Tuscan Soup , also known as Cabbage Soup or Bread Soup, is perhaps one of the most famous dishes in our region's food and wine tradition.

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

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

How to cook traditional Tuscan cabbage soup

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

INGREDIENTS :

• Stale Tuscan bread
• Cannellini Beans (150 gr.)
• 1/4 cup of cabbage and black cabbage (also called Savoy cabbage)
• Chard
• 1 potato
• 1 carrot
• Ham rind strips
• 1 garlic and 1/2 onion
• 1 liter of water
• Verdoliva EVO Oil
• Parsley
• Celery
• Tomato Puree from the Podere Pereto Farm
• Tomato Paste
• 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 sauté in a pan for a few minutes.

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

Once the beans are cooked, pour some of them into the pan and blend the rest with the vegetable stock, then add this and simmer everything for 10-20 minutes.

Now let's take a soup bowl, where we will alternate layers of stale bread slices with others of soup, until we have used it all.

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

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

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

PAIRING :

The wine we recommend pairing is Luxirio , a Tuscan red made from Sangiovese and Ciliegiolo grapes. Its aroma is subtle, so as not to overpower the soup's flavor, but it has vinous notes reminiscent of vintage wines. It is produced by Cantina la Tana in Crespina (Pisa), a winery that has been using artisanal methods since 1950.

VARIANT :

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

If you're looking for a nutritious meal with stronger, more decisive flavors, you can find Ribollita or Bean and Vegetable Soup from Tuscany Food in our shop, a small company in Grosseto specializing in traditional Tuscan soups and sauces.

Enjoy your meal!