Ribollita Tuscan vegetable and bread soup Ribollita, literally meaning re-boiled, is the quintessential Tuscan soup. It’s ideal for the warm early days of fall, when the garden is yielding its peak with the final collections of Tuscan kale, late season tomatoes, fennel and the pantry staple of summer beans. The season’s olive oil pressing is to begin soon, and is the perfect garnish for this hearty soup.

You will need a good, deep (8") heavy bottom enamel casserole or stainless steel kettle. Ideally you will also have a good, thick oven proof clay soup or casserole terrine to hold the finished product, but it is not necessary.

Make more than enough and always plan to make it the day before you plan to serve it! Ingredients; 4 tablespoons olive oil, plus more to garnish the finished product 1 med onion, small dice 2 stalks celery, small dice 2 med carrots, peeled and small diced 1 bunch of cavolo nero, (also known as tuscan kale), chopped 4 oz white cabbage, shredded 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 med fennel bulb, small dice 2 small zucchini, sliced 1 leek, whites only, small dice 1 Idaho potato, peeled and small dice 32 oz can of san marzano tomatoes, crushed 1 lb of dry cannellini beans, soaked 24 hours in water 3 qts. of water 4 teaspoons kosher salt 1 lb loaf of good crusty Tuscan bread

(continued on next page) 1. Begin by cooking the soaked beans in lightly salted water with a few leaves of sage and a bay leaf until tender. Reserve in the cooking liquid until needed. 2. In a large, heavy enamel casserole, begin sweating the onions and leeks until just translucent in 4 tablespoons of olive oil and the kosher salt. 3. Add minced garlic and cook for a few minutes until garlic is sweated. 4. Add the celery, carrot, zucchini, fennel, cabbage and cook over med heat, slightly covered until the vegetables are soft, and just starting to caramelize. 5. Add the potato, cavolo nero, san marzano tomatoes and water. 6. Bring to a boil, then allow to simmer again until potatoes are fully cooked and beginning to fall apart. 7. Take half of the cooked cannellini beans and pass through a food mill or lightly puree in a food processor and add to the soup. 8. Add the remaining whole cannellini beans and some of the beans cooking liquid until you have a thin stew consistency. Taste and adjust the seasoning. 9. Now slice the tuscan bread into _" thick slices and line the base of your clay casserole and ladle 1/3 of the soup on top of the bread. Repeat the layers until it is gone. Hold in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Serving To serve, you simply heat it on the stove or in the oven until hot, stirring occasionally, hence the name ribollita (reboiled). In the end, you will have a beautiful vegetable stew that can be served hot off of the stove or served warm throughout the day, drizzled with just enough quality tuscan olive oil to flavor and even a touch of grated parmigiano reggiano.

This dish will be featured at Cittanuova sporadically throughout the month of September.

Suggested Cittanuova wine pairings include Ferentano by Falesco, Manna by Franz Haas and Chianti Classico by Castsellare and Felsina Berardenga.

29 Newtown Lane East Hampton,NY 631-324-6300 www.cittanuova.com Vino del Mese / September

This month we head to la bella Toscana. Our wine pick is a lesser known jewel of a Super Tuscan called Luce della Vite which literally translates to light of the vines.

The wine comes from the Castelgiocondo Estate which has been owned by the Frescobaldi family since the year 1300. However, the vineyards the grapes are harvested from are owned by the Luce della Vite partnership which is comprised of the Frescobaldi Family (one of Italy’s oldest wine making families) and the Mondavi Family (one of America’s oldest wine making families).

Luce della Vite is our September wine pick. This is an elegant full bodied wine blending Sangiovese and Merlot. Generally the wine is made from equal parts of both grape varietal but it does vary with each vintage sometimes putting It’s compact and concentrated with more emphasis on Merlot’s contributions. notes of oriental spices, white tobacco, black tea and cocoa. Its perfect balance, At Cittanuova, we cary the 1999 Luce refined tannins and an extraordinarily della Vite which is an excellent expression long finish make it an excellent of this wine. This vintage was aged in medication wine but Luce also pairs French barriques for 12 months (some extremely well with grilled meats. vintages go up to 18 months), in large Slovanian casks for 6 months and then Excellent vintages include 1999, 2000, another year in the bottle. Ready to drink 2001 and quite surprisingly also 2002. after 5-6 years, this wine is in its prime at 7-9 years (now!!). Only 120,000 bottles of All month, Cittanuova patrons can take the 1999 Luce were made. This particular advantage of a 10% discount on our 1999 vintage was produced from equal Luce della Vite. Offer valid the entire amounts Sangiovese and Merlot. month of September.

29 Newtown Lane East Hampton,NY 631-324-6300 www.cittanuova.com