Ribollita

Name: Ribollita
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 5 min
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Italian recipes
Ingredients: 3 carrots; 4 celery sticks; 2 large onions; 4 garlic cloves; 5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle; 4 bay leaves; 3 rosemary sprigs; 7 thyme sprigs; 1 sage sprig; 1 tbsp sea salt; 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper; 400g tin good-quality tomatoes; 3 x 360g jars borlotti beans (you can also use tinned beans but the jarred ones have a much better flavour and texture); 200g cavolo nero, leaves stripped off the stems and cut into large strips; ½ loaf stale sourdough or crusty bread like focaccia (the dryer or more stale the better); Red wine vinegar (I like merlot vinegar) to serve; Finely grated parmesan to serve (optional)

By: Dara Klein

Published: 29 Jan 24
Updated: 25 Mar 24

Ribollita is a hearty Tuscan bean soup thickened with stale bread. Chef Dara Klein shares her family recipe, a staple of her childhood in rural Emilia-Romagna.

Dara is the head chef of Tiella, a restaurant in residency at Compton Arms in Islington, London, where rustic Italian food is the focus. Dara says: “Ribollita means re-boiled; it would often get cooked again the next day to deepen the flavour. This is a great way of using all those stale ends of bread loaves and the vegetables kicking around at the bottom of the drawer. Ribollita was what my parents would make to use up the various scraps of bread leftover in their restaurant. It was on constant rotation in our house, and now even at Tiella as a regular staff meal.”

Easy
February 2024

Test kitchen approved

Serves 4
Hands-on time 20 min . Simmering time 1 hour

Ribollita is a hearty Tuscan bean soup thickened with stale bread. Chef Dara Klein shares her family recipe, a staple of her childhood in rural Emilia-Romagna.

Nutrition: Per serving

Calories: 633kcals
Fat: 19g fat (3g saturated
Protein: 28g
Carbohydrates: 74g (17g sugars)
Fibre: 26g
Salt: 4.6g

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Ingredients

3 carrots
4 celery sticks
2 large onions
4 garlic cloves
5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
4 bay leaves
3 rosemary sprigs
7 thyme sprigs
1 sage sprig
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
400g tin good-quality tomatoes
3 x 360g jars borlotti beans (you can also use tinned beans but the jarred ones have a much better flavour and texture)
200g cavolo nero, leaves stripped off the stems and cut into large strips
½ loaf stale sourdough or crusty bread like focaccia (the dryer or more stale the better)
Red wine vinegar (I like merlot vinegar) to serve
Finely grated parmesan to serve (optional)

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Method

Finely chop the carrot, celery, onion and garlic. Put a large lidded saucepan over a low-medium heat, add the oil, then the chopped vegetables. Tie the bay, rosemary, thyme and sage together with string to make a bouquet garni, then throw that in the pan too with the salt and pepper. Cook slowly for 35-45 minutes, stirring every now and then, until the vegetables are caramelised and starting to turn jammy.
Add the tomatoes, turn up the heat to medium-high and simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated. Drain and rinse the beans, then add them to the pan with 600ml water. (you could also use vegetable stock or chicken stock if you have it). Cover and cook over a medium heat for 20 minutes.
Remove the lid, add the cavolo nero and continue to simmer until it’s the consistency of a thick soup. Meanwhile, cut your stale bread into large chunks.

Remove the pan from the heat, check for seasoning and adjust to your taste. Add a splash of red wine vinegar and the bread and let them sit in the liquid for 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls (discarding the bouquet garni) and drizzle with a nice glug of olive oil, a crack of black pepper and parmesan (if using).