Saturday

Ribollita ~ a soup that warms the coldest days....



I love soup in the Winter.  And I love this Ribollita Soup.  It's easy to make, but it does take a lot of chopping.  So I make it when I know the weather will keep me inside for a few hours, like today.  The weather station is calling for  snow for most of the day and I am housebound.  So, I'll make the best of it ~

I first had this soup at a little Italian Restaurant in the North End, Antico Forno.  This isn't their recipe, but it comes close for me.  I read and tried lots of variations of this recipe. Some regions of Italy use bread in the soup, this one does not.  I like to thicken it with potato, which when diced really small so it disappears into the base of the soup when it's finished.

I use my immersion blender at the end to take half the chunkiness out of the ingredients.  It still is plenty chunky, but if you don't want to do it, it's great on it's own. 

Ingredients

1/4 lb. smoked bacon, diced
2 onions, sliced thinly
4 carrots, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
1 medium potato (yukon gold), diced finely (1/4 " inch thick)
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 (28 ounce) can of ground tomatoes (I use Pastene)
1 15 ounce can of small white beans, drained
1 whole bunch of kale, washed and chopped
1/2 large head of savoy cabbage, chopped
6 cups of good chicken stock
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
Parmesan Cheese for sprinkling

Into a large dutch oven on medium heat, add oil and when it's hot, add bacon.  Saute bacon on low heat, until it's golden brown, remove and set aside.  Add onions, carrots, celery.  Saute on low to medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring every once in a while.  Add garlic, potatoes, reserved cooked bacon, salt and pepper.  Stir.  Cook for a couple of minutes and stir.  Add tomatoes and chicken stock and turn heat up to medium heat.  Bring to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring every once in awhile.  Add chopped kale and cabbage.  If you can't find savoy, just use any cabbage, except a red cabbage.  Place lid on the soup, but don't seal it.  Let simmer for another 15 minutes and add your drained beans.  Give every thing a stir and adjust your seasoning.  I like it a little kick in my soup, so I add a little extra pepper, both black and red.
Let soup simmer for about 10 minutes longer, turn off heat and let sit for a bit.  At this point,  I take my immersion blender and blend the soup so it's very chunky, not smooth.   

Serve hot with a big sprinkle of freshly grated parmesan cheese and crusty Italian bread!



 
 
 
 
 
 

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is one of our most favorite soup recipes! Delicious.

Anonymous said...

This looks fabulous!! I'd love to try it!

oakleyses said...

red bottom shoes, oakley vault, louis vuitton outlet, coach outlet, michael kors outlet online sale, longchamp outlet online, burberry outlet online, gucci handbags, cheap oakley sunglasses, nike air max, nike air max, louis vuitton handbags, true religion, jordan shoes, longchamp handbags, polo ralph lauren, tiffany jewelry, burberry outlet online, coach purses, michael kors outlet online, louis vuitton outlet, michael kors outlet, prada handbags, prada outlet, tiffany and co jewelry, michael kors outlet store, michael kors outlet online, chanel handbags, tory burch outlet online, kate spade outlet, louis vuitton, christian louboutin, louis vuitton outlet online, nike free, true religion outlet, christian louboutin shoes, michael kors handbags, coach outlet store online, polo ralph lauren outlet, christian louboutin outlet, nike outlet, oakley sunglasses, ray ban outlet, coach outlet, kate spade outlet online, longchamp outlet, ray ban sunglasses

oakleyses said...

mont blanc pens, canada goose outlet, celine handbags, north face jackets, soccer jerseys, giuseppe zanotti, hollister, asics shoes, wedding dresses, marc jacobs outlet, replica watches, ugg soldes, abercrombie and fitch, valentino shoes, ugg outlet, chi flat iron, soccer shoes, ferragamo shoes, north face jackets, mcm handbags, insanity workout, canada goose outlet, lululemon outlet, canada goose outlet, nike trainers, ugg outlet, vans outlet, herve leger, longchamp, nfl jerseys, jimmy choo shoes, instyler ionic styler, ghd, nike roshe, ugg boots, uggs outlet, new balance outlet, bottega veneta, ugg boots clearance, babyliss, mac cosmetics, beats headphones, reebok shoes, canada goose, uggs on sale, ugg, nike huarache, p90x workout, birkin bag