Florence Style - Ribollita Soup

When I lived in Florence, this soup quickly became my favorite thing to eat. It's a very traditional soup in Florence and it's available at almost every restaurant. This soup is tasty and yet still very healthy for you. I was really craving some soup last night and this turned out perfect!

Ingredients:
- 1 bag fresh spinach
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 large carrots, cubed
- 15 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 can canellini beans, washed and drained
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 8 cups of water
- 1/4 vegetable bullon cube
- 2 cups rice (minute rice)
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- olive oil
- dried oregano
- smoked paprika
- crushed red pepper flakes
- salt
- pepper

To Make:
In a large pot, add 1/4 cup of olive oil and being sauteing the onions, garlic and carrots on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Add in the water and bullon cube. Bring to a boil and stir in the tomato paste until dissolved. Next add in the beans and rice. Let this cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes.

Add in the spinach and stir in the parmesan cheese. Season with 1 tablespoon of oregano, paprika and crushed red pepper flakes. Also season with salt and pepper.

Lastly, add in the bag of spinach and mix together. Let cook for another 10 minutes stirring frequently before serving.

Note: I used minute rice in this dish... if I would have used regular rice, it would need to cook for at least 0-30 minutes longer.