Ribollita – Tuscan bean soup

Ribollita-tuscan bean soup

I feel sorry for soup. It has been given an awful reputation. Some people call it boring and bland; that it’s only eaten by those who don’t really enjoy food and is perfect for those calorie counters. I’m here to stand up for soup and support its case of being an exciting meal if you know how to. Lets turn those haters into soup lovers. I already have a few recipes that I love and share on my blog for you to have a peruse; Vegetable minestrone with pesto, Italian fish seafood soup and Tuscan vegetable beef soup. However, I have another fabulous new recipe to share with you.

It’s sausage week so I decided to start the week with Ribollita. It’s a traditional Italian vegetable and bean soup cooked by peasants back in the day on the Tuscan farmlands. It translates to ‘re-boiled’ as large pans of soup would be cooked and reheated throughout the week. Sometimes sausage/pork would be added in when the the local pig had been slaughtered. Harsh but true. I did a little research across different cookbooks, trying to come up with the tastiest and simplified recipe. Here’s my version – a TTI remix of Ribollita

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

• • Olive oil

• • 300g Tuscan sausage

• • 1 onion, finely chopped

• • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• • 2 carrots, finely diced

• • 2 celery sticks, finely sliced

• • 1 potato, diced

• • Pinch of fennel seeds, crushed

• • Pinch of chilli flakes

• • 1 bay leaf

• • 100g Cavolo Nero

• • 800ml vegetable stock

• • 1 tin of cannellini beans, rinsed.

• • 1 small ciabatta

• • Extra virgin olive oil (to serve)

• Grated Parmesan (to serve)

[/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

1. 1. First, fry the sausages in a drizzle of olive oil in a big deep pan. Brown them for 10-15 minutes.
   2. Remove sausages from pan.
   3. Drizzle a little more olive oil and add the onion, garlic, carrot, celery, potato, fennel seeds, chilli and bay leaf. Stir with a wooden spoon and let soften for 15 minutes, covered with the lid slightly ajar. (Do not let the veggies brown, very important. It will effect the flavour).
   4. Then, add the cavolo nero, pour in the stock and add the cannellini beans. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
   5. In the meantime, slice the ciabatta loaf into large croutons, drizzle withe olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 10 mins till slightly toasted.
   6. Slice the sausage and add to the soup for 10 minutes to heat through.
   7. To serve, line the soup bowl with the toasted bread, pour over the soup and drizzle extra virgin olive oil & sprinkles of Parmesan.

[/directions]