The Italian Cuisine is famous all over the world for its full tastes and unforgettable dishes: how could someone forget the taste of Lasagne, Pizza or Pesto?
With hundreds of different recipes, which can be different from region to region, lovely smells and genuine
ingredients, coming to the “Belpaese” will be a wonderful experience for your palates!

But why not learn how to prepare something by yourself? It’s easier than it seems! Let’s start with a special recipe coming directly from Tuscany, the heart of Italy: ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you the “Ribollita”.
Well, the name could sound quite strange and actually means “re-boiled”, beacuse during the poor periods the Italian farmers used to cook it on Friday and to reheat it on Saturday in order to have something to eat until Sunday. It’s a simple stale bread and vegetable soup.

INGREDIENTS
500 g stale Tuscan bread (not salty, really important)
300 g dried white beans
250 g ripe tomatoes
3 carrot
1 Tuscan black cabbage
3 potato
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 stalk of celery
a few springs of parseley
thyme
extra-virgin olive oil
salt & pepper
chilli powder

LA RIBOLLITA
There are many versions of this traditional Tuscan dish, depending on the season and the availability of the ingredients. Start by preparing a good bean soup. Leave the dried beans tio steep for at least 12 hours, then drain them. Cover with fresh water and cook over a low heat in a covered pot. Meanwhile in a pan cook the diced onion, carrot and celery in a little oil. Add the crushed garlic, the skinned and chopped tomatoes, the red chilli and the thyme and after about 5 minutes add the potatoes cut into small cubes and the thinly sliced cabbage. Cook over a low heat, adding a little water. Pass the beans and their liquid through a food mill and add this mixture to the vegetables. Check the seasoning just before removing from the heat, after about 20 minutes. meanwhile, in a large ovenproof dish arrange two thin layers of bread and pour the soup over them. Make another two layers of bread and cover with more soup. The ribollita is obtained by reheating the soup over a very low heat. Make a dent in the centre, add some olive oil and boil very slowly, protecting the pot with a heat-diffuser plate.

Try it and you will be surprised – absolutely delicious!

This recipe is included in the Italian cooking courses offered by Institute Galilei.