A month in Tuscany, and what better Italian dish to enjoy than La Ribollita, the Tuscan Bean and Vegetable Soup? On returning home, I was determined to make this for family and friends. Some of the recipes I have seen don't include the second cooking, but this seems to be a necessity. This soup is so thick you can stand a spoon up in it.2 1/2 cups of dried haricot beans, soaked overnight and drained
2 tablesp olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
2 leeks, finely chopped
1 sprig rosemary, finely chopped
small piece hot chilli pepper
1 ham bone
salt and pepper
Garnish:
1/2 to 3/4 cup olive oil
1 sprig thyme, finely chopped
8 slices bread, toasted
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
Heat the olive oil in a large pan and gently fry the garlic, onion, carrot, celery, leeks, rosemary and the piece of chilli until they begin to turn brown. Add the beans and ham bone. Cover with water and season with salt and pepper. Simmer gently for 1 to 2 hours or until the beans are tender. Remove the ham bone and process half the beans in a blender or food processor, then return to the soup.
Heat 1/2 to 3/4 cup olive oil and gently fry the the crushed garlic cloves and thyme until golden. Strain half the oil into the soup, discard the garlic. Stir the soup well.
Arrange the slices of toast at the bottom of a wide casserole dish, sprinkle with half the parmesan cheese and pour the soup over the top. Cover with the onion slices and add the rest of the oil and grated parmesan cheese. Cook in a moderate oven (375 F, 180 C) for about half an hour.
