Ribollita! Zuppa della Casalinga!

I first had Ribollita in Florence at a restaurant aptly named 'La Casalinga' [the housewife]. It was a tiny hole in the wall place on a back street, and no one spoke English. We went there more than once during our week in Tuscany, and I have altered a few different recipes to come up with a version of Ribollita that's pretty darn close to the soup at the restaurant. It seems like a lot of vegetables to use up at once, and it is, but you'll have lots of soup. This soup is good the first day, but much better as time goes on.

Yield: Lots. Invite friends over and send it home with them. You'll still have enough for the whole week. And you'll be pleased for that.

Freezability: High, but don't add the bread till you're ready to serve it. Defrosted dried bread = soggy badness

Eat at room temperature: No.

Ingredients
1/2 head green savoy cabbage or cavolo nero, chopped fine
2-6 carrots, depending on size, peeled and chopped
2-3 potatoes, chopped
2-4 tomatoes, depending on size, chopped (or 1/2 12oz can tomatoes)
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
1-2 onions, depending on size, chopped
about 1 cup dry/2 cups cooked white beans (cannellini, navy, etc) [if using uncooked dry: soak for 8 hrs before, then cook in sufficient water with 2 bay leaves. drain and remove bay leaves before using in this recipe]
olive oil
1-2 cubes vegetable stock
dried old bread or croutons, about 1 handful per person (any bread other than raisin bread works, as does a mix of breads)
salt and pepper
Any 2 (or more! but no less than 2) of the following vegetables: 1 bunch kale, 1 bunch chard, 2 medium zucchini, 1 bunch spinach, 1 bunch beet leaf, 2 medium leeks, an extra onion, 2 parsnips [shudder], few handfuls of green beans.

Method
Saute the onion in olive oil till soft. Add in any leafy greens (not cabbage) or leeks and saute until mostly cooked through. In a large stockpot, combine several cups of water (around 8, but you may need more depending on the amount of extra veg you put in) and the stock cubes. Once boiling, add in all the veg (onions as well) and the beans. Reduce to high simmer and cover, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are cooked through. Turn off heat.

There are several ways to do the next step: if you're serving the whole pot of soup, or not freezing it, toss in 1-2 handfuls of cubed stale bread for each person/serving, and stir. If you are freezing the soup, remove the part you're freezing and add in the bread accordingly.

Add salt and pepper to taste, as well as a drizzle of really nice olive oil.

Serving Suggestions
This is nice with a really simple salad, or just on its own. For a dinner party (it's good enough, really!) it would be nice with red wine and a fluffy cheesecake or fruit for dessert.