Ribollita Toscana Recipe

Sounds fancy, right? Well... it's not. Ribollita (reboiled) is a famous Tuscan soup, a hearty potage made with beans and vegetables. Like most Tuscan cuisine, the soup has peasant origins. It was originally made by reheating (reboiling) the leftover minestrone or vegetable soup from the previous day.

A Fabulous Trip
I learned this recipe in 2007 while on a fantastic mother/daughter(s) trip to the countryside of Tuscany.  We stayed in a farmhouse in a small village called Chianciano Terme to learn Italian cooking.  A week there and the best lesson I learned (and one that still resonates with me) was: “keep cooking simple, its ALL about the ingredients”. The Italian chef and farmer were so proud of their beautiful vegetables, homemade wine, and fresh olive oil. They even took us to see the “happy pigs”, as they like to call them, that we would be eating that week. (and by the way.. they did look happy, free, and healthy!)

A Delicious, Easy, Healthy Soup
I make this soup probably every other week in the fall and winter.  It is easy and incredibly versatile-  you can change up the veggies to whatever is in season, use whatever herbs and greens you have on hand, perhaps add some quinoa for extra protein, and spice it up to your tasting- it will be good any way, and even better… GREAT for you! 

My husband and I call it the "detox soup" because it feels soooo good eating all those vegetables and greens in a warming and comforting soup, that you feel like your body is thanking you! 
And as a bonus? it brings me fond memories of a lovely time with my mom and sister!

The Recipe

5 Servings (or double the recipe to freeze and "reboil" later!)

Ingredients:

Extra virgin olive oil

½  onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 zucchini, sliced

1/4 head of cabbage (Savoy), chopped

Red hot pepper flakes to taste

Dried thyme and/or oregano to taste

1 14 oz (BPA free) can Cannellini beans or ½ cup dried beans*

2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

16 oz diced tomatoes (BPA-free “canned”, like Pomí)

1 tbs tomato paste

Bunch of Swiss chard or kale (cut out stems)

10 oz spinach

Salt and pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Clean all vegetables well and slice them.
2. Place 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil into a Dutch oven or pot large enough to hold all the vegetables and heat to medium-high; brown the onion, then the garlic on top. Add the carrots, then the celery, and the zucchini.
3. Add salt and pepper and cover the pot. Cook for 10 minutes.
4. Add the cabbage, the pepper flakes, herbs, and the beans. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes.
5. Add the vegetable broth, depending on the consistency you want the soup to have, put less or more broth.
6. Add the tomatoes and the paste. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.
7. Now add the kale and spinach and simmer for about 10 more minutes.
8. When done, serve in earthenware bowls, add some grated Parmesan cheese, and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil.

*If using dried beans, make sure to soak in cold water for about 6 hours (no need for more).  Discard the water it soaked on and add to soup in step #2 along with other vegetables.  With dried beans cooking might take a bit longer, so taste throughout the cooking and add greens once beans are to your liking.