TUSCAN-STYLE RIBOLLITA

‘re-boiled’ vegan stew, Tuscan-style

This traditional recipe from Tuscany, especially popular in Florence, is prepared with seasonal autumn vegetables. It is pronounced ree-bohl-lee-tah 😆 and it is something in between a thick soup, a chowder and a stew.

This makes a hearty, low calories-high satisfaction meal, but be aware that it is not always 100% vegan, as some recipes add Parmigiano cheese rind!

This ultimate comfort food dish cannot be hurried, so take your time on the first cold days after summer, and try it out - it will repay you for your patience.

And, as this dish gets even better with reheating, ensure you make plenty to enjoy the next day!

A little history

The origins of this dish date back to the Middle Ages when the nobles used to eat their lunch in the so-called "canteens". 

After the meal, the leftover bread was given to the servants, who would boil it with their own vegetables to obtain a substantial and tasty soup, and feed their families.  

Later, it took its name, which literally means ‘re-boiled’, from the fact that it was typically made by re-boiling leftover bean and vegetable the next day, adding bits of stale bread for a thicker and more filling stew.

And so it became an official recipe of the Italian cucina povera – that collection of traditional cooking techniques and recipes that originated from Italy's rural peasant populations.

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INGREDIENTS👇🏻

• 400g | 14.1oz stale sourdough bread

• 640g | 22.6oz Cannellini beans

• 300g | 10.6oz Savoy cabbage

• 300g | 10.6oz cavolo nero or kale

• 300g | 10.6oz potatoes

• 300g | 10.6oz spinach

• 200g | 07.1oz carrots

• 120g | 04.2oz celery

• 2 cloves of garlic

• 1 onion

• 200g | 07.1oz tomato passata

• 2 rosemary sprigs

• vegetable broth 1lt | 35.2fl. oz

• extra virgin olive oil

The recipe step by step

1. Chop onion, carrots, celery and garlic finely, and mix them with rosemary
   

2. Chop peeled potatoes and put in a water bath
   

3. Chop cabbage, destalk cavolo nero [or kale] and chop roughly
   

4. Blend half of the beans with a bit of vegetable broth
   

5. Sizzle in extra virgin olive oil the carrot and onion mix, then add tomato passata and cook for 5 minutes
   

6. Add potatoes, spinach, cabbage and cavolo nero [or kale] one at a time, stirring thoroughly
   

7. Add the blitzed beans and remaining vegetable broth and cook for 3 hours
   

8. Add the remaining beans, sea salt and cook for another 10 minutes
   

9. Cut the stale sourdough bread in medium slices and place at the bottom of your serving bowls
   

10. Add Ribollita on top and enjoy! 😋