Have I mentioned that my mother has a twin sister? Aunt Silvana and my mum are like two peas in a pod, yet they are unmistakably different. Their voices, hairstyles and attitudes diverge, and even their accents are not the same. When Aunt Silvana married she moved to Florence and, over the years, picked up a warm Florentine lilt that contrasts with my mother’s way of speaking.
If you meet my mum at the Florence train station and she appears distant at first, don’t take it personally — she hasn’t lost her cheerful nature. It’s just that, for a moment, you might have caught Aunt Silvana by mistake.
But there is one more important difference.
My mother has always cooked because she needed to — she’s competent and makes good food, but cooking has never been her passion. Aunt Silvana, however, truly loves being in the kitchen. She delights in testing new recipes and in cooking for a crowd.
When it comes to cooking vegetables, no one beats Zia Silvana. Her stewed carrots are the stuff of family legend, as is her roast beef with onions and her tomato sauce. So when I wanted to try a new olive oil on top of crostoni made with Tuscan kale, the first person I called was Aunt Silvana. After two rings, her warm, jolly voice answered: “Amore, tell me everything!”
Crostoni with Tuscan kale
Aunt Silvana told me the story behind the dish: the recipe came from Camillo, an elderly friend who knew how to showcase freshly pressed extra virgin olive oil. Her tip is to cook cavolo nero longer than you might expect so its tough, leathery leaves become soft and almost buttery. Don’t drain it completely — reserve some of the cooking liquid, which helps soften and flavour the toasted bread once rubbed with garlic. Pile the kale on grilled slices of bread, add a generous spoonful of cooked cannellini beans to each, season with sea salt and chilli, and finish with a good drizzle of olio nuovo.
These crostoni — toasted Tuscan bread topped with slowly cooked cavolo nero and creamy cannellini beans, finished with peppery new olive oil — are a classic Tuscan winter treat and a perfect way to enjoy freshly pressed oil.
Crostoni with Tuscan kale and cannellini beans
Giulia
Ingredients
- A big bunch of Tuscan kale, about 500 grams/1lb
- ½ tablespoon coarse sea salt
- 4 slices Tuscan bread
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 cup cooked cannellini beans
- Sea salt flakes
- Chili pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil, or olio nuovo
Instructions
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Strip the leaves from the cavolo nero and discard the tough central stalks. Rinse the leaves under running water and gather them in a large bowl.
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Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Add the salt and the cavolo nero, then push the leaves under the surface with a wooden spoon. Simmer on a medium flame for about one hour so the leaves become very tender.
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Slice the Tuscan bread and toast it over a charcoal grill or on a hot griddle until well charred. Rub each slice with a clove of garlic while still warm.
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Drain the kale, leaving it slightly watery. Roughly chop the leaves and spoon them over the grilled bread, topping each slice with the cooked cannellini beans.
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Finish with flaky sea salt, a pinch of chilli and a generous drizzle of olio nuovo — freshly pressed, peppery and bright. Let the crostoni rest for about 10 minutes so the bread can absorb the kale juices and olive oil, then serve.
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More recipes with Tuscan kale from the blog archive
- Tuscan kale salad with nuts and honey. The orange and chestnut honey, not overly sweet, balance the bitterness of cavolo nero, while walnuts add crunch and a nutty flavour. Even my mum, normally sceptical about new dishes, now makes this salad again and again.
- Tuscan kale pesto. Cavolo nero replaces summer basil, and a handful of almonds is an economical and tasty substitute for pine nuts. The result is a dark-green, slightly bitter and nutty pesto that works beautifully with spaghetti or tagliatelle. Use it as-is or top with toasted almond slivers, crisp pancetta or crumbled fresh goat cheese.
