Ribollita (Vegetable, Bean and Stale Bread Soup)
- Level: Easy
- Yield: 6 servings
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 6 servings
- Calories
- 431
- Total Fat
- 15
- Saturated Fat
- 3
- Carbohydrates
- 57
- Dietary Fiber
- 12
- Sugar
- 16
- Protein
- 18
- Cholesterol
- 10
- Sodium
- 1614
- Total: 5 hr 35 min
- Prep: 20 min
- Inactive: 4 hr
- Cook: 1 hr 15 min
Ingredients
1 cup borlotti beans or other small dried bean of choice, soaked for 4 hours
8 cups chicken stock
3 to 4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 onions, 1/2 peeled, 1 1/2 chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 to 6 slices 1-inch thick peasant style bread, cut into coarse cubes or torn into pieces
About 1/4 cup EVOO, plus some for drizzling at the table
2 carrots, chopped
2 small ribs celery with leafy tops, chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, 1/3 palmful
1 fresh bay leaf
Herb bundle of fresh parsley, sage, thyme and rosemary
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 bunch Tuscan kale (also known as lacinato or dinosaur) or Swiss chard, stemmed and chopped, (about 12 ounces trimmed greens)
1/2 small savoy cabbage, cored and chopped, about 2 to 3 cups
A few grates of nutmeg
2 cups tomato puree or passata
Parmigiano-Reggiano rind, plus freshly grated to pass at table
1 small white or red onion, finely chopped
Directions
- Variations: For a sweeter soup, add chopped fennel to your mix. For autumn, add zucchini or butternut squash to your blend.
- Drain the beans and place in a pot with 4 cups chicken stock, 1 clove garlic, half an onion and some salt and pepper. Bring to a low boil, reduce the heat and simmer until tender, 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the bread until deeply golden and toasted. Store in foil.
- Heat 1/4 cup EVOO, 4 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat in a large Dutch oven. Add the chopped onions, carrots, celery, remaining 3 cloves garlic, chile flakes, bay leaf and herb bundle. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, partially covered, to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the wine, kale, cabbage and a little nutmeg. Stir. Wilt the greens, partially covered, 5 to 6 minutes more. Add the beans and their liquids and the tomato puree. Stir. Add 2 cups more stock (reserve 2 cups for the night you serve). Add the cheese rind to the soup. Simmer to combine flavors, 15 minutes. Remove 3 cups of the beans and vegetables, about half the soup, to food processor and puree. Then add back to pot. Cool and store the soup for a make-ahead meal.
- To serve, heat the soup over medium heat, add the bread to the soup and let it absorb the liquid. Thin the soup with the remaining 2 cups of stock. Taste to adjust seasoning. Remove the herb bundle, rind and bay leaf. The ribollita is done when a wooden spoon can stand straight up in the soup. Ladle into shallow bowls and garnish with a generous drizzle of EVOO, finely chopped raw onion and cheese. Leftover soup can be fried in olive oil in a skillet like potato pancakes or hash, and topped with over easy or fried eggs.