Ribollita (Vegetable and bread soup)

300g potatoes.
300g savoy cabbage.
300g black cabbage (kale).
4 ripe tomatoes.
500g fresh cannellini beans (250g if dried).
200g Swiss chard.
One red onion.
3 cloves garlic.
2 sticks celery.
2 Carrots.
2 courgettes.
Thyme.
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil.
Wholemeal bread, a day or two old.
Chili pepper.
Salt.

It is best to cook the beans on their own first, perhaps the day before, as they cook much more slowly than the rest of the vegetables (see the recipe for fagioli in olio). Clean, wash, peel and chop all the vegetables and put into a large saucepan. Cover with water and cook for 40 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the cooked beans. Fry the onion with the oil and chili pepper (if liked) in an earthenware casserole; add the thyme leaves. Cut the bread into cubes and put into the casserole; now pour in the soup and cook gently for about ten minutes, then leave to stand off the heat.

Before serving, it should be put in the oven to cook again for twenty minutes, with olive oil drizzled on top. You can also garnish the soup with rings of raw onion before putting it into the oven as, once baked, they give a really special flavour to this favourite classic.