Ribollita

Ingredients

Beans

• 400 gdried cannellini beans
• 1 sprigsage
• 1 clovegarlic

Soffritto

• 150 mlolive oil
• 2onions, diced
• 2carrots, diced
• 3 stickscelery, diced
• 4 clovesgarlic

Vegetables

• 1large bunch cavolo nero, stripped and shredded
• half a savoy cabbage, shredded
• 2potatoes, diced
• 400 gtinned tomatoes
• 1leek
• 1 sprigthyme

Bread

• 400 gstale unsalted Tuscan bread, pane sciocco, torn

To finish

• the best olive oil you have
• black pepper
• raw red onion, sliced thinly

Directions

1. Soak the beans overnight, then simmer them with sage and a garlic clove for an hour to an hour and a half until soft. Salt them only in the last ten minutes, because salt added early toughens the skins.
2. Keep all the cooking water, which is the base of the soup. Now purée about a third of the beans with some of their liquid and leave the rest whole. Cook the diced onion, carrot and celery in the olive oil over a low heat for 20 minutes. Take the full twenty minutes over the soffritto and do not let it brown, because it is the base of everything.
3. Add the garlic, then the tomatoes, and cook 10 minutes. Strip the leaves from the tough central ribs and shred them. Add the cavolo nero, cabbage, leek, potatoes, the whole and puréed beans and the bean water. Simmer it, partly covered, for an hour or more.
4. Cook it well past the point where the vegetables are merely tender. Ribollita is meant to be soft and melded rather than fresh and distinct. Season the soup well and let it cool completely. Now stop, and leave the soup overnight.
5. Layer the bread and the soup in a heavy pot: a layer of soup, a layer of bread, and so on, finishing with soup. Layer it rather than stirring the bread in, so it absorbs evenly rather than clumping.
6. Let it stand 30 minutes so the bread drinks the liquid. Now reboil it gently for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bread has broken down completely. Let it stand off the heat for 15 minutes. Serve it warm rather than scalding, in shallow bowls.
7. Add a few slices of raw red onion on top, which is traditional and cuts the richness. It is better again on the third day, and some Tuscans will tell you it is only properly ready then.

Technique

• Cavolo nero is the essential vegetable and kale is the usual substitute abroad.
• It thickens further as it stands and is loosened with hot water or bean broth.
• It is winter food and it is genuinely a whole meal.

Substitutions

• Kale or savoy cabbage in place of cavolo nero.
• Tinned cannellini beans, using vegetable stock in place of the bean water.

Variations

• Finished in the oven with a browned top.
• Pappa al pomodoro, the summer bread and tomato relative.
• With a rind of parmesan simmered in the pot.

History

Tuscan bread-and-bean soup literally reboiled, made from the previous day’s leftovers with cavolo nero and stale unsalted bread.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ribollita?

Ribollita is a soup & stew from Italy: tuscan twice-boiled bread, bean and cavolo nero soup. Tuscan bread-and-bean soup literally reboiled, made from the previous day’s leftovers with cavolo nero and stale unsalted bread.

How long does Ribollita take to make?

Ribollita takes 30 min plus overnight soaking of preparation and 2 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Ribollita?

Yes, within limits. Kale or savoy cabbage in place of cavolo nero. Tinned cannellini beans, using vegetable stock in place of the bean water.

What is the most important thing to get right in Ribollita?

Keep all the cooking water, which is the base of the soup. Now purée about a third of the beans with some of their liquid and leave the rest whole. Cook the diced onion, carrot and celery in the olive oil over a low heat for 20 minutes. Take the full twenty minutes over the soffritto and do not let it brown, because it is the base of everything.