Ribollita is a Tuscan bread soup perfect for winter. I learned this hearty dish as a guest in the kitchen of Zibibbo restaurant in Florence where, during a year living in the hills south of the city over 2003-2004, I spent two weeks informally studying Tuscan cuisine according to the renowned chef/owner Benedetta Vitali. My primary instruction, though, came from the only fluent English-speaker in the kitchen, a young American from Chez Panisse abroad in Italy studying regional cuisine. Her name was Samin. I learned a lot from her over those two weeks, and we made some wonderful meals (such as fried cardoons, roast pigeon, ragú Bolognese, and, of course, ribollita), but this was pre-social media, and this woman wasn’t in Italy to make friends with older American dudes. We didn’t stay in touch. Recently, though, I was reminded of our connection from all those years ago when I was watching the Netflix show, Salt Fat Acid Heat, and the familiarity of the host finally registered when she, Samin Nosrat, went to the home of Benedetta Vitale to make Bolognese that began with a soffritto.
The first thing that Samin had taught me about Benedetta’s cooking was her emphasis on soffritto, the minced vegetable base of many of her recipes, including her Ribollita, which can be found in Benedetta’s cookbook, entitled, not surprisingly, Soffritto. My version is vegetarian, though it is often made with prosciutto rinds and beef broth, but I skip the rinds and use vegetable broth because it’s a veggie-centered meal anyway, chock full of colorful things from the garden along with legumes and aromatics mixed with leftover bread that blends into the soup to create a silky texture. This effect from the bread is achieved by using day-old loaves, cut or ripped into chunks, and allowing them to sit in the soup for a few hours or even overnight when dispirit ingredients join together, combining and enhancing flavors before being “reboiled” or “ribollita.”
Ribollita by Andrew Cotto
Serves 4
Ingredients:
½ red onion minced
2 medium-sized carrots, one minced and the other diced
2 celery stalks, one minced and the other diced
1 zucchini diced
2 Yukon Gold potatoes scrubbed and diced
The top half of a savoy cabbage sliced into ¼ inch strips
¼ of a purple cabbage sliced into ¼ inch strips
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 cup of canned cannellini beans (thoroughly rinsed if before using)
6 cups of vegetable stock
2 tablespoons of dried oregano
Salt
½ loaf of day-old Tuscan bread (or similar) cut or torn into 1/2 inch pieces
¾ cup of olive oil + more for serving
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano for serving
Red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
Method:
Heat ¾ cup of olive oil in a wide and heavy pot (such as a Le Creuset) over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the minced onion, celery, and carrot. Season with salt, stir and let the soffritto sauté, stirring every five minutes for 15 total (keeping an eye out for burning).
Raise the heat slightly and add the garlic, the chopped carrots, celery, zucchini, potatoes, both cabbages, oregano, and beans. Season with salt and stir thoroughly into the soffritto.
Add all of the stock to the pot (it should slightly cover the vegetables; if not, add some water). Bring to a simmer and cook covered for roughly 30 minutes or to when the purple cabbage is tender. Take the pot off the heat.
Incorporate the bread into the pot. Cover.
Leave the pot for a few hours or overnight; reheat (to “reboil”), stir thoroughly, check for seasoning, and serve warm with a swirl of fresh oil and sprinkled Parmigiano on top.