Tuscan Vegetable Soup

using A&C carrots and curly kale, served with roasted A&C potatoes

Tuscan vegetable soup is a staple for me at home. My mom has doctored the original Panera recipe a bit, as usual and I usually make it as a lunch to take to work. Joe literally begs for "kale soup" at home, so he was happy to come home from work to the British version when I made it here.

Ingredients

1/4 c  pancetta

2	T olive oil
1½	c chopped red onions (I use white usually)
2	c chopped celery
2	c chopped carrots
4	large cloves garlic, minced (Or more. Really, you can't have too much.)
¼	t red pepper flakes (didn't do this here in UK)
1	can (28 oz) plum tomatoes in puree, chopped with juice (at home it's always San Marzano tomatoes from Sprouts. They make a HUGE difference in the taste - SO good. Here I just did the best I could)
8	oz kale (tuscan cavolo nero or lacinato kale)stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped
8	oz grean chard, stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped (I couldn't find chard here so I used a second kind of kale, cavola nero, or flat leaf kale)
2	c cooked or canned cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
7	c chicken broth
¼	c chopped fresh basil
½	t salt
3	c Panera country or sourdough bread cubes, crust removed (optional)
¼	c grated Parmesan cheese (instead of grating cheese, which just makes a big, sticky mess, cut off the rind and throw it into the soup when it's cooking. Remove the rind afterwards. All the flavor and very little of the mess.)

Directions

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over med heat. Saute the pancetta until crispy. Add the onions, celery and carrots and cook until the vegetables begin to soften 6-8 min. Add the garlic and pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute. Add the chopped tomatoes (with juice), kale and chard, and cook until the kale is wilted. 8-10 min (At home my mom uses a 10 quart stock pot to make this soup and I borrow hers when I make it myself. Here, of course, I don't have such a tool. Thus, I had to add the kale in stages and put the lid on the pot to make it wilt a little faster so I could fit more in.)

phase 2 of kale additions

Puree 1 c of the beans and 1 c of broth in a food processor. Add the beans, undrained and unrinsed, to the soup along with the remaining 6 c broth. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 at least 60 min.
Stir in basil, salt, and bread cubes (if using) and simmer until bread thickens the soup about 10 min Sprinkle with the cheese

barely fit in my soup pot...

This soup is great for any time of year, really. I especially like it as a lunch with garlic bread on the side. We have also had it as our vegetable side with dinner a few times. Either way, it's delicious and packed with super healthy vegetables.