RIBOLLITA TOSCANA
(Tuscan twice-cooked soup with beans and cavolo nero)

The Italian Home Cook by Silvia Colloca

This combination of nutty beans, chunks of rustic bread and sturdy cavolo nero has no rival when it comes to hearty peasant food. The name ribollita means twice cooked, and indeed you are required to first stew your cooked beans in a rich tomato stock. Stale bread is added to absorb the liquid and thicken the sauce, then it is dusted with cheese and baked until golden.

SERVES 4

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

1 onion, roughly chopped

1 carrot, roughly chopped

1 celery stalk, roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, 1 roughly chopped, the other peeled and cut in half

200 g canned peeled or chopped tomatoes small piece of parmigiano rind (see Notes)

1 bunch of cavolo nero, well washed, stalks removed, leaves roughly chopped

8 thick slices of sourdough

freshly grated pecorino, for dusting

STOCK

400 g (2 cups) dried cannellini or borlotti beans, soaked overnight and drained (see Notes)

1 potato, peeled

1 tomato

1 bay leaf

1 small onion, peeled

30 g piece of smoked pancetta or speck

salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

Recipe:

To make the stock, pour water into a large saucepan until it’s three-quarters full. Add the beans, potato, tomato, bay leaf, onion and pancetta or speck. Don’t add any salt at this stage, as it will cause the beans to wrinkle. Cook over medium–low heat for 1 hour or until the beans are tender. Skim off any foam that comes to the surface. Remove from the heat and stir in a couple of teaspoons of salt and some pepper. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large flameproof casserole dish over medium–low heat. Add the vegetables, chopped garlic and a little salt and cook for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are softened, but not browned. Stir in the tomatoes.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the beans from the stock (discard the bay leaf, vegetables and pancetta). Add the beans to the dish, along with 400 ml of the stock. Add the cheese rind and bring to a simmer. Stir in the cavolo nero and cook over medium–low heat for 10 minutes or until the greens are tender and the liquid has reduced slightly. Discard the cheese rind.

Preheat your oven to 220°C.

Rub the slices of bread with the cut side of the remaining garlic clove, then dip them into the bean mixture, so they are half submerged and half sticking out, to allow the edges to crisp up. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust. Generously dust pecorino over top, then bake for 25–30 minutes or until the bread has absorbed most of the liquid and the top is golden and crusty. Drizzle with some extra olive oil and enjoy hot or warm.

NOTES

I never throw away my parmigiano or pecorino rinds, even when there is seemingly nothing left to grate. Simmered in a stock or soup, the cheese that can’t be grated will melt off the rind, giving your dish a richer flavour. You can also use freshly podded borlotti beans instead of dried. They will take about 35–40 minutes to cook.