Week 268: Chicken Ribollita Soup

Happy Thursday!!

This week's soup, which is really more of a stew, originates in the Tuscany region of Italy and is a simple soup. Simple in the sense that the ingredients are leftover bread, cannellini beans, cabbage and inexpensive vegetables like carrots, celery and onions. But the soup tastes anything but simple ... It's flavorful, hearty and perfect for a winter's evening dinner!

!On the menu for TUESDAY, JANUARY 28th is CHICKEN RIBOLLITA SOUP with PANE BIANCO. My tasty interpretation of Ribollita is a hearty, comforting stew choked full of veggies, bites of fresh chicken, creamy white beans and shredded cabbage ... and it's garnished with homemade herbed croutons!

The soup begins with sautéing onions, carrots, celery and garlic in the pot with olive oil. After a few minutes, shredded cabbage is added. Once all the veggies are softened, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, homemade chicken stock, tender bites of chicken and spices are mixed in.

The soup simmers until all the flavors blend together. And while the traditional ribollita soup is reheated with leftover bread...I thought it would be a lot more fun (and tastier) to garnish the soup with homemade herbed croutons.

The bread companion this week is Pane Bianco. This delicious bread is filled with sun-dried tomatoes, parmesan cheese, and fresh herbs. Not only is it a beautiful bread, it tastes fantastic served with this soup.