Tuscan Ribollita
This is a dish born of necessity, designed to stretch yesterday's bread into today's dinner. True ribollita is never thin; it should be thick enough to stand a spoon in, with the bread acting as the binding agent for the greens and beans.
Use bread with a real crust
Avoid soft sandwich loaves; you need a sturdy, country-style sourdough or thick-crusted Italian bread that won't disintegrate into mush.
- Heavy-bottomed Dutch oven
- Wooden spoon
- Large soup pot
What goes in.
- 1 lbdried cannellini beans, soaked overnight and boiled until tender
- 1 bunchlacinato kale, stemmed and chopped
- 4 cupsstale crusty bread, torn into large chunks
- 2carrots, diced
- 2stalks celery, diced
- 1 largeyellow onion, diced
- 1can (14oz) crushed tomatoes
- 6 cupsvegetable or chicken stock
- 1/2 cupextra virgin olive oil
- 2 clovesgarlic, minced
The thickening phase
The name means 're-boiled.' After the soup is finished, stir in the bread and let it sit for at least twenty minutes. The bread will swell and thicken the liquid, turning the soup into a dense, spoonable stew.
The method.
Sauté the base
Heat olive oil in the Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook until the onions are soft and transparent, about 8 minutes.
Add aromatics and tomatoes
Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the crushed tomatoes and cook down for 5 minutes to concentrate the base.
Simmer the greens
Add the kale and stock. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 30 minutes until the kale is completely tender.
Combine the beans
Fold in the cooked cannellini beans. If you prefer a creamier base, smash about one-quarter of the beans against the side of the pot with your spoon before stirring them in.
Add the bread
Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the bread chunks. Cover and let it rest for 20 to 30 minutes. The bread will absorb the liquid and break down slightly.
Finish
Give it a final stir. It should be thick, almost like a porridge. Drizzle with fresh olive oil before serving.
Other turns to take.
Meat-based
Add a parmesan rind during the simmering stage for a deeper salt profile.
Spiced
Add a pinch of red pepper flakes during the initial sauté for a subtle, lingering heat.
When it doesn't go to plan.
Always reserve a little of the bean cooking liquid to add to the pot if it becomes too dry before the bread is added.
Ribollita is often better the next day, as the starch from the bread has more time to fully thicken the stew.
Use your hands to tear the bread into irregular, jagged chunks; the rough edges soak up more broth than clean knife cuts.
The ones that keep coming up.
Can I use canned beans?
Yes, rinse two 15-ounce cans well. Add them at the same step you would the boiled beans.
How do I know if the soup is thick enough?
The spoon should stand upright in the center of the pot without falling over immediately.
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