"Spring" Escarole, White Bean & Tomato Soup (Plus a Giveaway!)

I know it's spring. But this "spring" we're having is more like 34 degrees/snow/rain/sweater/boots days that require soup/bread/stew/pasta nights. So I think it's perfectly acceptable to still be making soup. Especially when it is filled with greens and comforting white beans but still has a light enough tomato broth that you can get warmed up without really feeling like it's the dead of winter. It's a good "spring" soup, if there is such a thing.

The tomato/escarole/white bean combination is nothing new - I've been eating it since I was a kid, when my mom and grandmother started teaching my sister and I to have a great love for those curly greens, but I like this version since it's a bit lighter than your typical pasta fagiole. It's also quite quick and you can throw it together last minute if you use canned beans rather than dried beans.

It's also good for when you have a head of escarole sitting in your fridge that you ordered in your produce box with no plan for it and then forgot about it until it was near wilting to death, but you couldn't bear to throw it away so figured SOUP(!) was the way to go. It's good for those times too.

I served these particular bowls with crispy little baguette toasts since I happened to have some leftover bread in the freezer. But it would also go really well with fresh homemade whole wheat bread fresh out of the oven, or homemade biscuits, or these pesto scones (whiiiiich I am totally making this weekend).

The Giveaway!

But for this giveaway. So as I've mentioned before, I often use Tuttorosso tomatoes when I'm cooking Italian food because that's how my mama (and her mama) taught me. I buy almost 100% organic ingredients for our regular eating (if I can find it organic, I buy it organic), but canned tomatoes is one place where I will make an exception. If I'm not canning my own, I'm usually using Tuttorosso. And one lucky reader will win a gift pack of tomatoes and other goodies to make this recipe in your own kitchen!

All you need to do is leave a comment below, and you'll automatically be entered to win. I will randomly select a winner on April 16. You can get extra entries by liking Some Sugar Added on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram - links are at the top of the blog (just leave an extra comment telling me you did so). The gift pack will include:

- Springtime tomato recipes
- 28 oz. Tuttorosso Crushed Tomatoes with Basil
- 28 oz. Tuttorosso NSA Peeled Plum Tomatos
- 28 oz. Tuttorosso Diced Tomatoes
- Inspiralized cookbook
- Tuttorosso coupons

Tuttorosso is actually also teaming up with Inspiralized (hello super easy zucchini noodles!) for another spring giveaway, which you can enter on Facebook here. That giveaway will include weekly prizes and a grand prize of Spiralizers, Inspiralized cookbooks, aprons, a picnic basket and kitchen gadgets. The contest will run through April 15. A free Spiralizer sounds awesome. Try your luck!

And now let's all pray to actually get some spring weather to go with our spring soups and veggie noodles.

Escarole, White Bean & Tomato Soup

Ingredients
1 head escarole, washed and torn
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. cracked black pepper
28 oz. can of plum tomatoes, broken up with your fingers (I use Tuttorosso, Muir Glen Organic or homemade)
2 cups white beans (if using dried beans, soak first; if using canned, rinse first)
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp. coconut sugar (can sub cane sugar if you don't have coconut sugar)
1 cup vegetable broth

Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat, then add escarole, garlic, salt and pepper. Saute about 5 minutes, until escarole is wilted and garlic is fragrant but not browned.

Add tomatoes, white beans, crushed red pepper, sugar and vegetable broth. Simmer 10-15 minutes. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and freshly grated parmesan cheese.