Ribollita

Day 1 — soak the beans

1. 1Soak the cannellini Official text
   Rest 12 h

   Rinse the dried beans and cover them with three times their volume of cold water. Leave them for 12 hours.

   Tip The deposited recipe uses dried beans, never tinned: their cooking water is part of the soup.

Day 2 — the beans

1. 2Cook the beans
   Cooking 1 h 30 min – 2 hHeat low — barely simmeringStart 1 h 30 min timer

   Drain the beans, put them in the saucepan with fresh cold water to cover by 5 cm and bring slowly to the boil. Simmer very gently, partly covered, for 1½–2 hours, without salt until the last 10 minutes.

   Check Squeeze a bean between two fingers: it is creamy right through, with no chalky core.

   Tip Salt makes the skins tough if added at the start. Add about 8 g in the last 10 minutes.

Day 2 — the soup

Start the vegetables while the beans are cooking.

1. 3Prepare the vegetables Official text
   Hands-on 25 min

   Strip the cavolo nero leaves from their stems; cut them, the Savoy cabbage and the chard into strips about 1 cm wide. Dice the potatoes (1.5 cm) and slice the onions, carrots and celery.

2. 4Soften the onions, carrots and celery Official text
   Cooking 10–15 minHeat medium-low

   In the earthenware pot, warm about 6 tablespoons of olive oil and soften the onions, carrots and celery over medium-low heat until fragrant and golden at the edges, 10–15 minutes.

3. 5Add the tomatoes and the vegetables Official text
   Cooking 15 minHeat medium

   Add the chopped peeled tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, then add the cavolo nero, Savoy cabbage, chard and potatoes and stir for about 10 minutes until the leaves wilt.

4. 6Purée half the beans Official text
   Hands-on 10 min

   Pass half the cooked beans through the food mill with their cooking water and add the purée to the pot, with enough of the remaining bean water (or plain water) to just cover the vegetables.

5. 7Cook very slowly for an hour Official text
   Cooking 1 hHeat lowestStart 1 h timer

   Cook on the lowest heat, lid ajar, for about an hour, stirring now and then and adding a little water if it gets too thick. Season with salt and pepper.

   Check The cabbages are completely tender and the soup is thick and dense.

6. 8Add the whole beans Official text
   Cooking 5 min

   Just before taking it off the heat, stir in the remaining whole beans and heat them through for 5 minutes.

7. 9Layer with the bread Official text
   Hands-on 10 min

   Cut the stale bread into slices about 1 cm thick. In the tureen, lay a layer of bread, pour over half the soup, add another layer of bread and the rest of the soup.

8. 10Cool and leave overnight Official text
   Rest 12 hTemp 4 °C

   Let the soup cool, then refrigerate it overnight. The bread soaks up the soup and the flavours come together.

   Tip Cool it within 2 hours before refrigerating — a deep pot of soup stays warm for a long time.

Day 3 — the ‘ribollitura’

1. 11Bring it back to the boil Official text
   Cooking 10 minHeat medium-lowStart 10 min timer

   Put the soup back in the pot and heat it slowly, stirring gently, until it boils again — about 10 minutes once it is hot.

   Check Thick enough that a spoon almost stands in it, and bubbling all the way through.

2. 12Serve with raw olive oil Official text
   Hands-on 2 min

   Serve in bowls with a generous drizzle of raw extra virgin olive oil. No cheese.