How to make
La Ribollita is a typical Italian soup of the Tuscany region. The main ingredients of the vegetable soup are the beans, which can be white, pinto or red and the black Tuscan cabbage (kale).
The word ribollita itself means boiled several times. And after each boiling it becomes more and more delicious! You will need time to prepare it, but the result is worth it!
Soak the beans for 12 hours in cold water. Wash them, pour enough water to cover them and boil them for 5 minutes. Pour the water again out. Pour cold water, add salt, sage leaves and garlic cloves.
Put the pot on the stove and boil the beans, until they're done. Cut the onion, carrot, celery, put them in a pot, pour olive oil and fry for 3-4 minutes.
Add the chopped cabbage, kale (cut into strips), the diced potatoes, the tomatoes, which have been peeled, the seeds have been removed and are then chopped and finely chopped rosemary.
Add all this to the pot with the fried vegetables. Stir and cover to stew everything for 5-6 minutes. Then pour the water, in which the beans have boiled.
If it seems too little, you can add a glass of hot water. Cover the pot and cook the dish for another hour.
Add the boiled beans to the already prepared bean soup. Now there are two options for serving.
Place old bread in a wide pot. Pour the lean soup over it, put it on a heated hob and stir, until the bread becomes mushy.
Or distribute the soup into bowls and serve the Ribolita with toasted bread, drizzled with olive oil! That's what I did.
I understand, that this recipe for Lean Tuscan Ribolita Soup may seem strange to you, but I assure you, that it is very tasty and nutritious, especially during fasting!
Enjoy!
