150g of cannellini beans, soaked in cold water overnight
1/2 onion, peeled and cut in half (still attached at the root)
4 garlic cloves, unpeeled and bashed
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs of thyme
salt
Ribollita
olive oil
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 pinch of chilli flakes
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced into 1cm cubes
2 celery sticks, sliced
3 garlic cloves, sliced
3 plum tomatoes, quartered
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into sixths
3 cavolo nero leaves, roughly chopped
2 savoy cabbage leaves, or swiss chard, sliced
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of rosemary
1 sprig of thyme
100g of stale bread, torn into rough 3cm chunks
salt
pepper
Method
1
Cook the cannellini beans in a pan of salted water with the onion, garlic, bay, thyme and a healthy pinch of salt for 45 minutes, or until just undercooked. Drain and reserve the cooking water. Discard the onion, garlic and herbs
2
Add a splash of olive oil to a large, heavy-bottomed pan over a medium heat. Gently sweat the onion, garlic, carrot and celery with the herbs, chilli flakes, fennel and a pinch of salt until soft but without colour (about 10 minutes)
3
Add the tomatoes and stir for a couple of minutes. Add the beans and reserved bean stock, topping up with water as needed. Simmer for 30 minutes
4
After this time, add the potato, cavolo nero, savoy cabbage and bread and simmer for a further 15 minutes, or until the potato is cooked. Taste and season with salt and pepper
5
For best results, chill the soup after cooking and reheat the next day. Serve with a generous drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil and freshly cracked black pepper