I tell many times that I am lazy, but in reality, I am not. Its just that I don’t like cooking every single meal, every single day. Another thing is that after years and years of trying to find shortcuts, I have finally come to accept that the stomach commands and we obey. Such ‘gyan’ (knowledge) makes you accept the everyday cooking with a little positivism.

That doesn’t mean that I have given up on looking for shortcuts. I still look at every possible way to cut down extra or even regular work. So you can imagine my happiness when I came across this heavy vegetable laden recipe for ribollita. This Tuscan thick soup has it all – vegetables, bread, beans and lots of flavor. I am guessing its kind of stew with all left overs cooked together, like our kootu or avial recipes. But still, its a great healthy choice for dinner for the whole family.

So make these, serve these with love and accept that if you don’t struggle against your stomach, your life is pretty much easy and very tasty.

Source:  Food.com

Serves : 4

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil or oil of  your choice
• 4-5 garlic pods, minced or crushed
• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 ribs of celery, chopped
• 1 cup chopped savoy cabbage/spinach/kale or any green leafy vegetable
• 2 cups of cooked beans of your choice, 1 can cannellini beans in the original recipe
• 4 cups of vegetable stock or water
• 1 can of crushed tomatoes or 1 cup of pureed tomatoes
• 1/2 loaf sourdough bread, torn into pieces
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning- optional
• salt, pepper, red chili flakes – for seasoning

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add the garlic cloves. Saute for a minute and add the chopped onion, celery and carrots. Let it cook for 4-5 minutes.
2. Add the cabbage/kale/spinach and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add in the crushed tomatoes, vegetable stock, cooked beans and all the seasonings. Let it come to a boil.
3. Take 1 cup of the soup aside and let it cool. Blend it to a coarse paste and add it back to the soup and bring it to a boil.
4. You can toast the bread and add it to the soup and cook until the soup is thick and the flavors blend. Check seasonings and consistency. Adjust according to your preference.
5. If you don’t have the crusty bakery bread, you can toast the bread and serve it on the side like I did.

This recipe goes to Blogging Marathon 55, under healthy dinner recipes.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 55