Ribollita, which translates literally to “reboiled,” is a satisfying soup — a stew, really — with lots of vegetables, beans and bread cooked and then recooked to deepen the flavor. On a cold winter’s day, I challenge anyone to find a heartier, more comforting soup.
Ribollita
Tuscan bread and vegetable soup
From Doug Cushman’s Florence cooking class
Half a loaf of 2-day old Tuscan style bread, finely sliced
3/4 cup dried cannellini beans
2 bunches black-leaf kale (remove the thick part of the stalk and slice thinly)
1/2 savoy cabbage (remove the hard bottom part)
1 bunch silver beet remove the thick part of the stalk and slice thinly)
1 red onion, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, one chopped
1 Tbs of tomato concentrate, diluted in a little warm water
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 carrots, halved and sliced
2 potatoes, halved and sliced
8 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
a couple fresh sage leaves
4-5 peppercorns
Put the cannellini beans in a pot. Add one and a half quarts of water, 2 Tbs of olive oil, 2 garlic cloves, a couple of sage leaves, salt and a few peppercorns. Cover with a lid and place over a very low flame. The water must simmer gently and not boil. The beans will take 2 to 3 hours to cook.
With a slotted spoon, take out ¼ of the beans and puree the rest. Sauté the chopped garlic and onion in a pot and when the onion softens, add the tomato concentrate. Add all the vegetables except the beans and cook for a few minutes. Then add the pureed beans and cook until all the vegetables are soft (about 45 minutes). Add the whole beans, bread, salt and pepper and stir well. Cook for a further 5 minutes then cover and set aside for 15 minutes. Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and make sure there is freshly ground pepper at the table. This soup is even better if it is reheated the next day. Ribollita (which means “reboiled”) gets its name from the fact that it improves with reboiling.
Serves 6
Recipe from the Good Tastes of Tuscany cooking class cookbook, published in cooperation with the I.W.F.A-International Food & Wine Association. (For more information go to http://www.ifwa.us/cooking-courses.htm, or http://www.tuscany-cooking-class.com/). Image courtesy Select Italy.
