Ribollita (Tuscan Bread and Vegetable Soup)

Ribollita means ‘reboiled,’ and that’s exactly how this Tuscan soup began — as a way to bring day-old vegetable soup and stale bread back to life. Thick enough to eat with a fork, it’s peasant cooking at its heartiest.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 2 (15 oz) cans cannellini beans, drained, one can mashed
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 small bunch cavolo nero or kale, stemmed and chopped
• 4 cups torn stale country bread
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• Grated Parmesan, for serving

Instructions

1. Sauté the vegetables
   Heat olive oil in a large pot and cook the onion, carrots, and celery over medium heat for 8 minutes, until softened.
2. Add garlic and tomatoes
   Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute, then add the diced tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Add beans and broth
   Stir in the mashed and whole cannellini beans and the vegetable broth. Simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Add the greens
   Stir in the cavolo nero or kale and cook for 10 minutes, until tender.
5. Add the bread
   Stir in the torn bread and let the soup sit off the heat for 15 minutes so the bread soaks up the liquid.
6. Reheat and season
   Warm the soup through over low heat, season with salt and pepper, and thin with a little extra broth if it’s too thick.
7. Serve
   Ladle into bowls and finish each with a drizzle of olive oil and grated Parmesan.