Ribollita

I love fall, it is my favorite time of year.  As the cool weather approaches I find myself spending more time than usual in the kitchen and I enjoy trying out and developing new recipes.   Soup is my favorite thing to eat. I am always making new soups, taking old recipes and improvising with new ingredients.  This soup is similiar to pasta e fagioli, but without the pasta and adding in some protein and is very quick and simple to assemble and prepare.

"RIBOLLITA" is a famous Tuscan soup a hearty potage made with bread and vegetables.  There are many variations but the main ingredients always include leftover bread, canellini beans and inexpensive vegetables. Its name literally means "reboiled". Like most Tuscan cuisine, the soup has peasant origins. It was originally made by reheating (ie. reboiling) the leftover minestrone or vegetable soup from the previous day.

3 garlic cloves, minced or leave whole

1 small onion, diced

1 carrot, peeled and diced

1 celery stalk diced
4-6 ozs. of chicken, turkey or italian pork sausage removed from casing and rolled into mini meatballs (size of a quarter)
½ cup olive oil
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 (15-ounce)cans cannellini or great northern beans, drained

2-3 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 sprig fresh rosemary

1 bay leaf

Sea salt and crushed red pepper to taste

1 bunch of greens your choice of  (escarole, kale, spinach), washed and roughly chopped
½ loaf of Italian bread, cut into 1-inch squares and slightly toasted

 grated Pecorino Romano cheese (optional)

Directions:

•    Chop the celery, onion and carrot.

•    In a large pot, sauté the garlic, onion, celery, carrot and sausage in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
•    Add the tomatoes with their juices, the beans, broth, rosemary, bay leaf and salt and pepper.
•    Simmer, covered, for one hour
•    Add the greens and cook for 10 more minutes.
•    Remove the bay leaf, stir in the bread and serve, drizzled with the remaining olive oil and sprinkled with Pecorino Romano cheese.