Raes Ribollita Recipes

RIBOLLITA CON VERDURE

Steps:

• Heat a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add oil and the the pancetta or bacon and render 4 minutes. Add rosemary, the garlic, 3/4 of the onions, carrots and zucchini and season with salt and pepper. Saute the veggies 7 to 8 minutes, then add wine and deglaze the pot. Stir in the tomatoes and stock and bring up the heat. When soup boils, reduce to a simmer and stir in bread and beans. Pile the greens into the pot and wilt them into the soup. Simmer the ribollita 5 to 10 minutes, stirring soup as it simmers until it thickens to a dense stew-like consistency. A wooden spoon should be able to stand upright in the pot. Turn off heat, adjust seasonings and ladle into shallow bowls. Top with grated cheese, an additional drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, and a spoonful of reserved finely chopped raw onions.

RIBOLLITA (VEGETABLE, BEAN AND STALE BREAD SOUP)

Steps:

• Variations: For a sweeter soup, add chopped fennel to your mix. For autumn, add zucchini or butternut squash to your blend.
• Drain the beans and place in a pot with 4 cups chicken stock, 1 clove garlic, half an onion and some salt and pepper. Bring to a low boil, reduce the heat and simmer until tender, 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the bread until deeply golden and toasted. Store in foil.
• Heat 1/4 cup EVOO, 4 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat in a large Dutch oven. Add the chopped onions, carrots, celery, remaining 3 cloves garlic, chile flakes, bay leaf and herb bundle. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, partially covered, to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the wine, kale, cabbage and a little nutmeg. Stir. Wilt the greens, partially covered, 5 to 6 minutes more. Add the beans and their liquids and the tomato puree. Stir. Add 2 cups more stock (reserve 2 cups for the night you serve). Add the cheese rind to the soup. Simmer to combine flavors, 15 minutes. Remove 3 cups of the beans and vegetables, about half the soup, to food processor and puree. Then add back to pot. Cool and store the soup for a make-ahead meal.
• To serve, heat the soup over medium heat, add the bread to the soup and let it absorb the liquid. Thin the soup with the remaining 2 cups of stock. Taste to adjust seasoning. Remove the herb bundle, rind and bay leaf. The ribollita is done when a wooden spoon can stand straight up in the soup. Ladle into shallow bowls and garnish with a generous drizzle of EVOO, finely chopped raw onion and cheese. Leftover soup can be fried in olive oil in a skillet like potato pancakes or hash, and topped with over easy or fried eggs.

RACH'S RIBOLLITA IS THE LEFTOVERS MEAL THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

Steps:

• For the beans: Soak the beans overnight
• Rinse and place in pot and cover by about 3 inches with water
• Add onion, garlic, bay, and bring to boil
• Reduce heat, salt beans liberally and cook 40-50 minutes to tender
• Remove onion, garlic and bay, and reserve beans and what is left of cooking liquid
• For the soup: Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat with EVOO, 4 turns of the pan
• Add carrot, celery, onions, leek, garlic and season with salt and pepper
• Add herb bundle, partially cover and sweat the vegetables to soften 10 minutes, then add greens, wilting them in in stages, and season with a little freshly grated nutmeg
• Add stock, tomatoes, and rind and simmer 45 minutes, then cool and store
• Reheat the soup over moderate heat and combine with the beans and their liquid
• Preheat the oven to 350˚F
• Arrange the bread on tray and bake to deeply golden brown
• Stir the bread into the soup
• When soup is thick enough for spoon to stand upright, it's done
• Serve soup in bowls topped with raw onion, EVOO and cheese

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.

TUSCAN SOUP (RIBOLLITA CON VERDURE) RACHAEL RAY

Steps:

• Heat soup pot over medium-high heat. Add oil and pancetta and render for 4 minutes. Add rosemary, garlic, 3/4 of onions, carrots, zucchini and season with salt and pepper. Saute veggies 7-8 minutes, then add wine and deglaze the pot.
• Stir in tomatoes and stock and bring up heat. When soup boils, reduce to a simmer and stir in bread and beans. Pile greens into pot and wilt them into the soup.
• Simmer 5-10 minutes, stirring soup as it simmers until it thickens to a dense stew-like consistency. A wooden spoon should be able to stand upright in pot.
• Turn off heat, adjust seasonings and ladle into shallow bowls. Top with grated cheese and an additional drizzle of olive oil, and a spoonful of remaining finely chopped onion.