Ribollita
Tuscan bean, kale and bread soup — better the second day
- Serves
- 6
- Hands-on
- Total
- Level
- Easy
Ribollita means 'reboiled': traditionally it is yesterday's bean and vegetable soup, stretched with stale bread and heated again. The result is thick enough to hold a spoon, rich with cavolo nero and olive oil, and at its best reheated the next day until the top crisps.
Ingredients
- 60 mlextra-virgin olive oil (¼ cup)plus plenty to serve
- 1red or yellow oniondiced
- 2carrotsdiced
- 2celery stalksdiced
- 3 clovesgarlicsliced
- 1 pinchchili flakes
- 2 tbsptomato paste
- 200 gcanned chopped tomatoes (7 oz)half a can
- 2 canscannellini beans (two 15 oz cans)400 g each, with their liquid
- 1¼ lvegetable stock or water (5¼ cups)Vegetable Stock or store-bought
- 1Parmesan rindoptional; or a vegetarian hard-cheese rind (traditional Parmesan uses animal rennet)
- 2 sprigsrosemary
- 300 gcavolo nero (lacinato kale) (10½ oz)stems removed, leaves shredded; or curly kale or Savoy cabbage
- 200 gstale country bread (7 oz)crusts on, torn into 3 cm pieces
- fine sea salt and black pepperabout 9 g (1½ tsp) salt in total
- 30 gParmesan (¼ cup grated)optional, to serve; or a vegetarian hard cheese (traditional Parmesan uses animal rennet)
- Diet
- Vegetarian
- Allergens
- gluten, celery, milk
- Origin
- Italy (Tuscany)
- Season
- Autumn, Winter
Method
- Warm the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery and a good pinch of salt. Cook slowly until soft and sweet, 12–15 minutes.
- Add the garlic, chili and tomato paste and stir 2 minutes until the paste darkens.
- Add the tomatoes. Mash one can of beans with a fork and add it with its liquid, then add the second can whole with its liquid.
- Add the stock, Parmesan rind and rosemary and bring to a simmer. Stir in the cavolo nero and 6 g (1 tsp) salt. Simmer gently, partly covered, until the greens are silky and tender, 30–35 minutes.
- Remove the rind and rosemary. Stir in the bread and simmer 10 minutes more, stirring, until the bread has broken down and the soup is very thick.
- Season generously with salt and pepper. Serve in bowls with a good pour of olive oil and Parmesan if you like.
- The next day: reheat portions in a skillet with a little oil over medium heat without stirring, until the bottom forms a crisp crust, about 10 minutes.
Why it works
Mashing half the beans releases their starch to thicken the soup, and the bread does the rest, swelling with flavorful broth and dissolving into a porridge-like body. Long simmering turns tough cavolo nero silky and sweet. Reheating in a skillet browns the starches, adding a toasty crust that the first-day soup doesn't have.
Common mistakes
- Using fresh, soft bread: it turns gluey. Stale, open-crumbed country bread holds up.
- Being shy with the olive oil: the final raw oil is a main flavor, not a garnish.
- Under-salting: beans and bread absorb a lot of salt.
Variations
- With dried beans
- Cook 250 g soaked dried cannellini with a sage sprig and garlic until creamy (1–1½ hours) and use them with 500 ml of their cooking liquid in place of the canned beans and some of the stock.
Make ahead and storage
Keeps 4 days in the fridge and improves overnight. Freeze without the bread for up to 3 months; add bread when reheating.
Notes
Vegan without the Parmesan rind and topping. Vegetarians: traditional Parmesan uses animal rennet. Milk only from the optional Parmesan.
