Our Tuscan cuisine is world famous – and one of the joys of renting a villa from TuscanDream is the fact that we can bring a fabulous bilingual chef to your villa to not only prepare a sensational feast, but also to give you and your guests a Tuscan cooking lesson.  But if you can’t run off to Tuscany today we thought we’d give you a little taste of Tuscany to whet your appetite!

One of our favourite Tuscan dishes is Ribollita, a traditional thick soup made from bread and cannellini beans (also known in America as Navy beans). We thought we’d share one of our favourite recipes for Ribollita with you, so you can savor Tuscany while you’re still in your own home – and perhaps motivate you to come visit us and learn even more about our mouth watering cuisine.

This recipe makes 6 servings and takes about an hour and a half to make:

Ingredients:

• One small brown onion – peeled and chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, pulverized 1 carrot, chopped into small pieces
• 1 Celery stalk, chopped
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 sprig fresh Rosemary
• ½ cup toasted bread crumbs
• 1 bunch chopped kale
• 4 ounces ham (you can substitute ham for pancetta if you have access to it)
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1, 15 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
• 45 ounces of Cannellini or navy beans, drained and rinsed

Preparation

• In a large pot over medium heat, sauté the garlic, onion, carrot, celery and ham in 2 tablespoons of olive oil for 5 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes and their juices, along with the beans, broth, and rosemary. Simmer, covered, until the beans break apart . This takes approximately an hour.
• Add the kale and cook over a medium heat for six more minutes . Stir in the bread crumbs and serve, drizzled with the remaining olive oil and sprinkled with the cheese.

After you’re feast then come back to our website www.tuscandream.com – and book one of our fabulous villas so you can come experience our cuisine firsthand!