Ribollita – Tuscan Peasant Soup

Serves 4

300 g dried cannellini beans

2 red onions, finely chopped

3 carrots, peeled

1 small potato, peeled

500 g cavolo nero cabbage, or another type of cabbage such as kale

200 g Swiss chard

150 g stale bread, cut into cubes

1 fresh or dried bay leaf A generous glug of extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Preparation: 2 hours

1 Start the day before serving by soaking the beans in water overnight or for at least 8 hours. The next day, start by cooking the beans. Discard the soaking liquid and boil the cannellini beans in a large pot filled with water, together with the bay leaf, until they are tender, about 40 minutes.

Depending on how old your dried beans are, the cooking time can be 10 to 20 minutes shorter or longer.

2 In the meantime, chop your vegetables into roughly 2 inch / 5 cm cubes and strips.

3 Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cabbage and continue cooking until it has softened, about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often. Add the rest of the vegetables and cook over medium to high heat for another 10 minutes, until they start to brown.

4 Add 1 quart / 1 liter water to the vegetables, bring it to a simmer and let cook for 1 hour. Add the cooked cannellini beans (without their cooking liquid) and cook for another 40 minutes. Add some water during the cooking time to keep the soup thick, but liquid enough to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper.

5 “Ribollita” means “reboiled”, as this soup is even better the day after, when it is reheated. So, you can either serve it once it’s cooked, or reheated the next day.

6 To serve, make some croutons by heating a glug of olive oil in a large pan. Once it’s hot, add the bread cubes and fry until golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Arrange them on top of the soup and serve!