Tuscan Bean Soup (Ribollita)

This soup is similar to minestrone, but uses beans instead of pasta. A wonderful soup to be enjoyed year-round.

Ingredients

• 0.25 cup olive oil
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 zucchini, sliced
• 4 (14 ounce) cans vegetable stock
• 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans
• 1 (14 ounce) can chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 0.25 cup pesto
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 (16 ounce) bag fresh spinach

Steps

1. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat; saute onion, carrots, celery, and garlic until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add zucchini and cook until slightly softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir vegetable stock, cannellini beans, chopped tomatoes, chicken stock, and pesto into vegetable mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until vegetables are tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet or frying pan over medium heat; saute spinach until wilted, about 5 minutes. Spoon sauteed spinach into each serving bowl; ladle soup over spinach.