My Wife Loves Ribollita…
Well, that headline is true and it obviously leads me to the point of this post – I had to make some for her!
Ribollita is a hearty, traditional Tuscan soup made from leftover vegetables, beans (like cannellini), and stale bread, which thickens it into a stew-like consistency.
Yes, Ribollita Is “Reboiled, Poor Cooking!”
The name “Ribollita” is almost an insult, except it acknowledges a way of life that many lived at one time!
Meaning “reboiled,” it’s a classic example of “cucina povera” (poor cooking) that transforms simple ingredients into a rich, filling meal, often served with a drizzle of olive oil and Parmesan cheese. Key ingredients include kale, cabbage, carrots, celery, and beans, with the bread being essential for its signature texture.
And yes, it’s stale bread because this is a dish that combines leftovers about to go bad and whatever is in the garden…let’s get cooking!
Here’s how it began:
You put diced garlic, onion, carrot and celery in a pot and simmer in olive oil for about ten minutes….then I added chopped cabbage and kale, two big scoops of tomato paste and 4 cups of chicken broth…the ratios are yours to decide – then I let it all simmer for about a half hour – here’s how easy it is:
Next, mash a can of pin to beans into a paste to give e the soup a creaminess….add it to the mixture along with one can of whole cannolini beans, stir it all together and let it simmer for a half hour…of course add salt and pepper to taste at any time…here we go – this video takes us all the way to service!
And there it is…quick, easy and delicious…I want to reiterate that, while I normally give amounts of each ingredient for a dish, this is really a “whatever you have, put it in” kind of dish…tons of shredded parmesan on top of course, and I use lots of garlic…
While this was a poor person’s soup originally, now you can enhance it any way you want: we add turkey meatballs to it, and sausage is also great!
I try to make food that Alex loves, but one time I surprised her with her favor soup of all time – eggs taht are turned into a creamy soup base by adding lemon and olive oil:
This “Avgolemono” soup is delicious!
See the entire recipe here:
And if you want something even “meatier” but want to watch the calories, I’ve got you covered as well:
This recipe is packed with flavor but not calories – Alex loves this one too – you can see the recipe here:
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i love this and my grandmother on the italian side used to call it ‘peasant’s food’ and we all loved it
Thanks for that!
Am having a warm giggle looking at your ingredient list . . . hardly looking like ‘cucina povera’ or leftover food > oh, do allow me my ‘peculiarities’ 🙂 ! Seriously speaking, this looks very inviting, filling a d healthy and I fully understand Alex loving a bowl and asking for more . . .
Some of what I used was leftover, but you are right, I went to the store to make sure I had what I needed to make it for Alex – but it does inspire me to be more creative with stuff leftover so it doesn’t go to waste…thanks for the note always great to hear from you!
You inspired me to make this tonight — WOW! It is a mega-hit. I followed your video but as you suggested, played it loose with the ingredients because i had some stuff in the crisper that is getting long in the tooth. i used celery, a carrot, a red onion, garlic, some hot Italian sausage, kale, red chard, mashed pintos, whole cannellinis. I melted a chunk of manchego in it, added some oregano, marjoram and thyme, and had some olive bread in the freezer which went perfectly. Great recipe — thanks!
You inspired me to make this tonight — WOW! It is a mega-hit. I followed your video but as you suggested, played it loose with the ingredients. i used celery, a carrot, a red onion, garlic, some hot Italian sausage, kale, red chard, mashed pintos, whole cannellinis. I melted a chunk of manchego in it, added some oregano, marjoram and thyme, and had some olive bread in the freezer which went perfectly. Great recipe — thanks!
Love the hot italian sausage, exactly what I love to do! Thanks for the comment, great to hear from you!
This looks like a great meal for a cold winter’s day. Warming, satisfying, and very tasty. Shared on Twitter, John.
Best wishes, Pete.
Love it!
It inspired a friend to make some and he added spicy italian sausage – great addition!