Anything which is considered peasant food I seem to love. It seems silly that things like lamb shanks and short ribs were once considered undesirable cuts of meat, but it is true. This sort of comfort food is so delicious, but generally fairly heavy. Well, ribollita, this classic Tuscan peasant soup, is a truly healthy comfort food.
The common base between all the many versions of ribollita is beans, a cabbage and stale bread. I used savoy cabbage since I was able to find some beautiful local stuff, but the original recipe calls for a black kale which would give the soup a lovely contrasting colour I think.
Ribollita Recipe
(serves 6)
Adapted from Jamie Oliver
2 cups dried cannelini beans
1 small potato, peeled
1 tomato, squashed
a bay leaf
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 small onions, finely diced
3 stalks celery, small dice
2 medium carrots, small dice
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 teaspoon ground fennel
1/4 teaspoon dried chilies
1 large can whole tomatoes, with juices
1 small head savoy cabbage, thinly sliced
1 large cup, stale bread
salt and pepper
nice olive oil as garnish (optional)
Soak the beans over night and discard water. (You can substitute canned beans or fresh beans as well but you will need to modify the steps accordingly.) Cover the beans with water and add the bay leaf, potato and tomato. Simmer lightly until beans are cooked and set aside, reserving 2 cups of cooking liquid but discarding bay, tomato and potato.
In a large soup pot heat oil and sweat onions, celery, carrots and garlic along with the fennel and chilies. Sweat until nice and soft but not browned, about 20 minutes. Add tomatoes and bring to a gentle simmer. Add beans with 1/2 of their cooking liquid. Moisten the stale bread with the remaining liquid and add the bread to the soup as well as the cabbage. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 30 minutes stirring regularly. It should be thick but moist, you can add the remaining liquid or not if desired. Add salt and pepper to season. Serve hot and drizzled with olive oil.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
you mentioned using black kale and the contrasting color it would provide. i know lots of foodies say that appearance is just as important as taste for their food and i was wondering how much of that kind of thinking you agree with. for me i don’t think too much about presentation when cooking
Karyn – I don’t think about it as a whole that much. I am definitely about taste first. That said, with this dish at the end, I did think about how much prettier the original picture which used cavolo nero (black kale) turned out in comparison to mine. Sometimes I will use garnish to bump up the presentation, we do eat with our eyes first!
The soup looks wonderful. I love the beans-great source of protein!
I love “peasant” food too…this looks so good. I even think my mouth is watering
I’d better go find some lunch–or I’ll end up in the chocolate 
This looks absolutely delicious. Lots of healthy ingredients. I’ve saved it to mek in the future. Yum!
I am a peasant food lover as well. This one sounds like it is something I’d love!
That soup looks nice and healthy and tasty!