Ribollita!!!!!!! I have been waiting years to make this!

   While my wife and I were on our honeymoon in Tuscany, I had this fantastic, hearty soup and I loved it.  I must have had it three or four different times at 3 or 4 different restaurants.  All were slightly different.  This weeks vegetables made me think about it again, and of course, I put my own twist on it (mostly to use the vegetables that I had on hand). 

Ribollita

1 medium onion (large dice)
3 stalks celery diced
1 cup diced carrot
1 cup diced peppers (I had a wide variety from   the market this week)
1 medium yellow squash
1 cup tomatoes diced
1 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cup chopped Cabbage
3 small leeks (I had these and decided to throw them in!)
3 cans chicken stock
2 cups marinara (homeade is of course better.  I made mine with last weeks tomatoes)
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp dry oregano
fresh basil  (I used a LOT, but use as much as you like)
Salt and Pepper
2 cans cannellini beans
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 cups crusty bread cubed

Okay...that is a LOT of ingredients.  At least more than most of the stuff I make.  I cooked my onion, carrot, celery and peppers in a little olive oil until they started to soften.  I then added my tomatoes, squash, garlic, leeks, red pepper flakes and oregano.  After a bit I added my white wine and then chicken stock, and my cabbage.  I let this simmer for quite a while until all the vegetables were tender. 
    At this point I stopped since I wasn't planning on serving it until the next evening.  I let it cool and put it in the fridge over night. 
    The next day I added my beans and  heated it back to a simmer, I added my marinara and basil and simmered for another hour or so.  Lastly, I added my bread and simmered until the bread, sort of , fell apart.  (I cut the crusts off mine as I thought it would help).  This should be VERY thick.  Hardly a soup at all. Serve in a bowl topped with a bit of parmesan cheese and a drizzle of good olive oil. 

RESULTS:  This came out very, very close to what I remember in Italy.  However,  my cabbage was still quite crunch...I couldn't believe that.  If I didn't have the cabbage, I think Kale would have been a much better substitute for the original "Black Cabbage" that most Ribollita recipes call for.  Also, some tomato paste right after sauteeing the onion, carrot, celery and peppers would have made a big difference.  My final result wasn't quite tomato-ee enough.  Still a very good, hearty soup.