Seeking Fall Comfort Food? Try Tuscan Soups Like Ribollita

As the days turn colder here in Chicago, my thoughts begin to wander in anticipation of the holiday season. Traveling during the holidays is one of my favorite pastimes. Cities overrun with tourists in the spring and summer are returned to their rightful owners. Restaurants return to their locals only menus and foods return to their hearty, Medieval pasts. Several years ago, I spent a few weeks in Rome around the holidays. Rome was festive, but freezing, so I sought a little comfort in Florence at one of my favorite restaurants in all of Italy, Trattoria Mario.

Mario’s is known and loved by students, tourists and Italians alike for its massive steaks of Chianina beef and its convivial, communal atmosphere. But I was after one of its more humble treats--ribollita. Ribollita is a classic Tuscan soup enjoyed by peasants since the Middle Ages. Ribollita means “reboiled” and this soup was often made by reusing leftover minestrone or vegetable soup reheated with the addition of leftover bread and cheese for flavour and heartiness.

This simple soup, made with whatever vegetables happen to be in your fridge and flavored with a bit of parmesan cheese, is staple of Tuscan kitchens and a fall favorite of mine as well. Just a few notes--I like to stick to a more traditional preparation using chicken stock and cheese rind, but you can also use something like pancetta for flavoring or easily make this vegetarian or vegan by omitting the meat and cheese and using vegetable broth. I like to just chuck everything into my Le Creuset dutch oven, let it simmer on a back burner and curl up with a nice glass of Brunello.

Ribollita

Servings: 6

Active Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 1.5 hours

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp dried pepperoncini or crushed red pepper

1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1 large carrot, roughly chopped

1 large celery stalk, roughly chopped

1 large bunch lacinato or Tuscan kale

½ cup olive oil

1 15 oz can whole Italian tomatoes like San Marzano

1 15 oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

2-3 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 sprig rosemary

4-6 sage leaves

1 small block of Parmigiano Reggiano with rind

A few pieces of day-old Italian or French bread

1. In a large pot over medium heat, saute onion in 4 tablespoons olive oil until translucent.
2. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, then add carrots,celery and peperoncini, season with a generous amount of salt and pepper.
3. Saute until vegetables begin to brown slightly.
4. Add tomatoes, beans, rosemary, sage and the rind of the Parmigiano Reggiano (reserve reminder of the cheese for topping) then simmer covered for about 30 minutes.
5. Add kale and simmer covered for an additional 30 minutes.
6. Break or slice bread into chunks, add to pot and simmer an additional 10 minutes.

7. Laddle into bowls and top with lots of grated Parmigiano and a drizzle of olive oil.

Learn to make some other great fall soups at The Chopping Block's upcoming Autumn Soups and Stews cooking class!