Chilly nights call for deep bowls of steaming soup. Laden with chunky vegetables, creamy cannellini beans, aromatic herbs and peppery pork meatballs, this easy to prepare tasty Tuscan Soup – Ribollita is a winter warmer at its best. I found the recipe in this August issue of Delicious magazine as I was flicking through looking for family meal ideas that made the most of a single, large pot. Hence less washing up which is absolutely essential at the end of a long week. 

The original recipe includes deep green cavolo nero, also called Tuscan black cabbage, but you can certainly substitute leafy green spinach. Unfortunately I had neither in the fridge, having used the last of the spinach in a batch of cheesy spinach pastries. However with all the other ingredients simmered together my soup still had a satisfying robust flavour. 

I also reduced the amount of chilli flakes to a quarter of what the recipe recommend because of my two littlest ones – Luka, who says, “Eating chilli is like having my tongue eaten by ants!” and baby Maksim who would be happy to cram everything on the dinner table into his mouth if I were to allow it. I also added extra vegetables and soup macaroni, for a truly hearty soup. 

The recipe below will serve 4 people. I doubled this for my family with great results. 

About 400 grams Italian-style pork and fennel sausages
60 ml olive oil
2 large carrots
2 large celery stalks
250 grams French green beans
1 large onion
1 rosemary spring (about 1/2 tablespoon finely chopped)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes (or 1/4 teaspoon if you don’t want too much heat)
1 teaspoon fennel seeds (I left mine whole)
400 gram can chopped tomatoes
1 litre chicken stock
1 bunch cavallo nero, trimmed and shredded (optional)
2 zucchini 
400 gram can cannellini beans, drained
1/4 cup soup macaroni (I used pasta stars)
sea salt to taste – 1/2 a teaspoon
4 thick slices sourdough bread torn into chunks
1/3 cup grated parmesan
Juice of 1 lemon

Start off by removing the sausage meat from the casings and rolling into tiny, bite sized meatballs. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over a medium-high heat and brown the meatballs evenly. Remove to a plate when ready. 

Finely dice all of the veggies. Reduce the heat to medium, add another tablespoon of olive oil and sauté the veggies, herbs and spices for 10 minutes, stirring regularly to prevent burning. 

Add the tomatoes, chicken stock and bring to the boil briefly. Reduce the heat to low and add the beans and meatballs. Simmer for 30 minutes. If using spinach or cavallo nero, this should be added 10 minutes before the end of simmering along with the macaroni. 

To serve, squeeze the lemon juice into the main pot and stir through. 

Toss the sourdough bread pieces in a bowl with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Place under a grill until golden. 

Ladle the soup into each person’s bowl and add a handful of the crispy bread (or just the pieces of sourdough in their fresh, un-toasted form as I did because my brood assembled at the table before I had to chance to turn on the grill!). Sprinkle over the parmesan and prepare to feel pleasantly warm from the inside out.