Name: Polentina Alla Toscana
Yield: Serves 4 to 6
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: 1 bay leaf; Salt and pepper; 1 medium leek, trimmed and cut into ½-inch squares; ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more (optional) for drizzling; 1 large onion, diced; ½ pound carrots, peeled and diced; 4 celery stalks, diced; 1 large fennel bulb, trimmed and diced; Leaves from 1 rosemary sprig; Pinch of red pepper flakes; ½ teaspoon grated or finely chopped garlic; ½ pound kale, preferably Tuscan; 6 cups chicken broth; ¼ cup polenta

Preparation info

Serves
4 to 6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

One Good Dish

By David Tanis

Published 2013

About

Some soups, once encountered, live on in both memory and a cook’s personal repertoire. This very traditional Tuscan soup impressed me when I first encountered it in Florence. I loved the way a little polenta could be used to thicken, ever so slightly, a vegetable soup. There was something special too about the deep, dark kale and fruity olive oil that were added to the bowl. My version is faithful to the original, so good that there was no need to embroider.