So, I’ve been dreaming of a hiking tour of Italy for the past 7 years. I mean, what better way to see the country than to walk it. The one I want to do is about $5k and you stay in wonderful chalets and eat at a smörgåsbord of fabulous food. Needless to say, this is not a “typical” tour”. Of course, my protective parents were always nagging, “Don’t go alone!”
In 2005, I decided to bite the bullet and go, no matter what the cost. My neighbor, Laura, decided she wanted to go with me. (My parents were ecstatic!) Now this came as a surprise to me because Laura can’t even hike around the block. I remind her that this is 5-7 hours a day of walking and hiking…she still wanted to come. Laura starts asking about the van support. ”There is van support, right? ” Yes, but the point is to walk …all of a sudden, Laura starts checking out other tours. Less expensive tours…under 35 year old tours…you can see where this might be going. Somehow, I was conned into ditching my beloved hiking trip and going on some under 35 tour. (Again, my parents were selfishly thrilled because I would not be traipsing around the Italian countryside alone…)
It was a disaster from the beginning. Our room wasn’t ready when we got there, and when we finally did meet with our group (of course they were all between 18-26 years old- Laura and I were the oldest on the tour), our dinner was turkey roll, gravy and cubed potatoes, sauce and rigs and tiramisu! Really? Did I just fly all this way to have turkey roll? They probably thought that “kids” wouldn’t notice and would appreciate the experience. Oh for cripes sake! I remember some of these kids commenting on how good the food was…. I could have died. Then the tour made us purchase meals from selected restaurants telling us that many of places would not be open…Thankfully, Laura and I only purchased three meals with the tour. They had turkey roll three nights in a row!
Just want to say that I knew this tour was a bust when all of the 20 somethings were getting trashed on juice boxes of wine….Seriously, the tour promised us all the wine we could drink….little did we know it was out of juice boxes…I am not even kidding you when I tell you that I lost 5 lbs! In Italy!
Short story long, the Tuscan countryside is beautiful and I need to get back there. Our tour’s home base was Siena which was gorgeous and I cried when I got to Orvieto. There are two hikes I want to do in Italy- Another Tuscan tour and Italy’s lake district (Como, Lugano and Orta). Definitely need to train as it is between 3-6 hours a day of moderate trails. This time I am not telling anyone I am going; I will just call when I get there. This way no on can con me out of my beloved hike….
Lesson Learned? Go with your gut instinct….enough said….
Laura and I did have a couple of good meals and one of them was Ribolitta, a hearty Tuscan soup. Basically, this is a bread thickened, vegetable soup. Ribolitta means reboiled- It’s awesome and great for cold, rainy weekends when you need something comforting…even if it is the middle of summer. Bite the bullet and try this recipe! You’ll be glad you did.
Mangia!
Nina
Ribolitta
INGREDIENTS
1 cup cannellini beans, uncooked
1 large red onion, sliced
2 carrots, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
4 potatoes, diced
10 zucchini, diced
1 1/2 cups swiss chard, shredded
1 leek
1 bunch escarole shredded
salt and pepper
2-3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 days old stale Tuscan white bread
Soak the beans overnight and then cook over low heat. It will take approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours for them to cook.
In a pan, gently fry the onion. Add the other vegetables, escarole and beans which are added at a later point. When the vegetables have sweated out their juice, cover with hot water. Cover and simmer for an hour over medium heat.
Add the cooked beans (some of them whole and some puréed), salt and pepper. Leave to simmer for another 20 minutes, stirring frequently because the beans tend to stick to the bottom of the pan. Add the tomato paste.
Slice the stale bread and, in an earthenware casserole, alternate layers of bread with the soup until the bread is soaked. Let rest for one day.
To serve, remove the desired quantity from the casserole and reheat it, or “re-boil” it, as the name in Italian suggests.
M. Nina Piccini is the owner of Dinner Bella,Personal Chef Service and Catering in Rochester, NY.
