Cheers From Paradise!
This was our group in Tuscany, helping Alex and I celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary….why am I telling you this on a food blog?
Because of this!
I made this traditional “Pici pasta” dish while there – more on that to come – and since the terrific Author and Food Blogger Jo Tracy just got back from Italy and beyond, it fits “kind of” with her latest food challenge!
As she wrote:
“I’ve cooked from this book, Anna Del Conte’s Classic Food of Northern Italy, multiple times before, and read it from cover to cover. It’s a beauty and I’ve wanted to tell you about it – the book, not the recipe – for some time.”
Jo continues:
“Anna Del Conte is so much of a legend in the Italian cookery world, that Nigella Lawson credits her with being one of the most important influences on her and her cookery career. (As an aside, it was Del Conte who published the marmite pasta recipe in her memoir Risotto with Nettles, that I featured in my novel, Escape to Curlew Cottage.. but that’s by the by.)”
Jo then shares this:
It’s a beautiful Italian soup recipe from Northern Italy, and she encouraged all of us to share some of our favorite “healthy” Italian dishes as well!
Click here to see Jo’s culinary art highlights from her trip throughout Europe…delicious!
Jo originally wanted to share salad recipes, but as this is a very healthy soup, she went with that and I applaud her for it. So I did the same!
It’s “Ribollita” – literally “reboiled soup” – and it’s chock full of vegetables and salad makings!
My Wife Loves Ribollita…
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 think I sort of adhered to Jo’s original “salad” inspiration that morphed into a healthy soup – see all that green?
I try to make food that my wife Alex loves, but one time I surprised her with her favorite soup of all time – using eggs that are turned into a creamy soup base by adding lemon and olive oil:
This “Avgolemono” soup is delicious!
See the entire recipe here:
Jo spent a lot of time on her recent travel adventure in Italy, and my wife and I have as well – including the time we stayed at the “Under The Tuscan Sun” house in Cortona: more on that in a moment.
While there, we did this:
It was all part of our Tuscan cooking adventure – see how our “imperfect pasta” turned out by clicking on my story here!
And since we were in Tuscany, we had to stop by Florence to see the legendary city and get some wine from their iconic wine windows – here is one:
If you want more of their unique history, here’s that story:
Of course, we also ate in Florence, and that led us to the most famous steak palace in the city!
Regina Bistecca is legendary – and remember, they only serve the steak one way – so if you don’t like rare, you can’t have it!
And how rare is rare? Well, watch this!
An incredible presentation and amazing steak – click here to see the entire meal close up!
We stopped in Florence before heading to Cortona, home of the house used for filming the classic romantic comedy “Under The Tuscan Sun!”
This is where Diane Lane and crew shot the entire film on location – you see, they rented an abandoned house and actually did refurbishing while filming! And yes, for those who know the film, this is inside the front door:
The refurbished house is incredible, as are the re-done barn and grounds surrounding it – here’s a look:
Click here to get a tour inside with more video from inside the house and more!
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Thanks again to Jo for offering up another great cooking challenge…make sure to check out the entire series on her site!
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