Ribollita. A Perfect Winter Soup

and you can enjoy it all week!

Hello, January! It’s is a time to recharge your bones with earthy, rib-sticking food. And Robollita is just the thing!

Ribollita is a traditional Tuscan soup. The name means "reboiled" in Italian. It’s a rich, thick and hearty dish made from leftover bread, beans, and vegetables like kale, carrots, celery, onions, and tomatoes.

Ribollita is a peasant dish from he days of poverty, a perfect Piatto Povere. It is made from stale bread and whatever vegetables were available. The soup is often cooked once, then reheated the next day, often in the oven, which deepens the flavors.

1 large onion, medium large dice

3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into coins

2 celery stalks, split and diced

8 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed with the side of your knife

2 bunches Tuscan kale, stemmed and torn into pieces

1 small piece of Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino rind (optional, but…)

1 28-oz. can Italian whole peeled tomatoes, drained but save the juice!

½ loaf crusty country bread

⅓ cup EVOO, plus more for drizzling

Kosher salt

1 14-oz. can cannellini beans, drained

pinch of crushed red pepper flakes to taste

In a heavy pot or Dutch oven, heat the EVOO over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion and garlic, and 2 tsp. salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened but not browned, 8–10 minutes.
While this is cooking, dump the canned tomatoes and their juices in a strainer set inside a medium bowl. (You need that bowl to collect the juice, which you're going to use later—don't throw it out!) Squeeze tomatoes and crush them with your hands while leaving them submerged in their liquid so they don’t squirt.Lift the strainer full of tomatoes and give it a few shakes to remove any liquid. Add tomatoes (but not juices!) and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Giving those tomato solids a chance to caramelize before adding the liquid back in helps to add a lot of flavor to the stew.

While tomatoes are cooking, drain and rinse 14 oz. canned cannellini beans in the strainer you just used, then add to the pot along with Parmesan rind, tomato juices, ¾ tsp. red pepper flakes, and 4 cups of water. Bring to a simmer.

Add kale, stirring often,

Tear ½ loaf crusty country bread into 1½" pieces.

Add about one-third of torn bread (no need to measure, just eyeball it) and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is dissolving into the soup, about 5 minutes more. Taste and adjust seasoning..
Remove from heat. Place remaining torn bread chunks on top of stew. Drizzle generously with olive oil.Pl

Transfer pot to oven and bake stew until thick, bubbling, and bread is golden brown on top, 10–15 minutes.PlayPause Button
Ladle stew into bowls, drizzle each generously with olive oil, and grate lots of Parmesan over.

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