Tuscan soup , also known as cabbage soup or bread soup , is perhaps one of the most famous dishes of the food and wine tradition of our region.

Its origins date back to antiquity, perhaps to the Middle Ages, when farmers, unable to afford to waste the little food available, found a way to reuse waste, such as stale bread or pork rinds, combining them with the fruits of their harvest .

Thus was born a dish as poor as it was tasty, which became a classic of Florentine, Pistoia and Pisan cuisines.

If you want to try one of the strong dishes of our tradition, the one from Bio Colombini , a company in the province of Pisa specialized in organic farming, awaits you in our shop, but if you prefer to try your hand at the stove here is a simple recipe ideal for 4 people:

INGREDIENTS :

• Stale Tuscan bread
• Cannellini beans (150 gr.)
• 1 quarter of cabbage and black cabbage (also called savoy cabbage)
• Chard
• 1 potato
• 1 carrot
• Ham rinds strips
• 1 garlic and 1/2 onion
• 1 liter of water
• Verdoliva EVO oil
• Parsley
• Celery
• Tomato puree Az. Agr Podere Pereto
• Tomato concentrate
• Vegetable broth

PREPARATION:

Boil the cannellini beans with the rinds in water for about an hour.
At the same time, chop the garlic, onion and parsley and fry in a pan for a few minutes.

When the onion is golden, add the potato (cut into cubes), the carrot cut into slices, the cabbage (removing the central rib), the chard, salt, pepper, tomato puree and concentrate, diluting with the cooking water of beans.

When the beans are cooked, pour part of them into the pan, and blend the rest together with the vegetable broth and then add this too and simmer everything for 10-20 minutes.

Let's now take a tureen, where we will alternate layers of slices of stale bread with others of soup, until completely used.

Leave the mixture to rest for a few hours, until it takes on the consistency of a semi-solid.

Reheat it well before serving, adjusting it once on the plate with oil, salt and pepper to taste. As good Tuscans , we recommend accompanying it with some raw red onion wedges.

Once ready, our soup can be stored in the fridge for 1-2 days and can always be reheated before consuming it.

PAIRING :

The wine we recommend as a pairing is Luxirio , a Tuscan red obtained from Sangiovese and Ciliegiolo grapes with a not too accentuated aroma, so as not to overpower the flavor of the soup but with vinous hints that recall the wines of the past. It is produced by the Cantina la Tana di Crespina (Pisa), an agricultural company that has been working with an artisanal method since 1950.

VARIANT :

A very tasty variant involves toasting the bread and using it as bruschetta to season with our soup and eat it while still crunchy. This variant, much lighter, is often used for a summer dinner or as an appetizer.

If, however, you are looking for a nutritious meal but with stronger and more decisive flavours, on our shop you can find the Ribollita or the Bean and Vegetable Soup from Tuscany Food , a small company from Grosseto specializing in typical Tuscan soups and sauces.

Enjoy your meal!