Ribollita (Tuscan Reboiled Bean Soup)
Ribollita
Ribollita literally translates as "reboiled". It is a peasant Tuscan soup made from leftover bread, cannellini beans and inexpensive vegetables such as carrots, celery, zucchini, potatoes, greens and onions. This is part of Italian la cucina provera, "poor cooking" developed by frugal chefs making the best of what they had. (See note) It is my favorite, a hearty, dense, comforting soup that some say should be eaten with a fork and can be served as the main. It actually gets better as it is refrigerated and reheated, which is how it got its name, the flavors getting deeper as they blend.
Equipment
- heavy bottom stockpot
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 cans cannellini beans - drained (See note)
- 1 lg white onion - finely chopped
- 2 leeks - white and light green portion only, quartered and sliced about ¼" thick, placed in a colander and thoroughly rinsed since there is a lot of sand in this root
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 carrots - ¼" diced
- 2 stalks celery - ¼" diced
- 2 zucchinis - diced
- 2 russet potato - peeled and cubed
- 2 bay leaf
- sprigs fresh thyme leaves - or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 4 leaves sage - coarsely chopped
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary - or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 tablespoon fresh Italian flat parsley - coarsely chopped
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ head green, black or savoy cabbage (about 12 oz.) - cut into 1" chunks
- 1 bunch kale (Tuscan kale preferrable) - Chop off thick stem and roughly chop the leafy portion
- 1 bunch Swiss chard - Chop off thick stem and roughly chop the leafy portion
- 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
- 4 slices rustic bread, day old works - halved to make a crouton (this depends on the size of the loaf.
- 3 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon salt
- fresh ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon light yellow or red miso - Rob's Little Secret: Although not a traditional Italian ingredient, this adds umami. This also adds salt so be careful when salting this soup. (See note)
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes - optional for a little heat
- parmigiana-Reggiano rind - optional (Rob's Little Secret: when I have grated all the usable cheese off the wedge, I throw the rind in the freezer for future soups.)
- parmigiana-Reggiano - grated for serving (See note)
Instructions
- In a large heavy-bottom stockpot, heat the oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the onions; cook and stir until transparent, about 10 minutes. Add the black cabbage (or Kale) and other greens and cook until wilted and everything has blended, about 20 minutes. Salt and pepper, to taste.
- Add the leeks, carrot, celery, sliced garlic, and herbs. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook another 2 minutes.
- Add the black cabbage (or Kale) and other greens and cook until wilted and everything has blended, about 20 minutes. Salt and pepper, to taste.
- Put ¼ of the beans on a plate and mash them using a fork. These will be act as a thickening agent.
- Remove the sprigs of rosemary and thyme and the bay leaves, add the chicken stock and bring to a boil then dial the heat down to get it to a simmer. Then add the diced tomatoes, the potatoes, whole and mashed beans, the miso paste, the crushed red pepper flakes (optional) the parmesan rind (if using). Simmer until the flavors are well blended, about 30 to 40 minutes.
- Here’s where the “recooked” term comes in. Let the soup sit for several hours or overnight. Rewarm (or recook) to a gentle simmer.
- When the soup is close to the temperature you like, toast or grill the bread until both sides are browned. Cut a garlic clove in half and rub the toasted bread with the cut end of the garlic. Discard the garlic. This is called “bruschetta” that I use as a crouton. I like to grill the bread on a gas grill to give it a light charr the bread.
- Serve the soup hot over the garlic crouton. Garnish with a sprinkling of Parmigiano-Reggiano, to taste.
- Ribollita gets better for a week. Reheat the leftovers the next day and enjoy an even better soup. You can even continue to add more cooked vegetables every day and stretch the soup out for a week. Each day the soup will be something different as you “recook” it.
Notes
- Note: This soup is all about what’s in your pantry and refrigerator. Use vegetables that are in your refrigerator or sitting on your countertop: ideas are potatoes, Brussels sprouts, spinach and chopped tomatoes. This is also can be vegetarian dish except for the cheese, if you use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.
- 2¼ cups of dried or fresh cannellini, borlotti or cranberry beans can be used.
- If using dried, sort the beans, place in a large bowl or saucepan, cover with water and let them soak for a minimum of 8 hours or overnight.
- Place the pre-soaked beans in a medium stockpot. Cover the beans with clear water twice the depth of the beans and bring to a boil over high heat. I like to throw in a couple of bay leaves and a couple of cloves of crushed or diced garlic. Lower the heat and let the beans simmer until tender, about 1 hour, drain. If using canned beans, drain beans into a colander and rinse well.
- Note: There is a BIG difference between Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and generic Parmesan cheese (i.e., the stuff in the green can). Choose what your wallet can afford. Parmigiano-Reggiano is an Italian government protected name that refers to cheese produced in a very certain and approved way in the Italian province of Emilia-Romagna and there is no comparison. It is one of my guilty pleasures.
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