Vegan Ribollita (Tuscan Bread & Bean Soup)

Ingredients

For 6 portions

• 🏺 6 Tbsp olive oil
• 🧅 1 medium onions
• 🥕 2 medium carrots
• 🪴 2 sticks celery
• 🧄 4 cloves garlic
• 🥔 1 medium potato
• 🌿 1 Tsp fresh rosemary
• 🌿 1 Tsp thyme
• 🌿 0.25 Tsp chilli flakes
• 🥫 400g canned tomatoes
• 🫘 480g white beans, canned
• 🥬 300g kale
• 🍆 2 cubes vegetable stock cube
• 🥤 1,500ml tap water
• 🍞 200g sourdough bread
• 🧂 1 Tsp salt
• 🌿 0.5 Tsp black pepper

Method

1. Finely chop the onion, carrots and celery (this mix is the soffritto). Slice the garlic. Peel and dice the potato. Strip the cavolo nero (or kale) leaves from the stems and roughly chop. Drain and rinse the beans. Tear the stale bread into chunks.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium-low heat. Add the soffritto and cook gently for 12–15 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft and sweet but not browned.
3. Add the garlic, rosemary, thyme and chilli flakes and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add the canned tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, breaking them up with your spoon.
5. Mash about a third of the beans with a fork. Add all the beans, the potato, cavolo nero, crumbled stock cubes (check they're vegan) and water. Bring to the boil, then simmer, partly covered, for 30 minutes until the potato and greens are very soft.
6. Stir in the bread and simmer for another 10 minutes, stirring often, until the bread has broken down and the soup is very thick – a spoon should almost stand up in it. Add a little more water if it gets too stiff.
7. Season with the salt and pepper, then turn off the heat and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
8. Serve in warm bowls with a generous drizzle of the remaining olive oil on top. Ribollita means 'reboiled' – it's even better reheated the next day.