After an active morning hiking in Tuscany’s lovely Val d’Orcia, nothing beats sitting down to a lunch of Ribollita Toscana, accompanied by a glass of local Sangiovese from one of Tuscany’s newer wine zones, Orcia DOC (named one of the Top 10 Wine Getaways in 2018 by Wine Enthusiast.) A hearty soup of beans and greens, layered with bread and cooked twice, literally “reboiled”, in Italian ribollita. This would be a dish for a Monday night, incorporating the leftover broth and vegetables from Sunday nights boiled meat dinner, adding beans and bread to stretch it to feed many mouths.
We see numerous bread based dishes on our private tours in Umbria and Tuscany. Here, bread is not often enjoyed alone, but is incorporated into a soup or other dish, like pappa al pomodoro or panzanella. Why? Because the traditional breads of the area – Pane Toscana (Tuscan bread) or Pane Sciapo in Perugia – are made without salt.
In the 12th century, the rulers of Pisa were at odds with the rulers of Florence, and cut off their supply lines from the coast. This made salt prohibitively expensive. The Florentines, unwilling to cave to the pressure, simply began making their bread without it. On a recent visit to Badia e Coltibuono, a winery and olive oil producer in Tuscany, we were shown the estate ‘salt safe’ where the owner would secure his salt each evening before retiring.
This soup is best reheated and eaten the day after it is cooked, though you can serve it when freshly made. I baked this soup in the oven, but you can also cook it on the stovetop – you may need to add a little more broth or water, and be sure to keep a close eye on it so the bottom doesn’t scorch.
Spoon and serve in a bowl, garnished with a bit of grated cheese and a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil as they do in Tuscany. This is a perfect dish to accompany that wonderful quality olive oil that you brought back from Italy. Here at my Newburyport home I head over to Port Plums to pick up some, a great local source when I can’t get to Italy!
Ribollita Toscana
Serves 4
1 cup dried cannellini beans, soaked for 12 hours
2 sprigs parsley
2 ribs celery, 1 chopped into 1/4” dice
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 carrot, chopped into 1/4” dice
Extra-virgin olive oil for sautéing and drizzling
1 large red onion, sliced
1 leek, sliced, soaked in water to remove grit
1 pound (about 8) plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced or 1 15-ounce can chopped plum tomatoes
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1/2 bunch Tuscan kale, chopped
1/2 head Savoy cabbage, chopped
1 pound chard, chopped
1 loaf of stale Tuscan (saltless) bread, sliced and toasted
1 clove garlic, peeled (optional)
Drain the beans and cook them in water to cover with 1 sprig of parsley, the whole rib of celery, salt and pepper until tender (you may need to cut celery into 3-4 pieces to fit into pot.) Remove and discard celery and parsley. Reserve the beans in their cooking water.
In a soup pot, heat a generous amount of oil and add the red onion and leek. As soon as they begin to turn golden, add the minced celery, carrots, remaining sprig of parsley and the tomatoes and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the potato, Tuscan kale, cabbage, and chard. Cook, stirring to combine, then add water to cover. Season with salt and pepper and cook over medium-high heat for 1 1/2 hours.
Puree about half of the cooked cannellini beans and add the pureed beans, the whole beans, and the cooking liquid to the pot. Stir to combine, season to taste with salt and pepper, bring to a boil, and cook over very low heat for another 30 minutes.
If desired, rub each of the toasted bread slices with the garlic clove.
In an oven-proof pot, alternate layers of the bread slices with the soup, then set aside to rest. To make true ribollita, the following day add a little water, drizzle with oil, season with freshly ground pepper. Bake in the oven, without stirring, until most of the liquid has evaporated and a crust has formed on top. Drizzle with additional olive oil and grated cheese and serve.
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