Recipe - Ribollita (Tuscan Vegetable And Bread Soup)

5 cup Chicken stock
1 pound Chicken breasts, skinned
2 Bay leaves
3 tablespoon Olive oil
1 Onion, chopped
2 Garlic clove; minced
2 Carrots, minced
2 Celery stalk; minced
1 Sweet green pepper, minced
2 cup Cabbage; chopped
1 teaspoon Dried thyme
1 teaspoon Dried rosemary
19 ounce Tomatoes, coarsely chopped,
undrained
One fourth teaspoon Pepper
10 ounce Spinach, frozen; chopped
One half cup Parsley, fresh; chopped
1 small Zucchini; thinly cut or sliced up
19 ounce White kidney beans, drained
& rinsed (red would do
also)
8 sl French or Italian bread,
stale
1 cup Parmesan cheese

In large saucepan, bring chicken stock, chicken breasts and bay leaves to
boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until chicken
is no longer pink inside. Remove chicken and discard the bones. Dice meat
and set aside. Discard bay leaves. Keep stock warm.

Meanwhile, in large skillet, heat 2 tbsp. of the oil over medium heat; cook
chopped onion, garlic, minced carrots and celery for 10 minutes, stirring
occasionally. Add remaining oil, minced green pepper, chopped cabbage,
thyme and rosemary; cook over low heat, stirring occasionally for 10
minutes.

Add vegetable mixture to stock in saucepan along with tomatoes and pepper;
bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add spinach,
parsley, zucchini, kidney beans and reserved minced chicken; cook for 5
minutes. Remove 1 cup soup and set aside.

Ladle half of the remaining soup into 24cup Dutch oven or casse role;
cover with 4 of the bread slices and One half cup of the parmesan cheese. Cover
with remaining soup; layer with remaining bread. Drizzle reserved soup over
top; sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese. (Recipe can be prepared to
this point, cooled, covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours.) Bake,
covered in 350 F. oven for 20 minutes (45 minutes if refrigerated); uncover
and bake for 20 minutes longer (45 minutes if refrigerated) or until hot.

Garnish: ladle soup into large warmed bowls; garnish with drizzle of olive
oil and sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini