Jamie Olivers Ribollita Recipes

MY FAVOURITE RIBOLLITA (LA MIA RIBOLLITA PREFERITA)

Steps:

• Add your fresh or dried and soaked beans to a pan of water with the bay leaf - this will help to flavour the beans and soften their skins. Squash the tomato, peel the potato and add both to the pan. Cook until the beans are tender - taste one to check they're nice and soft. Dried beans can take up to an hour, but check fresh ones after 25 minutes. Drain (reserving about half a glass of the cooking water), and discard the bay leaf, tomato and potato.
• Peel and finely chop your onions, carrots and garlic. Trim and finely chop the celery.
• Heat a saucepan with a splash of olive oil and add the vegetables to the pan with the ground fennel seeds and chilli. Sweat very slowly on a low heat with the lid just ajar for around 15 to 20 minutes until soft, but not brown.
• Add the tomatoes and bring to a gentle simmer for a few minutes.
• Add the cooked and drained beans with a little of the water they were cooked in, and bring back to the boil.
• Finely slice the cavolo nero (stalks and all) and add to the pan - it will look like loads, but don't worry as it will cook down.
• Tear the bread into chunks, then moisten with a little of the cooking water and stir it in too. The soup should be thick but not dry, so add a little more cooking water if you need to loosen it. Continue cooking for about 30 minutes - you want to achieve a silky, thick soup.
• Season the ribollita with sea salt and black pepper, and stir in 4 good lugs of good-quality Tuscan extra virgin olive oil before serving to give it a glossy velvety texture.
• Delicious served on a cold winter's day with lots and lots of Chianti!

HAM RIBOLLITA

Steps:

• Peel the onion and garlic, then finely chop along with the celery and carrot.
• Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over a medium heat, add the chopped veg and fennel seeds, and season. Cook, covered, over a low heat for 10 minutes, until golden brown, stirring regularly.
• Reserving half the cannellini beans to one side, mash the rest and add them to the pan along with the liquid from the tin, the tomatoes and the stock. Carry on simmering for another 10 minutes.
• Chop and stir in the cavelo nero and spinach. Tear the ham into rough chunks and add along with the remaining beans.
• Simmer until the greens have cooked down and you have a lovely thick stew.

JAMIE OLIVER'S RIBOLLITA

Steps:

• Add your fresh or dried and soaked beans to a pan of water with the bay leaf, tomato and potato - this will help to flavour the beans and soften their skins. Cook until tender - taste one to check they're nice and soft. Dried beans can take up to an hour, but check fresh ones after 25 minutes. Drain (reserving about half a glass of the cooking water), and discard the bay leaf, tomato and potato. Finely chop your onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Heat a saucepan with a splash of olive oil and add the vegetables to the pan with the ground fennel seeds and chilli. Sweat very slowly on a low heat with the lid just ajar for around 15 to 20 minutes until soft, but not brown. Add the tomatoes and bring to a gentle simmer for a few minutes. Add the cooked and drained beans with a little of the water they were cooked in, and bring back to the boil. Stir in the sliced cavolo (it will look like loads, but don't worry as it will cook down), then moisten the bread with a little of the cooking water and stir it in too. The soup should be thick but not dry, so add a little more cooking water if you need to loosen it. Continue cooking for about 30 minutes - you want to achieve a silky, thick soup. Season the ribollita with salt and pepper and stir in 4 good glugs of good-quality Tuscan extra virgin olive oil before serving to give it a glossy velvety texture. Serve on a cold winter's day with lots and lots of Chianti!

RIBOLLITA

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over low heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery and a pinch of salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the tomatoes (with their juices), broth and thyme and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, partially covered, for 15 minutes, until the vegetables are very tender and the flavors meld. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add the kale and simmer, covered, until soft, another 15 minutes. Add the beans and bread and simmer until the bread starts to soften, 5 more minutes.
• Ladle the soup into bowls, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with shaved Parmesan.

RAE'S RIBOLLITA

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat, finely chop and add the pancetta, chilli flakes and fennel seeds, then fry for 3 minutes.
• Meanwhile, dice the carrot and celery into 1cm chunks, and peel finely chop the onion. Tie the rosemary sprigs together with string.
• Add the chopped veg and rosemary to the pan, then reduce the heat to low and cook gently for 15 to 20 minutes, or until softened and caramelised.
• Tip in the tomatoes, squashing and crushing them through your clean hands, followed by the beans (juice and all), and 1.8 litres of water. Bring to the boil, then turn down and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the veg is tender and the liquid has thickened slightly.
• Meanwhile, strip the cavolo nero leaves from their stalks and roughly chop them, adding them to the pan after 10 minutes.
• When the veg is tender, pick out and discard the rosemary.
• Tear the bread into small chunks, dot it into the pan, and continue to simmer gently for around 10 minutes, or until the bread has broken down and the soup is thick and creamy, stirring regularly.
• Season to perfection with sea salt and black pepper, then drizzle lightly with cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil before serving.

RIBOLLITA

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cover the beans with cold water by 1-inch and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to soak overnight in the refrigerator.
• Drain the beans and place them in a large pot with 8 cups of water, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and continue to simmer for about 15 minutes, until the beans are tender. Set the beans aside to cool in their liquid.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large stockpot. Add the pancetta and onions and cook over medium-low heat for 7 to 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the carrots, celery, garlic, 1 tablespoon of salt, the pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook over medium-low heat for 7 to 10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Add the tomatoes with their puree, the cabbage, if using, the kale, and basil and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for another 7 to 10 minutes.
• Drain the beans, reserving their cooking liquid. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, puree half of the beans with a little of their liquid. Add to the stockpot, along with the remaining whole beans. Pour the bean cooking liquid into a large measuring cup and add enough chicken stock to make 8 cups. Add to the soup and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.
• Add the bread to the soup and simmer for 10 more minutes. Taste for seasoning and serve hot in large bowls sprinkled with Parmesan and drizzled with olive oil.

RIBOLLITA

Steps:

• Heat a deep, heavy bottomed pot over moderate heat. Add oil, garlic, onions, carrots, celery and bay to the pot. Season vegetables with salt and pepper and saute until they begin to soften 5 to 7 minutes. Add beans, stock and tomato sauce. Bring soup to a boil over medium high heat. Remove lid and stir in torn stale bread. Stir soup and incorporate bread as it breaks down. When soup is becomes thick and bread is distributed evenly, adjust seasoning and serve the soup in shallow bowls. Some ribolittas are so thick, the spoon can stand upright. This is a subjective technique. Make yours as thick or thin, as you like with the addition of either more bread or additional stock or water.
• Top shallow bowlfuls of soup with thinly sliced or finely chopped raw onion, a drizzle of extra- virgin olive oil and a generous sprinkling of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

RIBOLLITA

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, pancetta, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook until the onion is golden brown and the pancetta is crisp, about 7 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir until dissolved. Add tomatoes and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all the brown bits. Add the spinach, beans, herbs, stock, bay leaf, and Parmesan rind. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Drizzle the ciabatta halves with olive oil. Toast until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and rub the top of the toasts with the whole garlic clove. Place the toasts in the serving bowls and ladle the soup over the toasts. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve immediately.

RIBOLLITA - GIADA DE LAURENTIIS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, pancetta, minced garlic, salt, and pepper.
• Cook until the onion is golden brown and the pancetta is crisp, about 7 minutes.
• Add tomato paste and stir until dissolved.
• Add tomatoes and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all the brown bits.
• Add the spinach, beans, herbs, stock, bay leaf, and Parmesan rind.
• Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Drizzle the ciabatta halves with olive oil. Toast until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and rub the top of the toasts with the whole garlic clove.
• Place the toasts in the serving bowls and ladle the soup over the toasts.
• Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve immediately.

RIBOLLITA

Steps:

• Put 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large pot over medium heat. When it's hot, add onion, carrot, celery and garlic; sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Heat the oven to 500 degrees. Drain the beans; if they're canned, rinse them as well. Add them to the pot along with tomatoes and their juices and stock, rosemary and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat so the soup bubbles steadily; cover and cook, stirring once or twice to break up the tomatoes, until the flavors meld, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Fish out and discard rosemary and thyme stems, if you like, and stir in kale. Taste and adjust seasoning. Lay bread slices on top of the stew so they cover the top and overlap as little as possible. Scatter red onion slices over the top, drizzle with the remaining 3 tablespoons oil and sprinkle with Parmesan.
• Put the pot in the oven and bake until the bread, onions and cheese are browned and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. (If your pot fits under the broiler, you can also brown the top there.) Divide the soup and bread among 4 bowls and serve.

TUSCAN BEAN SOUP (RIBOLLITA)

Steps:

• Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat; saute onion, carrots, celery, and garlic until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add zucchini and cook until slightly softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir vegetable stock, cannellini beans, chopped tomatoes, chicken stock, and pesto into vegetable mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until vegetables are tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet or frying pan over medium heat; saute spinach until wilted, about 5 minutes. Spoon sauteed spinach into each serving bowl; ladle soup over spinach.

RIBOLLITA (INA GARTEN)

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cover the beans with cold water by 1 inch and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to soak overnight in the refrigerator.
• Drain the beans and place them in a large pot with 8 cups of water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and continue to simmer for about 15 minutes, until the beans are tender. Set the beans aside to cool in their liquid.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large stockpot. Add the pancetta and onions and cook over medium low heat for 7 to 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the carrots, celery, garlic, a tablespoon of salt, the pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook over medium-low heat for 7 to 10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Add the tomatoes and the puree, the cabbage, the kale, and the basil and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for another 7 to 10 minutes.
• Drain the beans, reserving their cooking liquid. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with steel blade, puree half the beans with a little of their liquid. Add to the stockpot, along with the remaining whole beans. Pour the bean cooking liquid into a large measuring cup and add enough chicken stock to make 8 cups. Add to the soup and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.
• Add the bread to the soup and simmer for 10 more minutes. Taste for seasoning and serve hot in large bowls sprinkled with Parmesan and drizzled with olive oil.

TUSCAN-STYLE RIBOLLITA

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan or flameproof casserole over a medium heat and fry the onion, celery and carrot with a pinch of salt for 15 mins until soft. Add the garlic and chilli flakes, and cook for 1 min.
• Stir in the rosemary sprig, tomatoes, stock, beans and parmesan rind, if using, and bring to a simmer. Add the cavolo and cook, covered, for 10 mins. Stir through the bread and cook for several minutes more to warm through, then add the vinegar and season. Spoon into bowls, drizzle with a little more oil and sprinkle with the basil, if using, and the grated cheese.