Kids Dish

Well, if you consider two days of my son eating what we’re eating “on a roll” then we’re on one. Today I finished the Ribollita I mentioned earlier in the week. Ribollita is a Tuscan bread and vegetable soup that takes three days, yes three days, to prepare. Recipes vary, but the beans, tomatoes, onion and black cabbage seem to remain no matter which recipe you use. While it may seem like three days is an awfully long time to wait for soup (especially since Bob had to go back to work in the evening and I didn’t even finish the soup correctly!) I have to tell you it’s worth it. And watching Sam eat it and dip his bread into the soup made it even more worthwhile

Ribollita

1/2 pound dried cannellini beans (about 1 cup), picked over and soaked overnight in cold water to cover generously, drained and rinsed
3 or 4 fresh or dried sage leaves
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons
extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely minced (about 1 cup)
1 whole pepperoncino (I used a mystery hot red pepper from my garden)
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
4 fresh tomatoes, peeled, cored and quartered
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup finely chopped, fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 bunch of cavolo nero (black kale), tough center stalks removed, coarsely shredded (about 7 cups) ( I used regular kale)
3 medium carrots, peeled and coarsely diced (about 2 cups)
3 celery stalks, coarsely diced (about 2 cups)
1 large boiling potato, peeled and coarsely diced (about 2 cups)
1/2 small head Savoy cabbage, cored and coarsely chopped (about 2 1/2 cups)
1 bunch Swiss chard, green leaves only, coarsely chopped (about 7 cups)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
5 thick slices 1- to 2-day-old crusty Italian bread

Put the beans in a medium pot with sage leaves, cover by 2 to 3 inches with cold water, and bring to a bubble over medium heat. As soon as the water begins to bubble, reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until the beans are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring from time to time. The beans can be cooked a few hours ahead of time.

Heat 1/3 cup oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and whole pepper and stir until the onion is pale yellow and soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and parsley, and stir a minute or two. Remove the pepper. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to break down the tomatoes. Add the kale, carrots, celery, potato, cabbage and chard. Stir for a couple of minutes, then add the beans and their cooking water. If needed, add enough cold water to cover the vegetables by about 2 inches.

Season with salt and pepper to taste, and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan partially, and cook, stirring from time to time, until the vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes.

Turn off heat and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, before serving, put the soup back on low heat and simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring often with a long wooden spoon to prevent sticking. At this point, the soup will have “reboiled” twice (thus ribollita) and will have a thick consistency.

Preheat the broiler. Put a slice of italian bread toasted and rubbed with a clove of garlic at the bottom of an ovenproof soup crock (I use french onion soup crocks) and fill the bowl with soup. Cover the soup with a sliced onion round and drizzle with olive oil. Broil on the lowest broiler setting (away from the flame) until the onion is browned.

Even though it takes days to prepare you can probably skip day one- the soaking of the beans overnight- if you use canned beans. My only hesitation about using canned is that you lose the flavorful sage and bean water though you could add vegetable stock in its place. You can also eat the soup, which is just plain minestrone on day two and it will be delicioius. But make sure you save enough for day three, when it’s been reboiled and the flavors have had time to sit and meld overnight. It’s one of the best things I’ve eaten in along time, and I don’t generally rave about soup

recipes, ribollita, three day soup, vegetarian soups