Ribollita Con Verdure Recipes

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.

RIBOLLITA (ITALIAN VEGETABLE/BEAN SOUP)

Steps:

• Start the day before by soaking the beans in plenty of water.
• Drain the beans, cook them in water until soft, about 1 1/2 hour.
• In the meantime, chop all the vegetables and saute the onions, carrots, celery and garlic in the oil.
• Gently fry for about 30 minutes.
• Add broth from the beans + water to make a total of 10 cups.
• Add tomatoes, jalapeno pepper and spinach.
• Add salt and cook on low fire for about 20 minutes.
• Put the beans in the soup and cook on low fire for 40 minutes.
• I does not matter if the soup cooks longer, in fact you can start in the morning and have the soup on the stove the whole day.

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.

VEGETARIAN RIBOLLITA

Steps:

• In a soup pot or Dutch oven heat the 1/4 cup olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, zucchini, carrots, garlic, and rosemary; season with salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables are soft and juicy, about 10 minutes. Add the cabbage, tomatoes, basil, and marjoram and season again with salt and pepper. Cook until cabbage is just tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the beans and vegetable broth, and adjust the heat to simmer gently for 20 minutes.
• Remove the rosemary sprig. Stir in the bread and spinach, increase the heat to medium and cook until the soup thickens, about 10 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into warm bowls. Top with cheese and a little drizzle extra-virgin olive oil.

RIBOLLITA

Steps:

• Rinse and drain the soaked cannellini beans and set aside.
• In a large pot, heat the olive oil and saute the carrots, celery and onions (the soffrito) until well-cooked but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the potatoes, cavolo nero and cabbage and saute with the soffrito until the cabbage is wilted, a few minutes. Add the tomatoes, breaking them up with a spoon, and then add the beans. Add enough hot water to cover the ingredients in the pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer over low heat for 1 1/2 hours. Add the sliced bread to the pot along with 2 more cups of hot water. Continue cooking for another 30 minutes.
• Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil for garnish.
• If reheating the next day: Reheat the soup slowly so as not to scorch the bottom of the pot. The soup should be thick. Bring to a simmer and adjust the seasoning to taste. Add a little more water if needed. Serve drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil.