Ribollita

Ribollita is Chef Marco Canora’s favorite soup recipe. Need we say more?

This soup is featured on the menu at Hearth from the beginning of fall until the end of winter every single year, and the first pot is always made by Marco himself. This treasure of a recipe is also featured in his book, Salt to Taste, and is a staple of Tuscan comfort cooking.

Ribollita translates to “reboiled” in Italian. Born from cucina povera—the tradition of turning humble ingredients into something extraordinary—this classic soup was made by simmering leftover vegetable soup with stale bread until it became hearty, rich, and nourishing.

There’s a lot of debate on what goes into the perfect pot of ribollita. Beans, stale bread, black cabbage are the 3 constant ingredients – other ingredients are improvised and strongly depend on what the cook has available in their kitchen. Every menu in Florence has it on their menu and even if you order it everywhere you eat, it’s never the same bowl twice.

Black cabbage, aka dino kale, is worth seeking for this recipe, especially after a frost when the natural sugars emerge. Black cabbage’s robust texture stands up nicely to heating (and re-heating) and lends an earth flavor against this Ribollita soup recipe’s rich Parmesan and tomato.

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus additional for serving
• 3 cups diced onions
• 3 cups diced carrots
• 3 cups diced celery
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups chopped savoy cabbage
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 8 cups finely chopped black cabbage (aka dino kale)
• 3x 3-cup pouches Brodo (we love it with Hearth but choose whichever base broth you’d like)
• 5 cups cooked cannellini beans
• Thin toasted crostini or crusty sourdough bread
• Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• Fresh thyme leaves

Instructions:

1. Heat a skim of oil, about 2 tablespoons, in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery. Season with salt and stir to coat the vegetables with oil. Cover and sweat the vegetables (cook without coloring), stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the savoy cabbage. Mix well and cook, covered, until it begins to wilt, about 3 minutes.
3. Stir in the tomato paste, taking care to distribute it evenly. Turn the heat to low and add the black cabbage. Mix well, cover the pot, and stew the vegetables until they are tender, about 20 minutes. Add the Brodo, raise the heat, and bring the soup to a boil.
4. While the soup is cooking, puree 3 cups of the beans in a blender or food processor, adding a little water if necessary. Whisk the puree into the soup. Add the remaining 2 cups of beans and bring the soup back to a boil. Reduce the heat again and gently simmer, uncovered, until the flavors blend, about 30 minutes.
5. Season the soup with salt and lots of pepper. At this point, the soup can be cooled and refrigerated or frozen. To serve, ladle hot soup into bowls. Top each serving with crostini or sourdough, Parmigiano, pepper, thyme leaves, and a drizzle of oil.

**This soup tastes even better when reheated!
Enjoy!

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