58. Zuppa Toscana di Magro alla Contadina

Meatless Tuscan Peasant Soup

Preparation info
    • Difficulty

      Easy

Appears in

By Pellegrino Artusi

Published 1998

  • About

Prepared with the necessary care, this “modest” soup—whence the epithet “peasant”—will, I am certain, be enjoyed by all, including the not so modest.

Ingredients

  • 400 grams (about 14 ounces) of stale, soft brown bread
  • 300 grams (about 10

Method

Put the beans on the fire in a pot with the water and bacon rinds. Beans, as you already know, are placed in cold water and if they absorb it all, you may add some hot water. While they are boiling, finely chop and mix one quarter of a large onion, two garlic cloves, two celery stalks the length of the palm of your hand, and a good pinch of parsley. Sauté all of this in oil, and when it begins