Ribollita
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14 Ingredients
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65 min total
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Serves Serves 4
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Medium
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Italian
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Vegetarian
Recipe byThe ZestyPlate Kitchen
A rustic Tuscan bread-and-bean soup of cannellini, kale and tomatoes, topped with bread, red onion and Parmesan and baked crisp. Thrifty, soulful comfort.
Ribollita started life as a way to use up leftovers, and that thrifty Tuscan spirit still runs through it: beans, kale and vegetables cooked down and bound together with bread into something properly filling. The name means reboiled, a nod to its origins, but there is nothing second-hand about the result. Topped with bread, red onion and Parmesan and baked until crisp, it is the kind of bowl you want on a cold night.
Jump to recipe
Prep 20 min
Cook 45 min
Total 65 min
Medium
Scale:
- 5 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 chopped Onion
- 1 chopped Carrots
- 1 stalk chopped Celery
- 1 tablespoon minced Garlic
- 2 cups Cannellini Beans
- 1 Canned Tomatoes
- 4 cups Water
- 1 fresh sprig Rosemary
- 1 fresh sprig Thyme
- 1 pound chopped Kale
- 4 thick slices Wholegrain Bread
- 1 thinly sliced Red Onions
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
Tags:
Vegetarian
Preparation
- Put 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring now and then, until the vegetables soften, 5 to 10 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 500F. Drain the beans (rinse them too if tinned) and add to the pot with the tomatoes and their juices, the stock, rosemary and thyme. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat so the soup bubbles steadily, cover, and cook, stirring once or twice to break up the tomatoes, until the flavours come together, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Fish out the rosemary and thyme stems if you like, then stir in the kale. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Lay the bread slices over the surface so they cover it, overlapping as little as you can. Scatter over the red onion, drizzle with the remaining 3 tablespoons oil and sprinkle with Parmesan.
- Slide the pot into the oven and bake until the bread, onions and cheese have browned and crisped, 10 to 15 minutes (or finish the top under the broiler if your pot fits). Divide the soup and bread between 4 bowls and serve.
Tips from the ZestyPlate Kitchen
- A good extra virgin olive oil really tells in a soup this plain, so use one you'd happily drizzle raw.
- Stale, sturdy bread is the one you want, as it drinks up the broth without turning to mush.
- Give it time to settle before serving, or make it the day before, for a rounder flavour.
- Bake the bread and Parmesan topping until it's golden and crisp before you bring it to the table.
Frequently Asked Questions
It's Italian for reboiled. The dish was traditionally made by reheating leftover vegetable and bean soup with bread, which thickens it into something hearty.
Cannellini are the classic. Use cooked dried beans or tinned ones, drained and rinsed first.
Cavolo nero, sometimes called Tuscan kale, is the traditional choice, but ordinary kale, cabbage or chard all do the trick.
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