When it’s cold out and a need a belly warming meal, nothing is better than my Tuscan Ribollita Soup. Good for your body and even better for your soul.
It’s bone-chillingly cold outside. My phone is reading -11°. Is that a negative in front of that number? Yup.
This winter I’ve found refuge in a few things: play session on the floor with Poppy where she sits and bats at everything I put in front of her or naturally sticks it in her mouth, lots of coffee (mostly decaf so that I don’t go caffeine crazy), impromptu dance parties with baby and soup.
Soup – soup a dup – soup a dup – a dup a dup…mmm… get it girl! Yep sometimes I sing about soup. Sad I know, but at least the baby thinks I’m cool. Or so I think.
I love soup. Always have. My oldest and fondest memory of soup I have is of my mom’s chicken and veggie soup.
I remember countless nasty cold and crumby days where mom would whip up some chicken soup for me. And all would be better. I swear her soup must have medicinal voodoo powers because it does make me feel better. Lucky for me, my mama still makes me soup when I’m sick.
I’ve tried to replicate it but just cant. There is something so homey and feel-good about her soup. Simple but magic.
I don’t a have magic medicinal soup in my arsenal. But I have a freaken fantastic cozy eat-when-its-negative-degrees-out soup you will like.
As an adult, sort of, I’ve expanded my soup palate to include heartier soups rich in legumes, winter greens, poignant spices and the always required bread spoon. As of late, my heart has been wooed by Italian soups.
My current romance is Ribollita.
Such a romantic sounding word… Ribollita…rawr. I feel like whispering it in someone’s ear. Yes that would be creepy on many levels and worse if this person happens to know Italian since they will surely ask why I am whispering the word “reboiled” in their ear.
But creepiness aside, there is nothing mundane or re-anything about this dish.
This Tuscan humble soup is known for being made out of leftovers. How amazing is that!? So not only is it delicious and nutritious but it also helps me clean out my fridge.
At any given point, I always seem to have carrots, celery and old bread somewhere in my kitchen/fridge. Which, coincidentally is the base for this soup. And apart from that, all that I might have to buy are white beans and kale.
30-35 minutes later, depending on how impatient I am, this soup is ready to eat with some homemade croutons and a shower of parmesan cheese. Deep earthy favors, satisfying creaminess from the cannellini beans and soft cooked veggies… perfection!
Yields Serves 6
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil + extra about 2 tablespoons for croutons
- 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
- 3 ribs of celery, diced
- 4 carrots, peeled, ends trimmed and chopped into ½ inch pieces
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (omit if you don’t like a little spice)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon of fresh thyme (or ½ teaspoon dry thyme)
- 1 (15-ounce can of whole tomatoes or diced tomatoes
- 1 (15-ounce) cans of cannellini bean*
- 3 1/2 cups vegetable stock (low-sodium chicken stock works fine too)
- 1 bunch of lucinato kale, de-stemmed and sliced
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
- A few slices of a hearty bread (baguette, peasant, sourdough)
- Grated Parmesan-Reggiano
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a medium pot over medium heat . I used my enameled cast iron Dutch oven because it’s nice and wide and has a lid. To the oil add the onions, celery and carrots. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until veggies are soft.
- Mix in the garlic, crushed red pepper, salt and thyme. Cook for another 1 to 2 minutes.
- If using whole tomatoes, open the can and chop up the tomatoes by sticking kitchen scissors in the can and chop chop chopping away. Pour the tomatoes, beans and stock into the pot.
- Mix in the kale and bring the soup to a gentle simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and cook for 15-20 minutes.
- In the meantime, preheat oven to 400°F.
- Cut up your bread into roughly 1 inch cubes and place in a large bowl. Drizzle cubes with olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Spread bread cubes onto a baking sheet and bake for about 10-15 minutes, giving them a few shakes along the way. If you don’t feel like using the oven, just sauté these bad boys over medium heat on a skillet for 7-10 minutes. Make sure to mix them and keep an eye on them as they can burn quickly if left unsupervised.
- Add the lemon juice to the soup and stir.
- Ladle the soup into bowls, top with shredded parmesan cheese and a few crunchy croutons. Have a plate of the croutons handy so people can add more as they eat.
Notes
Cannellini is my favorite white bean to use for this soup but you could also use any white bean that you like. Also feel free to use dried cooked beans. I needed a quick soup recipe so went with canned instead 🙂 Soup reheats beautifully and will last up to a week in the fridge. You can also freeze it if you want to have it at a later point.
Adapted from Cozy Kitchen’s Ribollita. Great site and super great food!
Originally posted 2016-01-18 07:03:07.
Bethany says
By Val says