Tuscan Ribollita begins looking marvelous even before you start the cooking and ingredients are simply piled high in a disarray on the counter top.
All that Swiss chard, green mounds of savoy cabbage, Tuscan Kale, carrots, cannellini beans and I’m feeling healthful long before a single spoon has touched my lips. And I have no doubt this is totally psychosomatic, but I swear I can feel my waist shrink just a tad.
And no matter how you make yours, which variation you something’s when you make Ribollita are gospel;
- the Tuscan kale, I’ve been lucky lately and found them in bags near the regular kale but in a pinch you can use swiss chard – I find the texture of regular Kale a bit coarse for this soup,
- then comes one of the most important ingredients – rind (thick skin) of the Parmigiano Reggiano beaucse it infuses the soup such a wonderful chees scent and lightly flavors the soup without turning this into a cheese soup.
- next the cannellini beans – I think the canned beans works just fine and from trying both versions using dried beans and canned ones, I honestly don’t believe the effort behind using the dried ones is justified by the flavor.
- And lastly 1 day stale artisan bread torn up into large chucks – let’s face it, this is Tuscan and if one think the Tuscans do in their recipes is find ingenious ways of using leftover bread from the village baker.
Now here’s the controversial bit, traditionally pancetta is never used in Ribollita but let’s face it, everything is a little bit better with it so ‘gasp’, I’m using it! You don’t have to and I’ll accept the flak from Tuscans on this one. And I also cheat a little by using Herbes de Provence for seasonings because it has everything I need with a touch of lavender..yummy!
Either way, I doubt you’ll be able to get enough of this soup and every time you make this, with every tweak, it just seems to get better.
Gather the ingredients,
1/2 cup olive oil
Yellow onion (to yield 2-1/2 cups, diced)
2 carrots
2 sticks celery
1/2 cup pancetta , chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2-1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tbs tomato paste
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 large Yukon gold potato
1 bunch Swiss chard or preferably Tuscan Kale
Savoy cabbage (to yield 4 cups sliced)
2 qty 15 oz can cannellini beans
1/2 tbs herbes de provence
2+ cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 qty, 2” pieces - rind of Parmigiano Reggiano (do not omit!)
9 qty, 1” thick slices, Baguette (1 day stale)
Onions: Peel, discard end and skins and finely dice (1/4” x 1/4” pieces)
Celery: Discard 2” from the bottom and dice.
Garlic: Crush and finely chop.
Carrots: Peel and chop.
Potato: Peel and cut into 1” chunks.
Chard: Cut away tough stalks. Fold each leave and cut away tough stock still attached to the leaf. Roll and slice into 1” strips.
Savoy cabbage: Quarter, cut away the woody bottom and cut into 1/2” strips.
Beans: Drain and run water through the beans in the sieve to get rid of excess starches.
Bread: Cut bread into 1” thick slices and tear by hand into chunks.
Heat olive oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion, pancetta, chopped garlic, celery & carrot and ½ tsp salt. Sauté until the onion is translucent about 7-10 minutes.
Add kale, chard, cabbage, potato, tomato paste, tomatoes, cheese rind, herbs, 7 cups water, salt & pepper.
Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 45 minutes. Add beans with 2 cups chicken stock and bring to a simmer.
Add bread to soup and simmer, stirring often to break up bread into smaller pieces and add ½ cup more broth at a time as needed to thin soup. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Divide Ribollita among bowls and serve.
Cook’s Note: The longer the stew sits the more chicken stock you will need to continue to thin it down so keep more stock handy at home. Taste and adjust seasonings before serving.
Recipe for
Tuscan Ribollita
Shopping list:
1/2 cup olive oil
Yellow onion (to yield 2-1/2 cups, diced)
2 carrots
2 sticks celery
1/2 cup pancetta , chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2-1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tbs tomato paste
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 large Yukon gold potato
1 bunch Swiss chard or preferably Tuscan Kale
Savoy cabbage (to yield 4 cups sliced)
2 qty 15 oz can cannellini beans
1/2 tbs herbes de provence
2+ cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 qty, 2” pieces - rind of Parmigiano Reggiano
9 qty, 1” thick slices, Baguette (1 day stale)
Preparation:
Onions: Peel, discard end and skins and finely dice (1/4” x 1/4” pieces)
Celery: Discard 2” from the bottom and dice.
Garlic: Crush and finely chop.
Carrots: Peel and chop.
Potato: Peel and cut into 1” chunks.
Chard: Cut away tough stalks. Fold each leave and cut away tough stock still attached to the leaf. Roll and slice into 1” strips.
Savoy cabbage: Quarter, cut away the woody bottom and cut into 1/2” strips.
Beans: Drain and run water through the beans in the sieve to get rid of excess starches.
Bread: Cut bread into 1” thick slices and tear by hand into chunks.
Method:
Heat olive oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion, pancetta, chopped garlic, celery & carrot and ½ tsp salt. Sauté until the onion is translucent about 7-10 minutes.
Add kale, chard, cabbage, potato, tomato paste, tomatoes, cheese rind, herbs, 7 cups water, salt & pepper.
Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 45 minutes.
Add beans with 2 cups chicken stock and bring to a simmer.
Add bread to soup and simmer, stirring often to break up bread into smaller pieces and add ½ cup more broth at a time as needed to thin soup. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Divide Ribollita among bowls and serve.
Enjoy!
Cook’s Note: The longer the stew sits the more chicken stock you will need to continue to thin it down so keep more stock handy at home. Taste and adjust seasonings before serving.
