Tuscan Ribollita

The taste of Tuscan tradition in a bowl.

Ribollita is one of the most famous soups of Tuscan cuisine: a humble dish created to reuse stale bread, cavolo nero (Tuscan kale), beans and seasonal vegetables. It was prepared in large quantities and then reheated over the following days, which is where the name “ribollita” – literally “reboiled” – comes from. Today it is considered a symbol of rustic Tuscan cooking: hearty, genuine and perfect as a one-pot meal on colder days.

Ingredients

• Dried cannellini beans: 250 g (or 500 g cooked cannellini beans, drained)
• Water for soaking and cooking, as needed
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 bay leaf (optional)
• Stale Tuscan bread (unsalted): 300 g
• Cavolo nero / Tuscan kale (cleaned, tough stalks removed): 300 g
• Savoy cabbage: 200 g
• Potatoes: 200 g
• Carrots: 100 g
• Celery: 60 g (1 medium stalk)
• Yellow onion: 80 g (1 small)
• Tomato passata: 200 g
• Extra virgin olive oil: 60 ml (about 4 tablespoons)
• Vegetable stock or water: about 1.2 l
• Fine salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste
• A few sage leaves or a sprig of rosemary (optional)

Preparation

Cook the beans
Soak the dried beans for at least 8 hours, then rinse and cook them in fresh water with 1 garlic clove and the bay leaf for 60–70 minutes, until tender. Keep their cooking water aside.
If you are using cooked beans, you can skip soaking and long cooking.

Prepare the vegetables
Finely chop the onion, carrot and celery. Slice the cavolo nero and Savoy cabbage into thin strips. Peel the potatoes and cut them into small cubes.

Make the soffritto
In a large pot, heat the olive oil, add the onion, carrot and celery and gently sauté for 8–10 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Add the crushed garlic clove and, if you like, the sage or rosemary.

Add vegetables, beans and tomatoes
Add the potatoes, Savoy cabbage and half of the cavolo nero to the pot. Pour in the tomato passata, stir, then add the beans (keeping 2–3 tablespoons aside) along with about 1 litre of stock and/or bean cooking water. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat. Roughly mash or blend the beans you kept aside and add them to the soup to make it creamier.

Long simmering
Let the ribollita simmer over low heat for about 60 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding more stock/water if needed. Halfway through cooking, add the remaining cavolo nero. Adjust salt and pepper towards the end.

Add the bread
Cut the stale bread into slices or large chunks and place it in the pot (you can alternate layers of bread and soup, or add it directly into the soup). Cook for another 10 minutes over low heat, until the bread softens and breaks down.

“Reboil”
Ribollita is even better the next day: let it cool, store it in the fridge and the following day put it back on the stove with a little water or stock and let it “reboil” for about 10 minutes. Serve the ribollita piping hot, with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a grind of black pepper.
Servi la ribollita ben calda, con un filo di olio extravergine a crudo e una macinata di pepe nero.

Ribollita is one of those dishes that don’t need elaborate introductions: it arrives at the table simple and rustic, yet from the very first spoonful it tells of centuries of peasant cooking, families gathered together and pots gently simmering on the stove. Making it means taking the time to choose good vegetables, proper country bread and fragrant extra virgin olive oil, letting the heat do the rest. Served steaming hot, preferably the next day once it has “reboiled”, it brings all the authentic flavour of Tuscan tradition into your kitchen.