Slow Cooker Ribollita Recipes

SLOW COOKER RIBOLLITA

Steps:

• Place the beans in a large bowl and add cold water to cover by 3 inches. Cover the bowl and soak the beans in the refrigerator overnight.
• The next day, pour the beans and their soaking liquid into a slow cooker. Add enough fresh water to cover the beans by 2 inches, cover with the lid, and cook on the high setting for 4 hours.
• Place a very large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil, and when the oil shimmers, add the onion. Season with salt and cook for 5 minutes, stirring every minute or so, until softened. Add the carrots, celery, butternut squash, and garlic, and cook for 5 more minutes, until starting to soften. Transfer the vegetables to the slow cooker. Add the tomatoes, crushing each one in your hand as you add it. Add the bouquet garni, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1/2 tablespoon of the red pepper flakes. Cook on the low setting for 3 hours.
• Uncover the slow cooker, remove the bouquet garni, and add the kale, bread, 1 cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano, and the remaining 1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes. Stir the soup well, season with more salt to taste, and serve with the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano sprinkled on top.

SLOW-COOKER RIBOLLITA

Steps:

• Preheat a 4-quart slow cooker. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over high. Add onion, garlic, and red-pepper flakes and cook until softened, about5 minutes. Add kale and cookuntil just wilted, 5 minutes. Transferto slow cooker.
• Add 1 tablespoon oil to skillet, then add zucchini and cook over high until lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer zucchini to slow cooker along with tomato, beans, and boiling water; season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on high until beans are tender, 3 hours (or on low 6 hours).
• Heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet. Add bread and cook over medium, turning once or twice, until golden and crisp, 5 to 6 minutes. Let cool slightly, then tear into pieces; stir into stew in slow cooker. Coverand cook on high until thick, 1 hour more (or on low 2 hours more). Season with salt and pepper; serve, topped with grated cheese and drizzled with 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.

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.

SLOW COOKER RIBOLLITA WITH SMOKED MOZZARELLA TOASTS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or skillet over medium. Add the onion, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until limp and translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the leek, celery and fennel, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Add the chopped garlic, bay leaves, red-pepper flakes and white wine; season generously with black pepper. Stir well and let the wine come to a simmer before turning off the heat.
• Scrape the mixture into a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker. Add the stock, beans, tomatoes, thyme, rosemary and lemon juice. Cook until the beans are tender and creamy, about 6 hours on high or 12 hours on low.
• Before serving, remove and discard the bay leaves and herb sprigs. Switch the slow cooker to high (if it's not already), and stir in the greens and vinegar.
• Let the greens cook while you make the toasts: Turn on your broiler. Rub the bread slices with the halved garlic and drizzle them with olive oil. Position a rack 6 inches from the broiler, then toast sliced bread under the broiler until very light golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1 slice of mozzarella to each toast and broil until softened and browned in spots. Taste the soup and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Divide the soup among bowls and add a mozzarella toast to each bowl. Garnish with the reserved fennel fronds, and additional black pepper or red-pepper flakes, if desired.

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.