La Ribollita - Cabbage and Beans Soup

Also in Italian!

This is a typical Soup from Tuscany, eat generally on Friday but than re-heated the days after so the name, "ribollita" that means brought back to boil.

There are many different way to prepare this fantastic soup, here you can read my way of bring it to the table.
It might resable the more famous minestrone soup but to be a real ribollita it must be cooked with withe beans and two different type of cabbage, the savoy cabbage and the black cabbage typical of Tuscany.
When the last one is difficult to find you can use instead any other kind of cabbage in order to have at least two!
Logically the tastewill not be the same but the soup will get a very peculiar taste anyway.

Cavolo Nero

INGREDIENTS:



2 Potatoes
1 Onion
1 Swiss chard
4 Carrots
250 gr Cavolo Nero
250 gr Savoy Cabbage
250 gr White Beans
2 Tomatoes
1 stick of Celery
1 Leek
Thyme
Rosemary
Vegetable Stock
Old Bread or Toasted Bread
Extra virgin Olive Oil


PREPARATION:
Cut the onion in small pieces and fry them.
Cut the celery, the carrots and the leek and add it to the onion.
When this veggies have nicely fried add all the other vegetables and the stock.
Add some hot water little by little cause the soup has to cook but result quite solid and creamy.
When the veggies have start to get softer add also the beans and keep on cook the soup till all the veggies result soft.
When the soup is ready, with the help of a blender, mix some part of the veggies to give the soup a smoother texture but still with pieces.
Serve it hot pured over the bread and with a touch of extra virgin olive oil.