Ribollita Toscana

“Da domani, a dieta!” Stefano proclaimed as we walked toward our gate at Rome’s Fiumicino airport, preparing to board our flight back to the US.
Starting tomorrow, we’re on a diet.
During our three-week stay in Rome and Montalcino, we made it our mission to eat all of the food that we cannot find back in Minneapolis:
- Porcini mushrooms and white truffles, each making their seasonal appearance while we were there;
- Wild boar and Cinta Senese, the black hog with a white stripe around its middle native to the province of Siena;
- Local salumi e formaggi – charcuterie and cheeses served alongside a glass of wine as part of the quintessential Italian aperitivo;
- Roman-style and Florentine-style tripe, comparing which version we like better;
…and so much more.
We waste no time re-uniting with our favorite foods when we return to Italy. Stefano has been known to stop at the Garofalo shop inside the airport right after we land and buy a mozzarella di bufala. I try to tell him that it can wait until we’ve arrived and settled in. After all, we can find mozzarella di bufala at any supermarket or food shop. But my words fall on deaf ears, and Stefano carefully carries the plastic bag filled with water and the round, pregnant ball of mozzarella out of the airport and holds it in his lap as we taxi into Rome.
It is as if we suffer from an immigrant’s version of food scarcity syndrome. This might have made sense in the past when our boys were young, and we only made it back to Italy every 1-2 years. But now, we make a quick trip home every couple of months. Mozzarella di bufala and all the other food we love and miss will still be there when we return. We don’t need to sample everything in one three-week stay, but we do.
So, back in Minneapolis, where the weather is turning cold and the fall-colored leaves have mostly fallen from the trees, a ribollita Toscana was in order.
Made with kale, cabbage, and cannellini beans and traditionally served over day-old bread, ribollita is a hearty Tuscan soup. Its name means “reboiled,” and in the cucina povera tradition, the next day, leftover soup is spread into a baking pan or a cast-iron skillet and re-heated until a crisp crust formed on the bottom and the soup is thick enough to eat with a fork.


Ribollita Toscana
Made with kale, cabbage, and cannellini beans and traditionally served over day-old bread, ribollita is a hearty Tuscan soup.
Ingredients
- 1 small onion or 1/2 of a medium onion
- 2 carrots or a handful of baby carrots
- 2 celery stalks
- 1 bunch of Tuscan kale
- 1/2 of a small cabbage
- 1 medium Russet potato
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 2 cups water
- 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 cans of cannellini beans
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1 loaf of crusty peasant bread
Instructions
- Dice the onion, carrots, and celery finely, or process them in a food processor.
- Clean, wash, and slice the kale and cabbage.
- Peel the potato and cut it into small pieces.
- Add the olive oil to a medium pot set over medium heat.
- Sauté the onion, carrots, and celery for about five minutes.
- Add the kale, cabbage, and potatoes. Let the vegetables cook for 5 more minutes, stirring frequently.
- Pour 2 cups of vegetable stock and two cups of water over the vegetables.
- Stir in the tomato paste and add a dash of salt and pepper.
- Increase the heat and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and gently simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- Rinse and strain the cannellini. Puree 1/2 of the beans in a food processor along with a dash of olive oil.
- Add the pureed cannellini to the soup, mix well, and let the soup cook for 20 more minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the whole cannellini, turn off the heat, and season with more salt and pepper to taste.
- Slice the bread thinly.
- Place a slice of bread at the bottom of a serving bowl and ladle the soup on top.
- Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and serve warm.
Notes
There are as many recipes for ribollita as there are cooks in Tuscany. Some incorporate the bread into the soup, while others pour the soup over the bread, as we do. Some recipes call for other greens, such as Swiss chard, spinach, or mustard greens, and herbs like rosemary, sage, and parsley. Zucchini also appears in a few recipes. Feel free to experiment with your favorite ingredients and whatever greens you happen to have on hand.
If you have leftover ribollita, save it for the next day and reheat it in a skillet coated with olive oil until a crispy crust forms on the bottom. Some say ribollita is even better this way.