Ribollita Soup

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes until soft and pale golden.
2. Add the courgette and cabbage, then fry for 2 minutes.
3. Add the beans, tomatoes, wine, stock and thyme; bring to a boil.
4. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender. 
5. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir the crumbled bread into the soup and leave to soak for 10 minutes – this thickens the soup. 
6. Season the soup to taste, then gently reheat until piping hot. 
7. To serve, place a slice of bread in the base of four soup plates and drizzle over plenty of oil.
8. Ladle the soup on top and finish with another drizzle of oil.

Chef's tip

Make it the day before serving to allow the flavours to mature. After heating it up, you may want to try topping it with some sliced spring or salad onion.

Serving suggestion

Ribollita is hearty enough to be a one course meal. Traditionally served with a piece of bread placed on the bottom of the bowl and covered with the soup, you might want to serve the bread separately if it is a special one (e.g. bread with olives or with dried tomatoes). It goes well with a nice colourful salad or with a cheese selection.

Wine selection

Tuscan cooking doesn't get any more traditional than this. No wonder this soup's perfect partner are Le Ellere Chianti Classico DOCG, Chianti DOCG or Vernaccia di San Gimignano La Gentilesca DOCG, from Tuscany's cultural, spiritual, and gastronomic heartland.

Family tip

We suggest you to make a generous use of your extra virgin olive oil in this dish: it's really worth it!

Dish history

Ribollita is a famous Tuscan soup in the true peasant style (like most Tuscan cuisine), a hearty potage made of seasonal vegetables and stale bread. Its name literally means 'reboiled', since it was often cooked in big quantities, usually on friday, so that the leftovers could be eaten the following days after having been reheated, i.e. reboiled. The most traditional ingredients for this soup are (black) kale, stale Tuscan bread, cannellini or borlotti beans and a good extra virgin olive oil. But, of course, since peasants would use whatever vegetable they had available, there are many versions of this recipe depending on location and family tradition.