I had another Katy dream adaptation of Florence the other night.
There is a very yummy and regional soup that you can only find this time of year in Florence called Ribolitta. In English is means "Reheated" because the more you use it as leftovers the better it tastes.
I went to this little Tavola calda after class in the winter and had this soup with a side of roasted chicken for lunch with my friends. That's been a hard experience to replicate. It took a long time to find this recipe. However, since the surgance of Rachel Ray its in her cookbooks. You can also find Pasta Carbonara which is "bacon and eggs" pasta- a Roman delicacy. I think that the word Carbonara comes from the family name Carbonari and is a secret society today. Or it could have something to do with the cooking process involving coal. I like the former idea better. Rachel Ray calls it, "Coal Miner's pasta". She's probably right.

Here are the recipes:

Ribollita
-means “reheated” in Italian- soup that tastes better with each reheating. Also, a native Tuscan staple food in the winter time.
Ingredients:
1. 2 onions
2. 6 Carrots
3. 4 ribs of celery
4. Fresh Parsley to taste
5. Cubed bread (day old, stale is fine)
6. Curly chard (handful or two- chopped)
7. 4-5 cloves of garlic
8. 5 large tomatoes
9. A heel of parmigiana (grate the actual cheese part for sprinkling on top)
10. Vegetable stock or meat stock
11. 1 lb of white Tuscan beans (Great Northern work fine)
*You can also put in any leftover pasta, green beans, peas, pancetta, and potatoes)

directions: Prepare a lb of white beans (Well washed). Cover w/ water in a stock pot and bring them to a boil. Take them off the heat and let them sit in the water for a couple of hours. Add more water to cover, add seasonings, and simmer until barely done. They should be watched because they ten to become mushy soon after they are done.
Clean and cut into medium dice: Onion, carrot, celery, curly cabbage or chard, garlic, and tomatoes. Mince a bunch of parsley. Saute the onion and carrots in olive oil.
After a few minutes, add the celery, then the chard and the garlic, adding more oil as needed.
Cook 10 min.s then add tomatoes, a heel of parmigiano and the beans. Add enough stock (vegetable, chix, or beef) to cover. Bring to boil, then simmer 1 hr to blend flavors. Add the cubes of bread. Allow to rest for several hours. Add parsley, reheat, and serve w/grated parmigiano on top and olive oil to pass around the table. Finally, add leftovers.
(Makes 15 servings depending on stock)

Pasta Carbonara:

makes 4 generous servings

1 lb spaghetti
salt
a drizzle, plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (I like 1st cold pressed *KO)
1/3 lb pancetta, chopped (Italian meat (Bacon) available at deli counter or specialty meats and cheeses section of grocer)
4 or 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped (*KO says do the work and chop it your self - do not buy pre-chopped garlic)
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, w few pinches, crushed in palm of hand.
1/2 c white wine or chicken stock
2 lg egg yolks or 1/2 pt container of pasteurized egg product
1/4 c boiling water
1/4 cp grated Parmigiano Reggiano chz (2 handfuls) plus extra or passing at table (again- do the work and grate it yourself from an authentic Italian cheese *KO)
a handful of fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
coarse salt (a must have in every serious food lovers kitchen), to taste
several grinds of black pepper (again no shaker of pepper- you should have a grinder with good peppercorns)

Warning: do not drain pasta until you complete step 3!

1. Place a large pot of water on the stove and when it comes to a rolling boil, add salt and pasta and cook to al dente (to the tooth), about 7 to 8 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Saute pancetta in a drizzle of oil until it browns, 3 to 5 minutes. Add 2 tbls olive oil, garlic and crushes pepper flakes and saute, 2 minutes. Add wine or stock to pan and reduce liquid by half, about 1 min.

3. Beat together egg yolks or egg product, and while whisking vigorously stir in a ladle of the boiling pasta water.

Drain pasta, and add pasta to pan with pancetta and garlic and remove from heat. Add egg mixture, cheese, parsley, salt, black pepper and toss 2 minutes until sauce is absorbed and thickly coating the pasta. Adjust seasonings and serve immediately with extra cheese