“Much sophisticated nonsense is talked about this Tuscan soup”, mentioned the late chef Alastair Little, of a dish that's historically constructed from leftover minestrone and off bread. As with so many zero-waste dishes, it doesn’t do to be too prescriptive, however when you do wish to make ribollita (actually, “boiled over”) from scratch, a number of pointers could be useful.
The greens
Like many Italian dishes, ribollita begins with a soffritto of fried carrot, celery and onion (Katie Caldesi makes use of purple onion in addition to yellow in her Italian Cookery Course, which give her soup a pleasing sweetness).. It additionally tends to be very heavy on the greens; cavolo nero could be my first alternative, for its robustness of flavour and texture, however when you've got one other kind of cabbage, chard or leafy inexperienced, merely modify the cooking time accordingly.
I additionally just like the silkiness of Caldesi’s leek, and have added some seasonal diced squash, too, although mess around with no matter wants a house.
The aromatics
Add garlic to the beans as they cook dinner, as in Lori De Mori’s absorb Beaneaters & Bread Soup. Although my testers and I can’t style Alvaro Maccioni’s root ginger, we love Angela Hartnett’s fennel seeds and chilli, however herbs comparable to thyme, rosemary or sage additionally make high-quality additions.
The starch
Cannellini beans are widespread in ribollita, however any beans will do. In the event you cook dinner them from dry, add a strip of kombu to make them extra digestible. De Mori and Maccioni puree a number of the beans and stir them into the broth together with the obligatory bread, to thicken it.
Caldesi and De Mori each bake their ribollitas, however I’m going to stay mine below the grill to crisp the highest, so I don’t must activate the oven for too lengthy.
The extras
Add inventory, or a splash of purple wine (as steered by James Ramsden in his new e-book, Each Final Crumb) when you occur to have some on the backside of a bottle. Parmesan rinds (or these of one other arduous cheese) are not often a foul name in soup, and popping in some sausages, as Valentina Harris recommends in her Italian Regional Cookbook, will assist stretch slightly meat a really great distance. Which is what ribollita is all about.
Good ribollita
Prep 20 min
Cook dinner 2 hr, plus elective soaking
Serves 4-6
200g dried cannellini beans (or different beans), or 400g cooked tinned beans (internet weight)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and squashed
2 bay leaves (elective)
1 strip kombu (elective; or soak the beans earlier than cooking)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 smallish onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 smallish purple onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 carrots, trimmed and finely chopped
2 sticks celery, trimmed and finely chopped
Salt and black pepper
¼ tsp fennel seeds (elective)
¼ tsp chilli flakes (elective)
1 massive leek, washed and thickly sliced
200g winter squash, peeled, seeded and reduce into tough 1cm chunks
250g cavolo nero, or the outer leaves of a savoy cabbage, or different greens, shredded
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 parmesan rind (or related arduous cheese rind; elective)
200g stale bread, torn into chunks
Further-virgin olive oil, to serve
Grated cheese, to serve
2 spring onions, trimmed and sliced into lengthy strips, to serve (elective)
In the event you’re utilizing dried beans, put them in a big pan, cowl generously with chilly water and add the garlic, bay and kombu.
Deliver to a boil, then simmer for an hour to an hour and a half, till gentle. Scoop out half the beans and put aside, and discard the bay and kombu.
Puree the remaining beans and sufficient of their cooking liquid to make a skinny, free puree, including extra liquid, or recent water, if needed. (If utilizing tinned beans, scoop out half, then puree the remainder with the liquid from the can.)
Put the oil in a big pan on a medium warmth, then saute the onions, stirring, for six or seven minutes, till they soften. Add the carrot, celery and a pinch of salt, and cook dinner for 5 or so minutes extra, till gentle. In the event you’re utilizing tinned beans, finely chop the garlic and stir it into the pan.
Stir within the fennel seeds and chilli flakes, if utilizing, cook dinner for a minute, then add the leek, squash and cavolo nero, stir effectively, then cowl and cook dinner, stirring often, till limp.
Tip within the tomatoes, pureed beans and cheese rind, including 150-250ml water (or inventory), if needed, relying on how liquid the puree is and the way soupy you need your ribollita to be.
Cowl once more and depart to bubble for about 40 minutes, or till the greens are cooked to your style.
Stir within the remaining cooked beans and the bread, cook dinner till the latter is gentle, then season the soup to style. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and pop below a scorching grill till crisp on prime, or serve simply as it's. Prime with grated cheese and spring onion, if utilizing.
Is ribollita the last word zero-waste soup, or do you have got a fair higher thought up your sleeve? And, in case you are a fan, how do you want yours, baked or simmered, tomato-rich or tomato-free … and is it actually ribollita with out that particular Tuscan bread?
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