Ribollita in Crosta: Hearty Healthy Vegetable Soup with Kale

Here is a favorite recipe I love to make.  It is so healthful and it is impressive to serve.  It makes me feel good to know I am feeding my family this healthy and oh so delicious, hearty soup. It is filled with fresh vegetables and the wonder vegetable: Kale. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves minced garlic

2 large carrots, peeled and diced

4 ribs celery, diced

2 tsp. rosemary

1 lb. butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks

1 cup canned chopped tomatoes

6 cups low sodium chicken broth (no msg)

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

4 cups kale - remove stems, rinse and rough chopped

1 14.5 oz can cannellini beans drained

6  3/4 inch rustic bread (mostly crust works best)

3 oz. Fontina cheese cubed

6 Tbs. grated Parmesan



Directions:

In large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat.  Cook onion, garlic, carrots, celery until soft appx. 12 minutes.  Add rosemary, tomatoes and stock. Braing to a boil, add bay leaf, salt and pepper.  Cover, lower heat and simmer until squash is soft appx. 25 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add kale, beans and cover for 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Spoon into oven safe bowls and cover with torn slices of bread-using mostly crust (it will be mushy if you use only the soft inside part of the bread.). Put a little broth onto bread, sprinkle parmesan and Fontina cheese on top.  Bake until soup is bubbling, cheese is melted and bread is brown and crunchy appx. 25 minutes. Serve with side salad or on it's own.





Kale: a highly nutritious vegetable with powerful antioxidant properties; considered to be anti-inflammatory. Contains sulforaphane, a chemical believed to have potent anti-cancer properties.