Tuscan ribollita

Tuscan ribollita (meal soup)

Ribollita! A beautiful name for a wonderful winter meal soup from Tuscany. Traditionally made with stale bread and cavolo nero, this soup has many different recipes and variations. Use my recipe as a guideline – and see my tips below – to give the leftovers from your vegetable drawer and your nearly expired vegetable cans a lovely destination :)

Ingredients for over 2 litres of soup: For the broth: If you have it at home: a piece of rind from Parmesan cheese or Grana Padano 1 large (red) onion 2 cloves of garlic the ends and tips of the carrot(s) you need for the filling 1 bunch of parsley, the stems The leaves from a stick of celery (you need the celery for the filling). 2 bay leaves, fresh or dried For the filling: 1 large onion 3 cloves of garlic 250 grams of carrot 3 sticks of celery 200 grams of cavolo nero or kale 1 can of 400 grams cannellini beans, drained 1 can of 400 grams good quality tomatoes (I like to use Mutti). 150 grams of stale bread, you can use any type of bread for this 1 vegetable stock cube The bunch of parsley without the stems Vegetable oil and possibly olive oil Black pepper or dried chilli flakes from the mill and salt Possibly grated Parmesan cheese/Grana Padano

Tips for substitution or addition: Leek, red onion, shallot or spring onion instead of onion Parsnip or sweet potato instead of carrot Finely chopped Brussels sprouts, pointed cabbage, peas or green beans instead of cavolo nero Canned brown beans, kidney beans, chickpeas or lentils instead of cannellini beans Cooked pasta, cooked rice or pieces of cooked potato instead of stale bread (add these only at the end) Chopped overripe tomatoes instead of canned tomatoes Leftover meat or bacon bits also taste great in this soup, add them halfway through.

Preparation: First, make the broth: rinse the onion with skin briefly (no sand) and cut into 4 quarters. Peel the garlic cloves and crush them before chopping. Put 750 ml of water in a pot and add the onion and garlic, the ends and tops of the carrot(s) and the parsley stems along with the bay leaves and 1 teaspoon of salt. Also add the cheese rind if you have it, this gives a special ‘umami’ flavour. Bring to the boil and let it simmer gently for 2 hours. Then strain the broth and keep the cheese rind. In the meantime, you can prepare the filling: peel and chop the onion and garlic finely. Cut the carrot into small cubes and the celery into thin slices. Sauté the onion and garlic in some oil, together with the carrot and celery, and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes. Cut the cavolo nero (first remove the leaves from the stem, do not use the stem itself) or kale into narrow strips and sauté this for another 10 minutes. Cut the bread into pieces and chop the parsley leaves finely. Then add the strained broth (possibly with cheese rind), along with the canned tomatoes, the stock cube and the bread, and bring to the boil. Let it simmer gently for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are soft and the bread falls apart. You can press the bread against the side of the pot with the back of a spoon if needed. Then add the beans and stir well together with the finely chopped parsley. Remove the cheese rind and season with black pepper/dried chilli flakes, salt and possibly a splash of olive oil. I find some grated Parmesan cheese on top very tasty, but it also tastes delicious without!

Enjoy your meal

By: Marleen

Categories: Kitchen secrets