Ribollita

Last chance to prepare ribollita, the traditional Tuscan soup, mainly made with cannellini beans and cavolo nero and served with stale bread. The cavolo nero will be shortly out of season.
This is my family recipe, an inspiration for this popular soup. In fact, our ribollita slightly changed every time we cooked it, according to what we had in the pantry.
However, we always stick to two main rules: we always use dried cannellini, soaked overnight. The tinned ones have no taste and no consistency. We combine cavolo nero with Swiss chard, which brings a sweeter taste, curbing the tangy cavolo nero. 

Ribollita
Cannellini Bean and Black Cabbage Soup 

For the beans:
250 g dried cannellini beans
1 onion, quartered
1 celery stalk, chopped
2 bay leaves
Sea salt
For the soup:
2 red onions, sliced
2 carrots, quartered and chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 medium potato, peeled and cubed
1 tablespoon tomato paste
250 g cavolo nero, shredded
250 g Swiss chard, finely chopped
Se salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin oil
To serve:
6-8 slices of country bread
2 garlic cloves, halved
2 tablespoons extra virgin oil
Serves 6 to 8
Preparation time: 20 minutes, plus the overnight bean soaking
Cooking time: 2 hours
1. Soak the beans in cold water overnight, then drain and rinse.
2. Put the beans in a large, heavy stockpot with vegetables, herb and salt. Pour in enough cold water to cover the beans by about 5 cm and bring slowly to the boil. Cover the pan and cook very gently until the beans are tender, 1 hour.
3. Lift all the beans out of the liquid with a slotted spoon (leave the vegetables and herbs in the stock). Purée half of the beans in a food processor, and then place them into a bowl. Leave the remaining beans whole and strain the cooking liquid into another bowl, discarding the herb and vegetables.
4. Heat two tablespoons of oil in the pot in which the beans have been cooked. Sauté onions, carrot, celery and potato with a pinch of salt for 5 minutes.
5. Stir in garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
6. Mix in the bean purée, the whole beans and the cavolo nero.
7. Measure the bean liquid and add enough water to make it up to about 1.5 litres. Add to the pot, along with salt and bring to the boil. Cook over the lowest possible heat for about 40 minutes.
8. Add the Swiss chard and cook for another 5 minutes. Add pepper and check seasoning.
9. Leave to rest for at least 30 minutes before serving.
10. Meanwhile, grill the bread and rub it with the halved garlic cloves.
11. Arrange the bread on individual soup bowls and ladle the soup over it.
12. Drizzle with extra virgin oil and serve.