Ribollita

This is Vanessa's favorite soup, and it has a bit of a story to go along with it. When we were in Italy for the summer of 2007, we stayed in an old 13th century house that was on a farm which had been converted into a B&B. One of the options available was to take a cooking lesson from the people who ran the B&B. Well, I jumped at the chance for that and wound up cooking some really great stuff.

This recipe is an old peasant stew called Ribollita which is essentially a load of vegetables and bread. A signature ingredient is cavolo nero, or black cabbage. This, on it's face, doesn't sound that exciting. There is something about how this soup tastes which is warm, cozy and comforting! A little splash of lemon-infused olive oil is all it needs and it is really something.

This is a very easy soup, which is great and really quite healthy. But don't eat it because of that. This is rainy day eating at it's best. Note: this needs a GOOD BIT of salt and pepper to season such a big pot of soup. Also, use your discretion on herbs... sage and rosemary are my favorites, but thyme, oregano and parsley work, too.

300 g chickpeas, 150 g boiled in salted water, 150g set aside
1 leek, or onion, chopped
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
3 stalks celery, cut into chunks
2 courgettes, peeled and cut into chunks
½ liter broth, or water
300 g dry bread, torn into pieces
20 leaves cavolo nero, stems removed, torn into pieces
20 leaves chard, stems removed, torn into pieces
salt and pepper
extra virgin olive oil (lemon-infused, if available)
rosemary and/or sage leaves

Clean and rinse the vegetables. Set 150g of chickpeas aside, and puree the rest in some of the water it was boiled in. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a wide pot over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onion or leek, potatoes, carrots, celery and courgettes and saute until starting to brown and are becoming softened.

Add the broth, bread and greens. Season generously with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 1 hour. Add the reserved bean puree and cook for one more hour, stirring occasionally. Add the chickpeas and cook for another 15 minutes. Drizzle with olive oil and serve hot.