Cook Tuscan ribollita, a hearty bean soup with cannellini beans, Savoy cabbage, vegetables and rustic bread. Reheat the soup to deepen its traditional flavours.
Scale This Recipe
Servings
Ingredients
Units
4 tablespoons
1 medium
onion, — finely chopped
3 stalks
celery, — finely diced
3 large
garlic cloves, — finely chopped
3 cups
Savoy cabbage
1 medium
zucchini, — finely diced
2 cups
cannellini or borlotti beans — cooked
14 ounces
tomatoes, — can
0.75 cup
red wine
4 cups
chicken
0.75 cup
bread, — crusted and diced in 1 inch cubes
Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
1
To make the soffritto, pour the olive oil into a large saucepan and add the onion. Cook the onion gently, use this time to the carrot and celery and add them to the pot as you go along. Once you have added the garlic, leave to cook for a few minutes.
2
Strip the leaves of the cabbage. and finely chop the stems and roughly chop the leaves. Add the cabbage stems and zucchini to the soffritto and cook, occasionally stirring, for 5 minutes, or until the vegetables have changed to an opaque color and soaked up some of the olive oil.
3
Stir in the beans and cook for 5 minutes more, then add the tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes to reduce the liquid.
4
Add the cabbage leaves and mix into the soup, stirring until just wilted. Add the wine and stock and gently for 40 minutes.
5
Add the bread to the saucepan; if the bread is very fresh, dry it out a little in the oven first to prevent it disintegrating into the soup. Mix briefly and remove the saucepan from the heat. Leave for 10 minutes. This rests the soup and allows the flavors to mingle. Serve hot but not boiling with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
6
For the soup, make sure it comes to a boil but then remove it from the heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes. Serve in cold bowls. The soup should be warm, rather than piping hot.
The secret to a silky soup like this one is patience at the blending stage — take your time and pass it through a fine sieve if you want a truly professional finish. If you'd like to go deeper, Soups Making 101 covers this in full.
If you'd ever like hands-on guidance for your own kitchen or restaurant, I also offer 1-on-1 coaching through OCS, or you can reach me directly for consulting at 911ChefEric.com.
Recipes come out right when you understand the method. Chef Eric’s courses teach the foundations step by step — knife skills, stocks, soups and classic French technique — with video lessons and short quizzes. Not sure where to start? OCRS™ will build your roadmap in five questions.
