Tuscan ribollita
Ribollita is a hugely important staple in Tuscan cuisine – it may look like a simple vegetable soup on the surface, but this dish is more than the sum of its parts. The stale bread is very traditional – as it rehydrates in the soup, it takes on a lovely silky texture. Alfred's version stays fairly true to the original, and makes a fantastic easy weekday lunch or dinner.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 small onion , finely diced
- 1 small carrot , finely diced
- 1 celery stick , finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves , finely chopped
- 1 tbsp of thyme leaves , chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 small sweet potato , diced
- 1/2 savoy cabbage , shredded
- 1 tbsp of tomato paste
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- cannellini beans , from a 400g tin
- 100g of cavolo nero , chopped
- 50g of baby spinach
- 150g of sourdough bread, at least 3 days old, roughly cut into pieces
- salt
Method
1
To begin, heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Fry until golden brown for roughly 8–10 minutes on
a medium heat, stirring constantly
- 3 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 celery stick , finely chopped
- 1 small onion , finely diced
- 1 small carrot , finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves , finely chopped
2
Add the thyme, bay leaves, black peppercorns, sweet potato, savoy cabbage and tomato paste and mix well. Stir the stock pot into the mixture. Drain the beans, mash half of them, and add the mashed and whole beans to the pot. Add 1.5 litres of water, bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes
- 1 tbsp of thyme leaves , chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 small sweet potato , diced
- 1/2 savoy cabbage , shredded
- 1 tbsp of tomato paste
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- cannellini beans , from a 400g tin
3
Add the cavolo nero and cook for a further 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt
- 100g of cavolo nero , chopped
- salt
4
Add the sourdough bread and spinach, check the seasoning and simmer for a further 5 minutes. To serve, spoon into individual pasta plates, drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle over crushed peppercorns
- 150g of sourdough bread, at least 3 days old, roughly cut into pieces
- 50g of baby spinach
Discover more:
Go to Comments
Tuscan ribollita
