Ribollita

It is one of the most popular Tuscan recipes but in the last years, because of a growing interest in our traditional recipes, many people pretended to be expert, simplified it and sometimes deeply changed the original version. I remember my grandmother washing and cutting vegetables patiently and the taste and the smell of the real Ribollita. I really like the traditional version and I wouldn't want its memory to get lost.

Ingredients:

300 gr stale bread

400 gr dried cannellini beans

10 cavolo nero leaves

Half savoy cabbage

3 bunches of chard

2 potatoes

3 carrots

3 celeries

3 onions

2 tomatoes

Olive oil

Soak the beans for 12 hours then boil in 2 litres of water adding salt, sage and garlic.

In 2 different pans pour plenty of olive oil, then in the larger one put 2 chopped onions, 2 celeries and 2 carrots, in the other one put 1 onion, 1 carrot and 1 celery. Let it cook well.

After having cooked them add in the smaller pan: boiled beans with their own water and 1 tomato, in the other one: chopped cabbages, chard, potatoes and 1 tomato. Cover it and let them cook slowly.

All the vegetables should start the cooking process in their own water, but if they dry too much add water. After half an hour add water to cover them and continue cooking for an hour.

Divide the beans, pass half of them through the mixer.

Add all the beans with their own water to the vegetables and boil while stiring the mixture.

Cut in o slices and toast the bread flavoring with the garlic. Fill an oven tin alternating bread, vegetable and olive oil. Enjoy!