Frantoiana Soup

Frantoiana soup is a traditional Tuscan dish, typically prepared during the olive season, when the olive mills (the places where olives are pressed to obtain oil) are in full activity. It is a rustic and nutritious soup that celebrates autumnal flavors.

Ingredients

• 300 g Tuscan kale
• 300 g savoy cabbage
• 300 g Swiss chard
• 2 carrots
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 onion
• 1 large potato
• 400 g cannellini beans (half cooked whole, half puréed)
• 1 garlic clove
• Rosemary to taste
• 1 hot chili pepper (optional)
• Slices of stale Tuscan bread
• Extra virgin olive oil (preferably freshly pressed)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Clean all the vegetables and cut them into pieces or strips. Finely chop the onion.
2. Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a large pot and sauté the onion with the garlic, rosemary, and chili pepper if you want a bit of heat.
3. Add the carrots and celery and let cook for a few minutes.
4. Add the cabbages and Swiss chard, stirring well to coat everything with the soffritto.
5. Add the whole cooked beans and the bean purée.
6. Pour in hot water to cover everything and add the potato cut into cubes.
7. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer for about 1 hour, until the vegetables are tender. Adjust salt and pepper.
8. Separately, toast the slices of stale Tuscan bread.
9. Serve the soup hot, placing a slice of Tuscan bread in the bowl first and pouring the soup over it.
10. Finish with a generous drizzle of raw extra virgin olive oil (new oil if possible) and a sprinkle of black pepper.

The magic of this dish lies in the simplicity of its seasonal ingredients and the fresh olive oil, the undisputed star that gives that unmistakable and appetizing final note. It is customary to prepare frantoiana soup with new oil, freshly made, which has that fruity and slightly spicy flavor typical of first-press extra virgin olive oil.