Tuscan Bean Soup

Back in January we had our book club meeting to discuss the book Mona Lisa, A Life Discovered by Dianne Hales. The evening was filled with interesting conversation, some darn good food and some very nice Tuscan wines. For that night, I tried to make food that was predominately from Tuscany, where the book was based. In doing my research for the menu,  I found that food from Tuscany has a reputation for being nourishing, plain and simple, and beans are used extensively. I decided on a Bean Soup. I found the recipe on glutenfreeyummy.com. One of the women in our book group is gluten free. So this was perfect. Everyone loved this soup. Click here to see all the goodies we enjoyed.

I wanted to make the soup for Chris. The forecast was a repeat of the night of book club. Cold and snow. Yes it is almost spring and we are still getting snow! It was a perfect night for this soup. I left out the chicken, I wanted it to be a meatless meal and of course I left out the garlic (surprise!). I could imagine this type of soup being served back in the days of Mona Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo. But Idon't think she would not have used canned beans and tomatoes!

If I had not given up sweets for Lent I would have made the Olive Oil Cake that I made for the book club. That will have to wait until after Easter.

My version of Tuscan Bean Soup from glutenfreeyummy.com.

Ingredients-
1 Medium onion (chopped)
1 stalk celery (chopped)
1 Large carrot (chopped)
 32 fl oz chicken stock
3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
15oz canned garbanzo beans
15oz canned cannellini beans
15oz canned chopped tomatoes
1 cup water
1 cup Kale (Chopped)
1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes

Method-
Place onion, celery, and carrots into a large soup pot with 3 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Stir frequently, cooking on medium high heat until onion is translucent. Add chicken broth and water to the vegetables and stir. Add canned, garbanzo beans, cannellini beans and tomatoes. Add all herbs and spices and turn down heat to simmer soup. Simmer for at least 15 minutes on low, then serve warm in bowls.

I am submitting this post the the Novel Food Event held at Briciole. 

I am looking forward to reading the other Novel Food entries. 

Might get ideas for future book club meetings!