Ribollita

We tasted this amazing Tuscan bean and bread soup in tiny Trattoria Mario in Florence. I was lucky enough to get hold of Mario's recipe. It takes two days to make but well worth the wait!

Ingredients

2 red onions, finely chopped  

450g Bread (day old - thin slices)  

450g cooked white beans plus the cooking water  

1 Cavolo Nero (cabbage in season), sliced and chopped  
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped  
4 celery stalks, sliced  
4 carrots, sliced  
2 tbsp tomato paste  
small bunch of basil, leaves torn  
Extra Virgin Olive Oil  
Oregano  
Pepper or (chili pepper)  
Course Ground Sea Salt  

Method

Step 1
(make Zuppa di Verdura)

Sauté onion in olive oil for 20 minutes until cooked. Add a ladle of the cooking water from the beans and let stew. Add the cabbage, celery, parsley, carrot, and basil to this mixture. Cook for 20 minutes, covered.

Add the beans, half pureed, the rest whole and the liquid. Stir. 
Add tomato paste, oregano, and season to taste with salt and pepper or chili pepper.
Add water and cook for 90 minutes. This is not meant to be a thick soup.

Step 2
(thicken with bread)

Let the soup rest at least a day. Layer the soup with thin slices of day old bread. Heat while stirring until the bread breaks apart and becomes a cream. Add more water (another one part) or bean broth if you have it. When the soup is done, turn off the heat and stir in some olive oil.


Taste.
Add salt and pepper if needed. Serve with an extra drizzle of olive oil on top.