The Musette: Ribollita

Posted on 11/03/2023 by Sheree

Ribollita is a beautifully thick Tuscan soup made with dark greens, lots of beans, vegetables, olive oil and it’s thickened with day-old bread. One of my winter favourites. It is hearty, filling, infinitely nourishing, and flat-out, the sort of food I crave when the temperatures dip. It’s a soup I make constantly this time of year.

I should mention ribollita is one of those dishes where there are as many ways to make it as there are cooks. As far as guidelines go? Your ribollita should be thick – eventually; a sloppy sounding, bread stew. Use day old bread, preferably a rustic loaf cut (or torn) into big chunks. The bread absorbs the broth and simmers into beautifully plump zones of pillowy dumplings.

As for choosing beans, I usually opt for canned cannellini. On the bread front, I often use a loaf of day-old whole wheat sourdough, but have at times opted for ciabatta. As far as the kale goes, l look for cavolo nero – a craggy evergreen-hued kale that might also be labeled Tuscan kale. The ribollita pictured here is drizzled with a simple herb oil made by pureeing olive oil, a couple of fat garlic cloves, parsley and marjoram together.

Ingredients (serves 8)

- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 4 celery stalks, chopped
- 3 fat cloves garlic, minced
- 2 medium carrots or equiv. winter squash, chopped
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- 400ml (14 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 450g (1lb) cavolo nero or kale, stems trimmed off and leaves well chopped
- 620g (22 oz /4 cups) cooked white beans
- 225g (1/2lb) crustless loaf of bread
- 1 1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt
- zest organic lemon
- parmesan cheese, finely grated
Method

1.In a large thick-bottomed saucepan, over medium heat, combine the olive oil, celery, garlic, carrot and red onion. Cook for 20-25 minutes sweating the vegetables, but avoid any browning.

2. Stir in the tomatoes and red pepper flakes, and simmer for another 10 minutes or so, long enough for the tomatoes to thicken up a bit. Stir in the cavolo nero, 3/4s of the beans, and 2 lts (8 cups) vegetable stock or water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the greens are tender, about 15 minutes.

3. In the meantime, mash or puree the remaining beans with a generous splash of water – until smooth. Tear the bread into bite-sized chunks. Stir both the beans and bread into the soup. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the bread breaks down and the soup thickens, 20 minutes or so. Stir in the salt, taste and add more if needed. Stir in the lemon zest and parmesan cheese.

4. Serve immediately, or cool and refrigerate overnight. Serve reheated, or “ribollita” meaning reboiled, the next day ladled into bowls. Finish each serving with a drizzle of olive oil and parmesan and/or some chopped olives.

Sheree’s Handy Hints

1. In addition to the tweaks I mentioned up above, you can make it gluten free by leaving out the bread or using gluten-free bread.

2. If you leave out the bread, use more beans, both whole and mashed.

3. I like to add extra lemon zest to each bowl for a bit of brightness, and because I can’t help myself. And I also like the saltiness of a few olives alongside the kale, so that’s a little bonus as well. I’ll also drizzle a little thinned out pesto on top if I have it on hand, or, an herb oil made by pureeing olive oil, a couple of fat garlic cloves, parsley and marjoram together.

4. This is a freezer friendly soup. I like to make an extra-large pot of it, let it cool, and transfer it to freezer-safe containers. It’s good for a month or so frozen. If it’s a pot primarily bound for the freezer, I sometimes hold off on adding the bread. I’ll add it when I reheat later. But really, you can do it either way.