Ribollita Soup

Recipe #4 from Eating Well magazine. This soup is traditionally a Tuscan soup that uses day old bread to thicken the soup. This recipe uses cannellini beans, some of them mushed up, to thicken the soup. It also uses a lot of veggies, and I added chorizo to give it a nice spicy kick. This soup makes a lot and the serving size is a whopping 1.75 cups!

Ribollita Soup
Ingredients:

1 - 14oz. can whole peeled plum tomatoes
2 - 15 oz. cans cannellini beans, rinsed, divided
3 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 medium leek, halved lengthwise and sliced, white and light green parts only
1/4 cup thinly sliced garlic
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced zucchini
1 tsp salt
1 bunch kale or Swiss chard, trimmed and cut into 2-inch-wide slices
1/4 head Savoy or green cabbage, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cups diced russet potatoes
3 cups vegetable or chicken broth
2 cups water
12 oz. chorizo (optional)
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/8 tsp. celery seed
Crushed red pepper

1. Drain canned tomatoes, reserving the liquid. Dice the tomatoes. Using a potato masher, mash half the beans into a paste (add a bit of broth, if desired, to make mashing the beans easier). Set the tomatoes and beans aside.

2. Heat 2 tbs oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add leek and garlic; cook, stirring, until translucent and tender, 2-3 minutes. Do not brown. Season with pepper. Stir in carrots, celery and zucchini and the remaining 1 tbs oil; cook, stirring, until nearly tender, 3-5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

3. When the carrots and celery are nearly tender, stir in the kale (or chard) and cabbage. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted, 4-6 minutes. Add potatoes, broth, water, the diced tomatoes and juice, the bean puree and whole beans, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Season with celery seed, crushed red pepper and the remaining pepper and salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally and reducing the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer, until all the vegetables are tender, 15-20 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook the chorizo until fully cooked. Add to the soup with only 5 minutes remaining in the final simmer. Serve immediately.