Ribollita - Tuscan Bread Soup

Instructions

1. 1

   To prepare the ribollita, start by soaking the dried beans in cold water overnight. Then, drain them, rinse them, and place them in a large pot with plenty of cold water (do not add salt). Bring to a boil and cook for about an hour. Meanwhile, prepare the aromatic vegetables for the soup: dice the celery into 3-4 mm pieces.

2. 2

   Do the same with the carrots, then peel and finely chop the onion and garlic.

3. 3

   Peel and cut the potatoes into chunks of about 2 cm. Now, move on to the leafy vegetables: cut the Savoy cabbage into strips about 1-2 cm wide, after removing the central core. Also, cut the Swiss chard into small pieces.

4. 4

   Remove the woody base of the black cabbage, then cut the rest into strips. If the stems are too tough, you can remove the leaves from the stem and discard it. Crush the peeled tomatoes with a fork. When the beans are cooked, set aside about half of them.

5. 5

   Blend the remaining beans together with their cooking water using an immersion blender. In a very large pot, pour in a drizzle of oil and add the onion, celery, carrots, and garlic.

6. 6

   Season with thyme and sauté over low heat for about 10 minutes. Now, add the potatoes and leafy vegetables.

7. 7

   Season with salt and pepper, and mix well, letting everything stew for a few minutes. At this point, add the peeled tomatoes and the bean broth, adding more water if needed to cover all the vegetables.

8. 8

   Bring to a boil and cook over medium-low heat for 45 minutes. After this time, add the cooked beans that you had set aside.

9. 9

   Cut the stale Tuscan bread into slices and immerse them in the pot, pressing them down into the broth with a ladle. When all the slices are well immersed, cover with a lid and let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for another 2 hours, or even better, overnight.

10. 10

    After the cooling time, recover the soup, stir it, and put it back on the heat. Bring to a boil, adjusting the consistency with water if needed. Serve and finish with a drizzle of raw olive oil.

11. 11

    Season with pepper, garnish with thyme, and serve your ribollita immediately!