7th
Ribollita, a.k.a. Season-Defying Tuscan Soup
If, like me, you are still harboring what seems to be a fridge full of cabbage, fear not. This soup cashed in another hoarded head, as well as some beautiful chard that had been allowed to wilt a bit, some potatoes, and one of the bay leaves from the branch of them I was excited to pick up at the farm last Tuesday. If you’ve still got garlic and onion from the farm, or carrots that are a little past their prime, here is your soupy salvation.
This soup involves a bunch of chopping and a bit of inactive time (while it’s on the stove), but at the end you’ve got about 8 generous servings of a hearty soup that’s a million times better than the sum of its parts. This dish comes from Mario Batali, who swears (in his cookbook Molto Italiano) that it’s as good at room temperature in summer as it is hot in the winter—and after fixing it last night, I have to agree.
Ingredients:
- 1 can cannellini or Great Northern beans
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 sweet yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 2 leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced and well-rinsed
- 2 carrots, cut into 1/4-inch dice
- 2 celery stalks, cut into 1/4-inch dice
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, plus 1 whole garlic clove
- 2 three-inch sprigs fresh thyme, leaves pulled off the stem and stem discarded
- 1 4-inch sprig rosemary, finely chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 bunch rainbow chard, roughly chopped
- 3-4 small blue or white potatoes, peels on, cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 1/2 pound chopped white cabbage, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 6 or so cups water
- 8 (1/2-inch) slices Italian peasant bread, or however many = a slice for each bowl
- Salt (it can accept a lot) and freshly ground black pepper
- Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
How to:
In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the onion, leek, carrot, celery, potatoes, sliced garlic, and herbs. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften, 5-10 minutes. (Don’t worry if they’re still quite firm at this point—it simmers for long enough that the vegetables will have ample time to tender up.) Add the chard and cabbage and cook until the cabbage has softened and the flavors have blended, about 10 minutes. Salt and pepper, to taste. Add the tomato paste, and stir until the tomato paste is well distributed throughout the vegetable mixture. Add the beans.
Cover the bean and vegetable mixture with water by 2 inches, and let simmer until the flavors are well blended, about 30 minutes more. When the soup is close to being done, brush or spray your bread slices (enough for each bowl of soup you plan to serve) with olive oil, then toast or grill the bread until browned. Cut the remaining whole garlic clove in half, and rub the toasted bread with the cut end of the garlic.
Serve the soup hot in warmed bowls with the garlic bruschetta dunked alongside. Garnish with a sprinkling of Parmigiano, to taste.
Adapted from Mario Batali.
