Just the other day, on the 4th, we went to our 'PENDING' neighborhood 4th of July party and several us engaged in food talk. Yummy, home made food. (note: this is the same party I brought my NOT REAL cake to) One recipe for a cold cucumber soup sounded divine (I hope I can get the recipe) and for some reason that brought to mind Ribolitta. I just had to make some!
In our travels through Italy I ordered this soup again and again to experience the nuances; I wanted to 'understand' this dish. The basics were tomatoes, cabbage, beans and bread. From there the experience was endlessly individual. There came a point when Joan finally said "enough!" and suggested that Italy had so many more amazing dishes that I was missing...
My most memorable bowl of Ribolitta was my first serving. We were in the Piazza Santo Spirito and found a wonderful basement restaurant. You entered at street level, descended a centuries old winding stone stairway with an iron railing hugging the circular column in the center. The 'dining room' was a long cellar of vaulted ceilings, frescos and 2 long farm tables with benches. This amazing place made me feel as if I were transported to a fairy tale of 17th-century Tuscany.
Two interesting ingredients of the soup for me are the bread for thickening and the olive oil for thinning. Tuscan peasant bread is void of salt so it goes stale quickly. Not wanting to waste food, the bread was added to soup. After a day or two on simmer the soup is so think you must thin it! At this restaurant, they had small pitches of fresh olive oil on the table.
Hope you enjoy this wonderful dance of the senses. Be sure to experiment with what your frig and pantry offer… and of course a 'real' chef would cook the beans from scratch, but I use canned…sigh.
Ribolitta
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion or shallot, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- Salt and ground black pepper
- 2 cups cooked or canned cannellini beans
- 1 15-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
- 5 cups vegetable/chicken stock
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 fresh rosemary sprig
- 1 fresh thyme sprig
- 2 cups chopped kale or spinach
- 2 cups chopped green cabbage
- 4 large, thick slices whole-grain bread, toasted
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
chard, zucchini, potato, chicken, sausage, parsley
Step 1
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.
Step 2
Heat the oven to 350 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.
Step 3
Add the greens. Add any 'extras' at this time. Taste and adjust seasoning. (I often stop here and finish it off the next day) Lay bread slices/pieces on top of the stew so they cover the top and overlap as little as possible. Scatter garlic over the top, drizzle with the remaining 3 tablespoons oil and sprinkle with Parmesan.
Step 4
Put the pot in the oven and bake until the bread, onions and cheese are browned and crisp, 40 minutes.
andiamo a mangiare (translation: bon appetit)