Ribollita

I recommend making ribollita the night before you want to eat it. It's always better the next day - and it's how it got its name...ribollita or "re-boiled." Double the recipe, make a big pot and eat it all week.

Recipe courtesy Gabriele Corcos and Debi Mazar
Show: Extra Virgin Episode: Dinner Under the Tuscan Gun

Photo: Ribollita

TOTAL TIME: 10 hr 40 min
Prep: 20 min
Inactive Prep: 8 hr
Cook: 2 hr 20 min
 
YIELD: 4 servings
LEVEL: Easy

ingredients

  • 8 ounces dry cannellini beans, soaked overnight in cold water in the refrigerator
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 1 carrot, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 celery stalk, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1 bunch cavolo nero
  • 1/2 head savoy cabbage
  • One 14.5-ounce can whole peeled (pelati) tomatoes
  • 8 ounces stale unsalted Tuscan bread, cut into 1/2-inch slices
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
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Directions

Rinse and drain the soaked cannellini beans and set aside.

In a large pot, heat the olive oil and saute the carrots, celery and onions (the soffrito) until well-cooked but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the potatoes, cavolo nero and cabbage and saute with the soffrito until the cabbage is wilted, a few minutes. Add the tomatoes, breaking them up with a spoon, and then add the beans. Add enough hot water to cover the ingredients in the pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer over low heat for 1 1/2 hours. Add the sliced bread to the pot along with 2 more cups of hot water. Continue cooking for another 30 minutes.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil for garnish.

If reheating the next day: Reheat the soup slowly so as not to scorch the bottom of the pot. The soup should be thick. Bring to a simmer and adjust the seasoning to taste. Add a little more water if needed. Serve drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil.

Cook's Notes: Tuscan soup is made with unsalted bread. If the bread you find is Pugliese bread (made in the style of Puglia), it will need less seasoning as that bread is salted when baked.

Unlike other Italian soups, ribollita never has Parmigiano-Reggiano on it. It is not served with cheese.

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4

Newest Ratings and Reviews

Read all 3 reviews

  • on January 25, 2013

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    I successfully used two cans of beans, drained and lightly rinsed, rather than dried as I have no luck with dried beans. I also used half a loaf of old Pugliese bread. Even with this 'saltier' bread, I needed to add a good couple of pinches of salt to our bowls. Loved the richness of the olive oil drizzle over top. This soup is very thick, but we really enjoyed the consistency and homey flavors. Freezes and reheats well.

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  • on January 21, 2013

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    I disagree with the previous reviewer. This recipe was just as advertised. It was delicious and full of flavor. This is a rustic dish that utilizes simple ingredients and is supposed to be thick. In the show, Gabriele put the dried and soaked beans in at the time he would normally put in the canned beans. The recipe that is posted corrects that error and directs the dried and soaked beans go in early with the cabbage and kale. I found the bread to be an interesting and, frankly, pleasing texture, albeit somewhat "mushy". I wasn't sure what the bread would add to the dish at first but found it to be a welcome addition. This is not a brothy soup, if that is what you want, there are plenty other recipes you can make. If you want an authentic rustic italian dish, thenyou may want to give this one a try.

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  • on January 14, 2013

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    Unimpressed with the recipe. It looked delicious on the show and I love everything that goes into it. It's very simple in preparation but the taste isn't there. I think I'd half the bread next time. Mine is extremely thick to the point I'm trying to take some of the bread out. In general I dont find it very flavorful and because of the mushy ingredients (bread, beans, cabbage it doesn't have a very nice texture. Also on the show he said he typically does it with canned beans but there aren't any instructions of when to put those in versus dry beans, so I did it with the bread.

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