Ribollita

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 8-quart Dutch oven or stockpot
• •Large pot for cooking beans
• •Potato masher or sturdy fork
• •Wooden spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the beans

   Drain the soaked beans and place them in a large pot. Cover with fresh cold water by at least three inches. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, then reduce to low. Cook until the beans are tender but still hold their shape, about one hour. They should yield easily when pressed between your fingers but not be falling apart. Do not salt the water. Salt toughens the skins and prevents proper cooking. Drain the beans, reserving two cups of the cooking liquid. Set aside.

   If you forgot to soak the beans overnight, cover them with water, bring to a boil for one minute, then let them sit covered for one hour. This quick soak is not ideal but is acceptable.
2. 2

   Build the soffritto

   In a heavy pot of at least eight quarts, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened completely and the onion has turned a pale gold color. This takes at least twenty minutes. Do not rush. FLAVOR, IN ITALIAN DISHES, builds up from the bottom. An imperfectly executed soffritto will impair everything that follows. Add the sliced garlic and cook for one minute more. The garlic should soften and become fragrant. It must not brown.

3. 3

   Wilt the greens

   Add the cavolo nero, Savoy cabbage, and Swiss chard to the pot. The volume will seem absurd, far too much for the pot. This is correct. Stir the greens to coat them with the soffritto, pressing them down gently. Cover the pot and let them wilt for five minutes. Remove the lid and stir again. Continue cooking uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the greens have collapsed and are beginning to soften, about ten minutes more.

4. 4

   Add tomatoes and broth

   Add the crushed tomatoes to the pot and stir well, scraping up any bits from the bottom. Let the tomatoes cook for three minutes until they begin to break down and their raw edge disappears. Add the Parmigiano rind, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf. Pour in the broth and one cup of the reserved bean cooking liquid. Bring to a simmer.

   The cheese rind contributes depth and body without any distinct cheese flavor. Save your rinds in the freezer until you have enough for soup. Fish the rind out before serving or leave it for someone who appreciates the treat.
5. 5

   Add beans and simmer

   Take half of the cooked beans and mash them roughly with a fork or potato masher. Add the mashed beans to the pot. They will dissolve into the broth and thicken it. Reserve the remaining whole beans for later. Let the soup simmer uncovered over low heat for one hour, stirring every fifteen minutes. The soup should maintain a lazy bubble, not a rolling boil. If it thickens too much, add the remaining bean cooking liquid or water.

6. 6

   Add the bread

   Stir the torn bread chunks into the soup. Press them down so they are submerged in the liquid. The bread will begin to absorb the broth immediately and start to fall apart at the edges. This is what you want. Add the reserved whole beans. Season generously with salt and pepper. Stir well and cook for fifteen minutes more. The soup should now be very thick, almost like a stew. You should be able to stand a wooden spoon in it.

   The bread must be truly stale, hard enough that you could not easily tear it with your hands. Fresh bread creates paste. If your bread is only one day old, slice it and let it dry in a low oven for thirty minutes.
7. 7

   Rest the soup

   Remove the pot from heat. Fish out the rosemary stems, thyme stems, and bay leaf. Leave the Parmigiano rind if you like. Let the soup rest for at least thirty minutes at room temperature, or preferably, cover and refrigerate overnight. The name ribollita means reboiled. The soup is meant to be made one day and eaten the next.

8. 8

   Reboil and serve

   When ready to serve, reheat the soup gently over medium-low heat, stirring often to prevent sticking. The soup will have thickened considerably. Add water or broth as needed to achieve your preferred consistency. Some prefer it thick enough to eat with a fork. Others like it looser. Both are correct. Taste for salt. Ladle into warmed bowls and drizzle each serving generously with your finest olive oil. The oil is not optional. It is the finishing touch that makes ribollita complete. Add freshly cracked black pepper and serve immediately.

Chef Tips

• •Seek out cavolo nero, which Tuscans sometimes call cavolo nero di Toscana or black cabbage. American markets label it lacinato kale or dinosaur kale. Its sturdy texture is essential. Do not substitute curly kale, which becomes slimy.
• •Tuscan bread contains no salt. This unusual characteristic helps it absorb liquid without becoming gummy. If you cannot find it, use ciabatta that has dried out for two days, and reduce the salt you add to the soup.
• •The olive oil you use for finishing matters more here than almost anywhere else. Use your best. The soup provides the backdrop that allows you to taste the oil directly. This is not the place for economy.
• •Ribollita thickens dramatically as it sits. When reheating the next day, you may need to add a full cup of water to restore it to a spoonable consistency. This is normal and does not indicate any error on your part.
• •Some Tuscan cooks spread the leftover ribollita in a baking dish, drizzle it with olive oil, and bake it until the top forms a crust. This version, called ribollita rifatta, is another legitimate way to serve the soup.

Advance Preparation

• •The beans can be cooked up to two days ahead and refrigerated in their cooking liquid. This is convenient and does not affect quality.
• •The completed soup should rest overnight before serving. This is not merely a convenience but the proper way to make the dish. The name commands it.
• •Ribollita keeps in the refrigerator for up to four days, improving for the first two. Reheat gently with added water or broth.
• •The soup freezes adequately for up to two months, though the bread texture changes somewhat. Some find this acceptable. Others do not.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 500g)