Simple Tuscan Soup

8 leaves of Tuscan kale
2 potatoes
3-4 carrots
1 small onion or 1/2 medium onion
2 garlic cloves
300 grams canned cannellini beans
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 vegetable bouillon cube
Water at room temperature, q.b.
Extra virgin olive oil, q.b.
Salt and pepper, q.b.
100 grams (3.5 ounces) smoked pancetta, optional

First, prep your ingredients. Rinse the Tuscan kale carefully to remove any dirt. Cut out the central stem and discard, then cut leaf into finger-width strips. Wash, peel and cube the potatoes. Peel and rinse the carrots, and cut into bite sized pieces. Peel and chop the onion and garlic.

Drain the beans of their liquid. In order to have a thick soup, set aside 3-6 tablespoons of the beans, and cream the rest of the beans with a small amount of water with a blender.

Have plenty of fresh water at room temperature ready to add to the soup.

To make the soup, sauté the onion, garlic and one carrot’s worth of diced carrot gently in some olive oil until it smells really good. Add the potatoes, Tuscan kale, the rest of carrots, vegetable bouillon cube, and stir.

Add the creamed beans, then quickly pour water over everything to cover.

Quickly add the fennel seeds, pinch of salt, and some freshly ground pepper to taste, and stir. Begin timing your cooking time, and push down the kale regularly and add water if the level of water gets too low.

After 20 minutes, add the whole beans you’ve set aside. Cook the soup for another 20 minutes or until the potatoes and carrots are cooked through.

If using the pancetta, cook separately in a sauté pan until crispy. Add the crispy pancetta and all of its fat into the soup right before serving.

Serving suggestion: slice some nice rustic bread and toast. Rub each toasted slice of bread with a garlic clove and drizzle with olive oil. Place each slice of bruschetta in a soup plate and spoon hot soup over the bread. Serve immediately.