Tuscan White Bean And Bread Soup Ribollita Recipes

Steps:

• Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat; saute onion, carrots, celery, and garlic until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add zucchini and cook until slightly softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir vegetable stock, cannellini beans, chopped tomatoes, chicken stock, and pesto into vegetable mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until vegetables are tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet or frying pan over medium heat; saute spinach until wilted, about 5 minutes. Spoon sauteed spinach into each serving bowl; ladle soup over spinach.

Steps:

• Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 300 degrees.
• Spread the bread cubes out over a rimmed baking sheet and bake until dried but not browned, about 30 minutes; set aside.
• Process half the beans and 1/4 cup sof the water in a food processor until mostly smooth, about 12 pulses, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed; set aside.
• Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering.
• Add carrots, onion, kale stems, and 1/2 teaspoons salt and cook until vegetables are softened, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• Stir in tomatoes and cook until softened, about 2 minutes.
• Stir in pureed beans, remaining whole beans, remaining water, kale leaves, potato, and bay leaves and bring to a simmer.
• Reduce heat to low, partially cover, and simmer until potato is tender, about 40 minutes.
• Stir in rosemary sprig and 2 cups of dried bread cubes into the soup, cover, and let stand off the heat until the bread is soggy and falling apart, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Discard rosemary sprig and bay leaves and stir to break up bread pieces and thicken the soup.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Divide remaining bread cubes among individual bowls and ladle thickened soup over the top.
• Drizzle olive oil over top of each portion and serve, passing out the Parmesan cheese separately.

Steps:

• Variations: For a sweeter soup, add chopped fennel to your mix. For autumn, add zucchini or butternut squash to your blend.
• Drain the beans and place in a pot with 4 cups chicken stock, 1 clove garlic, half an onion and some salt and pepper. Bring to a low boil, reduce the heat and simmer until tender, 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the bread until deeply golden and toasted. Store in foil.
• Heat 1/4 cup EVOO, 4 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat in a large Dutch oven. Add the chopped onions, carrots, celery, remaining 3 cloves garlic, chile flakes, bay leaf and herb bundle. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, partially covered, to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the wine, kale, cabbage and a little nutmeg. Stir. Wilt the greens, partially covered, 5 to 6 minutes more. Add the beans and their liquids and the tomato puree. Stir. Add 2 cups more stock (reserve 2 cups for the night you serve). Add the cheese rind to the soup. Simmer to combine flavors, 15 minutes. Remove 3 cups of the beans and vegetables, about half the soup, to food processor and puree. Then add back to pot. Cool and store the soup for a make-ahead meal.
• To serve, heat the soup over medium heat, add the bread to the soup and let it absorb the liquid. Thin the soup with the remaining 2 cups of stock. Taste to adjust seasoning. Remove the herb bundle, rind and bay leaf. The ribollita is done when a wooden spoon can stand straight up in the soup. Ladle into shallow bowls and garnish with a generous drizzle of EVOO, finely chopped raw onion and cheese. Leftover soup can be fried in olive oil in a skillet like potato pancakes or hash, and topped with over easy or fried eggs.

Steps:

• Sort, wash and drain the beans. Soak overnight in enough water to cover by 2 inches. Alternatively, quick-soak the beans by boiling them for 5 minutes in the same amount of water. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 1 hour.
• Drain the beans and put them into a saucepan with 1 1/2 quarts of cold water. Bring the beans to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes or until tender, but not mushy. Drain.
• Toast the bread lightly; it should not be dark brown. Cut each slice into 4 pieces. Set aside in a dry place, such as an unheated gas oven.
• Bring the stock to a boil in a 4-quart saucepan and add the kale. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the carrots and cook for 10 minutes. Add the potatoes, garlic and beans and let simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the potatoes are barely tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Ladle a layer of soup into a 10- cup ovenproof casserole. Cover the soup with a single layer of toast squares. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the toast. Repeat with the remaining soup and toast and more of the oil, ending with a layer of soup. Push the toast gently with a spoon to insure that it is submerged. Drizzle the rest of the oil over the top.
• Cover and bake for 40 minutes; for a firmer-textured soup, uncover for the last 20 minutes. Serve with grated cheese on the side.