Rachs Ribollita Is The Leftovers Meal That Keeps On Giving Recipes

RIBOLLITA (REBOILED ITALIAN CABBAGE SOUP)

Steps:

• Sort and rinse the beans before placing them in a large pot with the water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook 5 minutes. Turn off heat, cover, and let stand 1 1/2 hours. Drain.
• Place the beans, chicken broth, garlic, sage leaves, bay leaves, and salt in a large pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until beans are tender, about 2 hours. Cool. Remove 1 cup of beans. Discard the bay leaves and sage leaves. Blend the remaining bean mixture with a hand mixer until smooth. Set aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions; cook and stir until transparent, about 10 minutes. Combine the carrots, celery, potatoes, cabbage, Swiss chard, and kale with the onions. Stir in the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover, and cook until greens have wilted, stirring at least once, about 20 minutes. Stir in the pureed bean mixture, and cook 40 minute until the mixture thickens. Stir in the reserved beans. Adjust seasonings to taste. Add the toasted bread slices; cook until bread is soaked, about 10 minutes longer. Cool, and refrigerate overnight.
• Reheat the soup over low heat until heated through, about 20 minutes. Serve each serving garnished with 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.

LEFTOVERS DELUXE THE TUSCAN WAY RIBOLLITA

Steps:

• Drain beans after soaking and cover generously with fresh water, adding the sage and the 2 whole cloves of garlic. Bring beans to boil and cook 45 minutes to one hour, until they are quite tender. Reserve liquid.
• Meanwhile, saute the pancetta, the two minced garlic cloves and the onion in 1 teaspoon of the olive oil.
• When beans are cooked, puree half of them in a food processor, using a little of the cooking liquid, if necessary.
• Combine the pureed and the whole beans with the pancetta mixture and with tomatoes, carrots, celery, thyme, chard, potatoes and cabbag and 4 to 5 cups of the bean broth. Cook for 30 to 60 minutes, adding water if soup becomes more like porridge. Season with salt and pepper.
• Place a layer of bread in a casserole and top with some soup. Repeat until all the bread is used, ending with soup on top. The dish can be served this way, as a bean and bread soup. To make ribollita, refrigerate overnight.
• The next day, mash the soup and the bread into a thick porridge. Boil to reheat. As an alternative, you may saute the ribollita in a skillet in 4 tablespoons of olive oil until it forms a light crust. In either case, each serving should be topped with the remaining olive oil.