Ribollita

Name: Ribollita
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 50 min
Total time: 2 h 10 min
Yield: 1 serving
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 50 g dried cannellini beans; 500 ml water; 1 clove garlic; 2 sage leaves; 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil; 50 g onion; 40 g carrot; 30 g celery; 60 g tinned plum tomatoes; 100 g cavolo nero; 50 g savoy cabbage; 0.5 tsp fine sea salt; 60 g stale country bread; 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil; 0.25 tsp black pepper

The Tuscan farmhouse soup of cavolo nero, cannellini beans and stale bread, simmered slowly and then boiled again the next day until thick enough to stand a spoon in. Finished with a thread of raw extra virgin olive oil.

Snacks Lunch & dinner Under 400 kcal

130 min20 prep · 110 cookMedium260 kcalper serving

Method

The night before, put 50 g of dried cannellini beans in a bowl and cover generously with cold water. Leave to soak at room temperature for at least 8 hours, then drain and rinse.
Put the drained beans in a small saucepan with 500 ml of fresh water, 1 crushed garlic clove and 2 sage leaves. Bring barely to the boil, then simmer very gently, half-covered, for 60-75 minutes, until the beans crush easily between finger and thumb. Salt only in the last 10 minutes. Do not drain: this cloudy liquid is the broth. Lift out half the beans and pass them through a food mill or mash them smooth with a little of their liquid.
In a heavy casserole warm 2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil over a low heat. Add 50 g of finely chopped onion, 40 g of diced carrot and 30 g of diced celery and sweat gently for 10 minutes, stirring, until soft and sweet but not coloured.
Add 60 g of crushed plum tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes until the soffritto turns brick-red. Stir in 100 g of torn cavolo nero and 50 g of shredded savoy cabbage and turn them in the fat for 2-3 minutes until they collapse.