Make Ribollita

The “ribollita” in ribollita soup is Italian for reboiled. This is because the soup is typically made from leftover ingredients. You can, however, choose to use fresh ingredients. Ribollita is easy to make and usually takes about an hour to complete. To make ribollita, make the soup, add the bread, and serve it immediately or wait to reboil it for another time.

Ingredients

• 4 cup (946.4 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 ounces (113.4 g) of pancetta, chopped
• 1 teaspoon (5.7 g) of salt
• 1 tablespoon (15 g) of tomato paste
• 15-ounce (141.7 g) can of diced tomatoes
• 1 pound (453.6 g) of frozen spinach
• 15-ounce (141.7 g) can of drained cannelloni beans
• 1 tablespoon (15 g) herbs de Provence
• 3 cups (709.8 mL) chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cloves of garlic (1 minced, 1 whole)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 3-inch piece Parmesan rind
• 4 to 6 halved ciabatta rolls
• Grated Parmesan

Makes 6 servings

Steps

Making the Soup

1. Put the onion, carrot, and pancetta in a large pot. Begin by pouring olive oil in a large pot and warming it over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, and pancetta to the pot. Season the ingredients with salt, minced garlic, and pepper.
2. Cook the onion, carrot, and pancetta for seven minutes. Keep the heat on medium as it cooks. The ingredients are done cooking when the onion turns golden brown and the pancetta gets crispy.
3. Add the tomatoes to the pot. Pour the tomato paste into the pot. Stir the paste in with the ingredients. Then, add the diced tomatoes and stir. Scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir to release the brown bits.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients. Put spinach, beans, stock, herbs, bay leaf, and parmesan rind to the pot. Stir in the newly added ingredients. Stir until they mix evenly with the onion, carrot, and pancetta.
5. Bring the soup to a boil. Turn the heat setting to high heat for the soup to boil. Reduce the heat after 30 minutes. Allow the soup to simmer until the bread has been prepared.

Adding the Bread

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (176.7°C). Drizzle olive oil on all of the halves of ciabatta bread. Leftover stale bread is often used for this recipe. You can choose to use the ciabatta bread, or substitute it for whole wheat or leftover bread.
2. Toast the bread. Put the bread in the oven on a baking tray. Leave the bread in the oven until it turns golden brown. This should take about five minutes.
3. Rub the garlic clove on the bread. Wait for the bread to cool down for a few minutes, but it should still be warm. Rub the whole garlic clove over every piece of the bread. The garlic should noticeably add flavor to each piece of bread.
4. Add the bread and cheese to the soup. Ladle the soup into each bowl. Put the pieces of toast into each bowl of soup. This recipe produces 6 servings, so you can put one piece of bread into each bowl. If you are serving less than six bowls, you can add additional pieces of bread to each bowl until it’s used up.

Serving Ribollita

1. Serve while hot. Sprinkle parmesan and olive oil over each bowl of soup. Serve while the soup is still hot, but not hot enough to burn your mouth. Because the bread is added to the soup, the soup should be enough for a complete meal.
2. Let the soup sit overnight. As mentioned, ribollita is Italian for reboiled. Ribollita is often left out on the stovetop overnight and served the next day. If you do this, reheat the soup on the stove over low heat.
   • Cover the soup when you leave it out overnight.
3. Store in the refrigerator. If you have soup leftover, pour it into in a covered container. Then, store the soup in the refrigerator. Leave it in the refrigerator for no more than a week.
4. Alter the ingredients. Since ribollita was originally made from leftover ingredients and whatever was found around the garden, you can alter the ingredients to fit whatever vegetables you have around. For example, you can add potatoes to the soup. Or, you could add kale or cabbage.

Tips

• Keep the bread and vegetables in proportion to each other.

Warnings

• Make sure all of the ingredients are fresh before incorporating them into the recipe.

Things You’ll Need

• 3-quart (2.8 L) pot
• 5 to 8-quart (4.7 L to 7.6 L) pot
• Cutting board
• Chef’s knife
• Food processor (or blender)
• Wooden spoon

Sources and Citations

See also

• Make Penne Pasta With Arrabiata Sauce
• Cook Lasagne
• Make Gnocchi
• Make Tiramisu
• Make Pasta Primavera
• Make Pizza Dough Without Yeast
• Make Pesto
• Make Italian Ice
• Make Kit Kat Lasagna
• Make Bruschetta

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