1.  Place the drained cannellini beans into a large pot. Fill the pot with water until it covers the beans about 1 to 1 1/2 inches above them. Place the pot over high heat and add a generous pinch of salt and the bay leaves. Bring the beans to a rolling boil and cook for 15 to 20 minutes.

2.  After the beans begin to soften, add all of the prepared vegetable ingredients and the tomato puree. Cover the pot and lower the flame to medium. Simmer the stew for 30 minutes, stirring frequently to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot. If, at any time, the stew becomes too dry, add water as needed.

3.  After 30 minutes, taste the stew. Add additional salt as necessary. If the vegetables are soft and the beans are well cooked, remove the pot from the heat, discard the bay leaves and add a generous drizzle of olive oil to the pot. Stir well. Plate and serve with our bruschette and Parmigiano.

Notes

-  If using canned beans for this recipe, you will need two 16 ounce cans of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed well. Place the beans in a large pot and fill with water until the beans are just barely covered. Then add all of the prepared vegetables, the bay leaves and the tomato puree. Add a generous pinch of salt the pot and stir well. Place the pot over high heat and bring the mix to a rolling boil. Lower the flame, cover the pot and cook for 20 minutes. If, at any time, the stew becomes too dry, add water as necessary. Continue at step 3 of this recipe.

-  Ribollita means reboiled in Italian. This soup gets better with time; you can make it a day or two before, store it in the refrigerator and then reheat it when you are ready to serve it.