Ribollita is a soup made of black cabbage, cannellini beans, and bread croutons, a Tuscan tradition and a symbol of cucina povera. It was especially widespread in the provinces of Arezzo, Florence, and Pisa, and was the main dish on a cold winter evening. Being a rustic dish of working-class tradition there has always been many variations to it. But ingredients like black cabbage or unsalted Tuscan bread have always been part of this recipe.
History of ribollita
The origins of this soup can be traced back to the rural world when poor people would recover large slices of bread, on which the Lords wanted meat to be served on. This bread, flavored with the aroma of the meat, was cooked in broth, together with a mixture of herbs and vegetables found in the countryside: carrots, celery, herbs, and black cabbage. The soup was cooked and reheated several times because it had to last for several days. Hence the name ribollita (meaning re-boiled) by which it is still known today.
Ribollita variations
Like every popular recipe, ribollita can boast a long list of variations. Especially when it comes to the vegetables chosen to be combined with black and savoy cabbage. Zucchini, peas, and potatoes are the ingredients most often added to the soup. Often you can find recipes in which a rustic bread appears, not necessarily an unsalted. Lastly, when it’s eaten the following day, it’s served with sautéed onions which are added after having "ribollito" (re-boiled) it along with a sprinkling of black pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Ribollita recipe
Ingredients
1 lb 8 oz black cabbage
11 oz cannellini beans
2 oz carrot
2 oz celery
50 g onion
2 tomatoes and 1 tablespoon concentrated tomato paste
1 lb herbs
5 oz savoy cabbage
salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil, Tuscan bread.
Method
To prepare ribollita, first soak the cannellini beans in water for 12 hours, rinse, drain and boil them (in cold water batches) simmering them for 45 minutes.
Then cut celery, carrot, and onion into tiny cubes; clean the herbs by dividing the leaves from the stalks then finely chop them both.
Clean the black cabbage and savoy cabbage and slice into strips.
In a crock-pot, add 3-4 tablespoons of oil, the celery, carrot, onions, and the herb stalks.
Brown everything together for 10' until the vegetables soften then add the herb leaves, black and savoy cabbage, sliced tomatoes and a spoonful of concentrated tomato paste.
Let the flavors sauté together for 10', then cover with the stock and cook with the lid for 15-20'.
Add 4 ladles of the cooking water from the cannellini beans to bind the soup a little bit.
Blend a third of the cooked vegetables together with half the cannellini beans then add it to the crock-pot, together with the remaining beans.
Add salt and cook for another 40 minutes, then turn off the heat and serve ribollita in individual cocottes with 2 slices of Tuscan bread each, properly soaked, completed with a drizzle of olive oil and pepper.