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nchomemaker

Ribollita tuscan twice boiled soup

nchomemaker
17 years ago

I made and canned bean and ham soup all day yesterday. Had some left over and made this soup. It's delicious if you like creamy thick hearty soups.

This recipe can be changed according to what you have on hand. I didn't have kale and swiss chard so I used spinach and cabbage. I'm planting swiss chard and other greens today, so next time, hopefully I can use it.

Also, I didn't grate the carrots but had chopped them for the soup. I like big peices of carrot in my soup. I also had peices of ham in it because of it being in the soup I had made to can. I didn't have country bread but had french which I make, and it worked great.

I plan to make this soup a lot this winter using my canned bean and ham soup. It will be great on a cold winter day!

Ribollita, Tuscan Twice-Boiled Soup (page 94), makes 12 servings

3 cups dried cannellini (white kidney) beans

8 cups cold water

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling over the soup

2 medium onions, chopped (about 2 cups)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 pound kale, washed and cut into1/2-inch strips (about 8 cups)

4 cups savoy cabbage, cored and cut into '/2-inch strips (about 8 ounces)

1/2 pound Swiss chard leaves washed and cut into1/2-inch strips (about 4 cups)

2 large Yukon Gold or Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3 cups)

4 medium carrots, peeled and grated (about 2 cups)

2 medium stalks celery, with leaves, chopped (about 1 cup)

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 cups 1/2-inch pieces day-old country bread, crusts removed

1 medium red onion, chopped

Dump the beans into a 2- to 3-quart container and pour in enough cold water to cover them by at least 4 inches. Let soak in a cool place at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. Drain thoroughly. (Alternatively you may quick-soak the beans as follows: Place the beans in a large saucepan of cold water. Bring to a boil, boil 1 minute, and remove from the heat. Let stand 1 hour, then drain and continue with the recipe.)

Pour 8 cups of cold water into a 4- to 5-quart pot and add the beans. Bring to a boil, adjust the heat to simmering, and cook until the beans are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Fish out the tender beans from the cooking liquid with a wire skimmer or slotted spoon, and cool them as described on page 91. Put about three-quarters of them into a food-processor bowl or blender. Add a ladle or two of the cooking liquid and process the beans until smooth. Stir the bean puree into the cooking liquid. Set aside the remaining whole beans.

Heat the oil in an 8- to 10-quart stockpot. Stir in the onions and cook, stirring, until wilted, about 4 minutes. Stir the tomato paste and 1/2 cup water together in a small bowl, and stir into the wilted onions. Pour in the bean puree, then add the kale, cabbage, Swiss chard, potatoes, carrots, and celery. Pour in the beans and their cooking liquid. Bring to a boil, then adjust the heat to simmering. Season lightly with salt and pepper and cook 45 minutes. Let rest at least 30 minutes, or cool completely and refrigerate until the next day.

Stir the bread into the soup. Taste, adding salt and pepper if necessary. Cook until thickened and dense, about 30 minutes, or longer if the soup has been refrigerated. Remove from the heat, stir well, and let stand about 15 minutes before serving.

Ladle the soup into warm bowls. Sprinkle some of the chopped red onion over each serving and drizzle a little olive oil on top.

To reheat leftover ribollita in the oven: preheat the oven to 400 F. Ladle the soup into individual 10- to 12-ounce ovenproof crocks (French onion-soup crocks work well). Scatter some of the chopped onion over each serving. Drizzle a little olive oil over each, set the crocks on a sturdy baking sheet, and bake until the soup is bubbling around the edges and the onions are golden, about 20 minutes. Let the crocks of soup rest about 5 minutes before serving.

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