¼ cup cooked cranberry beans (optional)
¼ cup cooked cannellini beans (you can use canned)
4 to 6 cups good-quality chicken stock
½ cup chopped turnip greens (optional)
½ pound elbow-shaped pasta
Crushed red pepper flakes
A sprinkling of kalamata olive powder* (optional)
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Toss the cubed sourdough on a rimmed
cookie sheet with ¼ cup of the olive oil and some salt and pepper.
Bake, tossing every so often, until the croutons are golden on all
sides. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
For the soup, begin by heating the 3 tablespoons of olive oil on
medium heat in a large pot, Dutch oven, or saucier. Add the
onions, celery, and chopped carrot and cook, gently, for a minute.
Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more. Nothing should
brown; it should just soften.
Add the fennel, turnips, potatoes, baby carrots, and beans and
stir. Season lightly with salt.
Add the chicken stock and bring the liquid to a boil. Add the
turnip greens, if using, and the pasta; lower the heat and simmer
until everything is cooked, 10 to 15 minutes. Taste for salt and
pepper; for heat, add a pinch of red pepper flakes.
To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and top with the sourdough
croutons and a sprinkling of the kalamata olive powder.