Italian
Ribollita
Tuscan ribollita reboiled with beans, greens, bread, and olive oil, turning humble vegetables into a thick, rustic soup with satisfying chew.
6 servings · 520 minutes prep · 110 minutes cook
Ingredients
Main
- 1 cup dried cannellini beans, soaked overnight
- 8 cups water
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to finish
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 celery rib, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 bunch cavolo nero, chopped
- 1/2 small savoy cabbage, chopped
- 8 ounces stale Tuscan bread, torn
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Directions
Method
- Drain the cannellini beans, combine them with the water in a Dutch oven, and simmer until tender, 60-75 minutes. Reserve the cooking liquid.
- Puree half of the beans with about 2 cups of their cooking liquid until smooth. Keep the remaining beans whole.
- Warm the extra-virgin olive oil in the Dutch oven. Add the yellow onion, carrot, and celery rib, and cook until softened, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes so the tomato paste darkens slightly.
- Add the cavolo nero, savoy cabbage, whole beans, bean puree, fine sea salt, and black pepper. Add enough reserved bean liquid to make a thick soup.
- Simmer until the greens are tender and the flavors are integrated, about 30 minutes. Adjust with more bean liquid if the soup becomes dry.
- Fold in the stale Tuscan bread and rest until the bread swells and thickens the soup. Reboil gently for 10 minutes before serving with more extra-virgin olive oil.
