I recently received what I believed to be a Kale variety or at leased a dear cousin in my organic veg box delivery. I did my research and found that this dark green alien was indeed a kale, to be precise – Italian Kale, or as I discovered Dinosaur Kale! And you can see why. It is tough as old leather and bumpy like an alligators neck! And my first attempt at cooking it like regular kale did not prove delicious..

So I looked to its place of birth for divine intervention, and decided what better to pair it up with than Tuscan Bean Soup.

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A big glug of olive oil

1 knob of butter

2 large onions, chopped

4 celery sticks, chopped

3 large carrots, chopped

3 garlic cloves, you guessed it – Chopped!

Small bunch (4-5 sprigs) of thyme

Small bunch of rosemary

1 tsp smoked paprika or sweet hungarian is nice to!

2 tins chopped tomatoes

1 litre organic vegetable stock

1 tin cannellini beans

1 tin flageolet beans

1 tin black beans

And Italian Kale, 1 bunch

Home made crusty bread parmesan to serve

Heat the oil and butter in a large pan and sauté the onion, carrots, celery and Dinosaur Kale over a low heat for 10 minutes until softened but not coloured. Add the garlic and chopped herbs and stir for 1 min. Add the tomatoes, and stock. Season to taste with salt, pepper and paprika. 


Mash half of your beans with a fork and add to the dish along side the non mashed.

Bring to the boil, 
then simmer for a further 30 minutes. 


Serve with flakes of parmesan on top and crusty bead