Tuscan White Bean Soup

A delicious, warming, nourishing soup most recently made in our family in the final days of Emma's pregnancy. I was visiting her in Alaska, and while it was high summer everywhere else in the northern hemisphere, Alaska was quickly moving through fall-- the days growing short and the wind blowing cold. By the time she gave birth at the end of August, the leaves had completely turned! We like to serve this soup with a big dollop of sour cream. Enjoy!

The Ingredients:

3 15 ounce cans cannellini beans drained and rinsed
1 yellow onion finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large carrots peeled and chopped small
3 stalk celery spliced and diced
1⁄3 cup balsamic vinegar, to deglaze the pot
2 1⁄2 - 4 cups bone or chicken broth, start with less and add more for desired
consistency. Use more if you want to add pasta.
2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 Tablespoon preserved lemon, finely diced, with juice (optional; if you don’t have
this ingredient but have a fresh lemon, reserve a tablespoon to squeeze in just
before serving)
1 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper
1⁄4 teaspoon red pepper flakes 2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
 1⁄2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
2 cups chopped kale or Swiss chard, finely chopped (you can devein, but I just
chop it all up for no waste)
4 cloves garlic, minced
Optional: 1 cup macaroni, cooked separately and cooled.

The Recipe:

Salt and sweat the onion in a large pot or dutch oven with the oil.
Once it starts to brown slightly, celery and carrot. Sauté an additional 10 or so minutes
to allow the vegetables and soften and begin to brown.
Add in the vinegar, tomato paste and preserved lemon to help release the
caramelization from the bottom of pan until most of the vinegar has evaporated,
about 5 minutes. Use a good wooden utensil to scrape up all the good stuff as the
liquid evaporates.
Add in all remaining ingredients, reserving the kale or chard and garlic for the last few
minutes before serving, and stir well.
Bring to a gentle boil, then cover and reduce heat to lowest setting. Simmer for 20
minutes. In the last 5-7 minutes, add in the chopped kale and let simmer for a few minutes to allow the kale to wilt. Remove from heat. 
Take out bay leaves using a slotted spoon.
Add garlic.
To create a smooth texture, use an immersion blender to blend about 1/4 of the soup, leaving most of the soup in chunks. Add more broth to create your desired consistency.
If you're adding pasta, put in after blending.
Taste and adjust flavors as desired. I usually add a bit more salt and pepper and a
squeeze of lemon juice.
Serve warm as is or with a hearty bread on the side. Enjoy!

Notes: 
There is quite a big range for the broth because it all depends on how thick you want
the soup to be. If you want it more like a thicker stew, use 2-3 cups, but if you want
more of a soup, use 3-4 cups. You can always add more if you want to thin it out, but I
suggest starting on the lower end since it's much easier to thin out than it is to thicken
up. For photo reference, I used 2 1/2 cups total.