I'm trying to extend my memory of Italy through cooking, which is one of the only reasons I'm glad I'm back! To cook.

Does anyone have a good recipe for the type of Tuscan bean soup that is reddish/orange in color? I'm assuming it's tomato-based. I had it at Trattoria ZaZa in Florence. It was just a nice hearty soup. I think it was Zuppa Toscana con fagioli and grana. Grana is barley, right? But the beans (they looked white) were very small so they weren't cannellini or maybe they were a small variety. I can't find a recipe online that resembles this. It was a sort of pureed soup.

And does anyone know if the arugula is dressed that's on top of the pizza or is it just plain.
I failed to order this while there and was always disappointed that I didn't.

thanks!
Jane

I'm sorry I have no idea about the recipe you're looking for but I can help with some of the other questions....
Grana is a common family way of referring to either Parmigiano or Grana Padano (even if the name comes clearly from the latter). You might mix up grana with grano (meaning wheat), barley is called orzo.
In my experience the arugula on top of pizzas is just plain.

Hve you checked Diva's site? Divina Cusina? Nobody does Tuscan better IMO.

Jane,
We ordered the pizza rucola and it was simply undressed on top of the pizza. It was like a Marguerita pizza underneath the arugala.

I imagine there are as many Tuscan bean soup recipes as there are Tuscans! I fixed one while there, and the grocer gave me a larger white bean than I used in the US, but I liked it and thought it had more flavor. Just a guess, but I'm thinking that a little tomato paste would give it the color you are looking for but not add a huge amount of tomato taste.
Good luck with your cooking; I'm doing the same thing and trying to duplicate some of the great tastes. Now if I only had some of their tomatoes, I would have much better luck.

I think tomato paste is on the right track. I took a class from Judy (Divina Cucina) at Ramkins and she made a Tuscan bean soup with farro. One of the other variations listed is from Trattoria Da Burde. It includes sauted onions, tomato paste and Droghe Toscane spices which are similar to pumpkin pie spice. The final soup is pureed until smooth. You can keep out a cup or so of the beans to add back in after pureeing.

I found farro at my local farmer's market this weekend. A Washington farmer is growing spelt and emmer farro. I'm thinking about making a bean and farro soup.

I will walk by ZAZA's// but the soup is tuscan beans and farro ( like mentioned above) adn the red is from tomato paste.

I have the bean recipe on my site.. and the farro is parboiled.. then added to the soup, half of the beans pureed and the rest left whole.

BUONO!