Ribollita | Tuscan Vegetable Soup with Stale Bread and White Beans

Dice the onion, carrot, and celery into 5 mm pieces. Remove the tough center ribs from the kale and slice the leaves into ribbons. Heat the olive oil in a large pot and cook the three vegetables over low heat until softened without browning. Add the garlic and thyme during the final 1 minute.

Add the tomato and cook for 5 minutes to evaporate its liquid, then add the kale and all of the bean cooking liquid. Stir in the salt and black pepper, and simmer over low heat until the kale is tender to the bite. The soup will still be watery at this stage; that is how it should be.

Tear the stale bread, including the crust, into large pieces and submerge them in the soup, pressing gently with a wooden spoon. Cook over the lowest heat, scraping the bottom from time to time, until the bread breaks down and absorbs the soup. The texture is ready when a spoon placed upright in the center stands for a moment; drizzle one 5 ml measure of extra-virgin olive oil over each serving.