La Ribollita : a Traditional Tuscan Soup

Last week, I was in Florence for the children’s clothes fashion fair Pitti Bimbo. The thought of going to Florence reminded me of my favorite Tuscan dish….La Ribollita.

La Ribollita, is a traditional Tuscan soup, that is considered a poor man’s soup.  It was historically made with all of the leaftover cooked vegetables from the week before, an stale bread.  Ribollita means “reboiled”, usually a huge quantity was made on Friday, and over the weekend, each time it was eaten it was re-boiled.  I also made a HUGE quantity and find it gets yummier each time it is reheated.

Italians never cease to amaze me with their ability to transform leftovers into the most amazing and delicious dishes.

I went to the market and picked up the ingredients I was missing, and substituted dry beans with canned beans since I didn’t want to wait for the beans to soak.

You will need:

• Cabbage : 500g (Verza)
• Kale : 500g (Cavolo Nero)
• Stale Bread : I like to fill the bottom of each dish with a layer that’s about 1 inch thick (Pane)
• Olive Oil : A few tablespoons to sautee the onions and at least a tablespoon per person to serve (Olio Extravergine di Oliva)
• Canned Peeled and Cooked Tomatoes : 200g (Pomodori Pelati)
• Potatoes : 3 (Patate)
• Onions : 2 (Cipolle)
• Carots : 2 (Carote)
• Celery : 2 (Sedano)
• White Cannellini Beans : 500g (Fagioli cannellini)
• Leeks : 2 (Porri)
• Chicory or Swiss Chard : 200g (Cicoria o Bietole)
• Parsley : 2 tablespoons (Prezzemolo)
• Thyme and Rosemary : ½ Tablespoon each (Time e Rosmarino)
• *optional* A big piece of a Prosciutto Crudo with a lot of fat on it : Approx 5 inches x 2 inches

Preparation:

1. Clean all the vegetables
2. In a separate pot boil about 2 litres of water so that you can add in water a ladle at a time without reducing the temperature of what you are cooking
3. Finely chop the carotes, onions, leeks, celery and parsley and using a few tablespoons of oil, cook them in a BIG soup pot on LOW heat until they are soft and NOT brown (especially not black!!)
4. Add in the canned peeled tomatoes and the thyme and rosemary
5. Add in all of the chopped vegetables and half of the boiling water
6. Add in the prosciutto piece if you aren’t a vegetarian!
7. Let it all simmer on medium heat and stir frequently with a wooden spoon
8. This is a soup but not a watery soup so add in water as it evaporates without making it watery
9. After about 45 minutes, turn off the heat, remove the prosciutto and blend 1/3 – ½ of the vegetables
10. Add back in the blended vegetables
11. Blend half of the white beans into a cream with the prosiutto crudo (fat removed) and a bit of salt and pepper
12. Add the creamed beans and whole beans into the big pot with the vegetables and continue to let it all cook together over medium heat for another 5 minutes.  Add in ½ cup of water if its too thick
13. Add salt to taste (I personally like sea salt from the Romangna area of Italy)
14. In a deep dish place either stale bread or bread that you have toasted, I like to line the dish with bread that is about 1 inch thick
15. Cover the bread with the soup, without stirring
16. Serve with a table spoon or two or fresh olive oil swirled on top and black pepper.
17. Add salt to taste

ENJOY!

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