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Polenta Soup with Kale and Parmesan

Polenta Soup with Kale and Parmesan

Soft polenta takes on a brothy quality in our take on comforting polentina alla toscana.

  • Makes
    4-6 servings
  • Cook Time
    30 minutes
  • Rating

Polentina alla toscana, a rustic Italian soup, is a brothy version of soft polenta with a few added ingredients. For our take, we use water as the liquid, not chicken or vegetable stock, so the corn flavor is more pronounced. It’s important, however, to use coarse stoneground cornmeal to obtain the correct texture and taste. Lacinato kale, the type called for here, is sometimes referred to as Tuscan or dinosaur kale; the dark-green leaves become tender after only a few minutes of cooking. If you would like to make the soup heartier, add a can of cannellini beans (rinsed and drained) along with the kale.

Ingredients
  • 3

    tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to serve

  • 1

    large yellow onion, chopped

  • 2

    medium garlic cloves, finely chopped

  • 1

    tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced

  • Kosher salt and ground black pepper

  • ¾

    cup coarse stoneground yellow cornmeal

  • 1

    bunch lacinato kale, stemmed, leaves torn into rough 1-inch pieces

  • 4

    ounces Parmesan cheese, finely grated (2 cups), plus more to serve

In a large pot, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the onion, garlic, rosemary, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent. Add 2 quarts water, then whisk in the polenta and bring to a simmer.

Reduce to low and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom of the pot to prevent sticking, for 15 minutes.

Stir in the kale, then cook, stirring, until both the kale and polenta are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan, then season with salt and pepper. Serve with drizzled with oil and sprinkled with cheese.

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