INGREDIENTS
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 onions, diced
8 garlic cloves, each cut into 3–4 pieces
1 celery heart including the pale, tender leaves, sliced
2 large or 4–5 smaller carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups roughly chopped savoy cabbage
2 bay leaves
1 cup fresh flageolet beans, or other fresh (or cooked dried) beans
350g waxy potatoes, peeled and diced
200g tinned Italian tomatoes, crushed
100g carnaroli rice
Salt
150g spinach, roughly chopped
1 cup flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
60g parmesan rind, cut into 1cm cubes
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated parmesan to serve
METHOD
1. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pot and add the onion, garlic, celery heart, carrot, cabbage and bay leaves. Lightly fry the vegetables for 2–3 minutes without letting them colour. Stir in the beans, potato and tomato, then cover the ingredients with water. Once the soup comes to the boil, add the rice and turn down to a simmer. Add a few good pinches of salt and simmer for 20–25 minutes.
2. Add the spinach, parsley and parmesan rind and simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and season to taste. Serve with plenty of grated parmesan and crusty bread.