Name: La Ribollita (Tuscan Bean and Cabbage Soup)
Yield: Serves 4 to 6
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: 2-3 handfuls of any other leaf vegetables of your choice, such as spinach or chard, washed and dried, then shredded coarsely; about 1.2 litres/2 pints/5 cups cold water; 4 Italian pork or wild boar sausages; 250 g/9 ozstale country-style white or brown bread: the staler the better; 30 ml/2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve; sea salt and ground black pepper; 150 g/5 oz/1 cup cooked cannellini beans, drained; freshly grated Parmesan or aged pecorino cheese, to serve (optional); 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed; 1 small cabbage, shredded; 2 onions, finely sliced; 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 3carrots, coarsely chopped

Preparation info

Serves
4 to 6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Italian Regional Cookbook

By Valentina Harris

Published 2017

About

An absolutely classic Tuscan recipe, la ribollita is typical of the big, wholesome soups of this region. When in season, cavolo nero, the narrow-leafed black cabbage of Tuscany, is used for this dish, but in fact any kind of cabbage will work just as well. At the table, offer around olive oil so that people can drizzle it over their individual portions, as they wish - this is known as blessing your soup in Tuscany. You can also offer freshly grated Parmesan or aged pecorino cheese.