It was a bit chilly a few days ago and I was craving some soup. I searched for my recipe for ribollita — Tuscan bread, white bean and vegetable soup — and realized it never made it onto my blog. Well, time to remedy that.

Ribollita is a nourishing, thick and hearty, stick to your bones, vegetarian soup. There are many variations but the main ingredients typically include — day old bread, white beans such as cannellini, lacinato or Tuscan kale, cabbage, chard, carrot, celery, potatoes, leeks and onion.

It’s one of those one pot meals that tastes even better the next day. In fact, ribollita means to ‘reboil’ in Italian, as it’s traditionally made from reboiling leftover vegetable soup the next day with the addition of bread. 

I used 2 bunches of kale and 1 bunch of chard. Initially, it may look look like a lot of greens, but don’t worry they will cook down quite a bit. I also like to toast up the bread (I used focaccia) in a skillet with olive oil. The toasted bread not only serves to thicken the soup, but lends a really nice toasty flavor.

Perfect on a cool winter’s day (despite the unusually mild winter; it was cold over the weekend, today it was nearly 70). Oh well, it still hits the spot!

Ribollita

1 1/2 cups dried cannellini or Great Northern beans, soaked overnight
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 onion, finely diced
1 large carrot, finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
1 leek, white part only, finely chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried hot chile flakes (peperoncino)
4 plum (roma) tomatoes, diced
2 bunches Tuscan (cavolo nero) kale, shredded
1 bunch Swiss chard, shredded
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 sprig fresh oregano
Sea salt and black pepper
1 (2-3 inch) piece of Parmesan rind
8 cups water, vegetable or chicken stock
2 potatoes, 1/4-inch cube
Day old bread, 1/2-inch cubes; 2 handfuls (about 2 heaped cups)
Soak the beans in water overnight. Rinse, drain and set aside.

In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, leek, garlic and peperoncino. Sauté until the onion is transparent and lightly golden but not browned, about 10 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, kale and chard, white beans and a splash more olive oil. Stir and mix well. Add the rosemary and oregano sprigs, a pinch of salt and pepper and Parmesan rind. Add enough water or stock to cover by 1/4-inch, about 8 cups. Bring to a slow simmer and cook, covered for 1 1/2 hours. Taste, adding more salt and pepper as needed.

Add the diced potatoes, cover and continue to simmer until soft, about 30 minutes.

While the soup is cooking, toast the bread. Heat a couple tablespoons olive in a skillet. Add the bread and toast, turning from time to time, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

The soup can stand a few hours in a cool kitchen and be reheated. You can also refrigerate overnight and serve re-heated the next day.

Remove and discard the Parmesan rind. When ready to serve, add the toasted bread to the simmering soup. Add a few ladles of soup, more or less depending on how thick you like your soup, to a blender and process until smooth. Add back to the pot.

Serve hot with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.