Leftovers Deluxe The Tuscan Way Ribollita

Name: Leftovers Deluxe The Tuscan Way Ribollita
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: italian
Ingredients: 2 cups dry white beans, soaked overnight; 2 tablespoons fresh sage or 2 teaspoons dried; 4 cloves garlic, peeled, 2 left whole, 2 minced; 2 ounces pancetta, coarsely chopped; 1 large onion, coarsely chopped; 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus 4 more tablespoons (optional); 1/2 cup no-salt-added canned Italian tomatoes, broken up; 4 carrots, coarsely diced; 3 ribs celery, coarsely diced; 2 sprigs fresh thyme, minced, or 1 teaspoon dried; 1 pound Swiss chard or kale, washed, trimmed and cut into thin strips; 1/2 pound potatoes, coarsely diced; 1 pound cabbage, cut into thin strips; 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional); Freshly ground black pepper to taste; 8 large thin slices of stale Tuscan bread

By Marian Burros

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Rating: 4(26)
Comments: Read comments

Featured in: Eating Well

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

2cups dry white beans, soaked overnight
2tablespoons fresh sage or 2 teaspoons dried
4cloves garlic, peeled, 2 left whole, 2 minced
2ounces pancetta, coarsely chopped
1large onion, coarsely chopped
4tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus 4 more tablespoons (optional)
½cup no-salt-added canned Italian tomatoes, broken up
4carrots, coarsely diced
3ribs celery, coarsely diced
2sprigs fresh thyme, minced, or 1 teaspoon dried
1pound Swiss chard or kale, washed, trimmed and cut into thin strips
½pound potatoes, coarsely diced
1pound cabbage, cut into thin strips
½teaspoon salt (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
8large thin slices of stale Tuscan bread

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Drain beans after soaking and cover generously with fresh water, adding the sage and the 2 whole cloves of garlic. Bring beans to boil and cook 45 minutes to one hour, until they are quite tender. Reserve liquid.
Step 2
Meanwhile, saute the pancetta, the two minced garlic cloves and the onion in 1 teaspoon of the olive oil.
Step 3
When beans are cooked, puree half of them in a food processor, using a little of the cooking liquid, if necessary.
Step 4
Combine the pureed and the whole beans with the pancetta mixture and with tomatoes, carrots, celery, thyme, chard, potatoes and cabbag and 4 to 5 cups of the bean broth. Cook for 30 to 60 minutes, adding water if soup becomes more like porridge. Season with salt and pepper.
Step 5
Place a layer of bread in a casserole and top with some soup. Repeat until all the bread is used, ending with soup on top. The dish can be served this way, as a bean and bread soup. To make ribollita, refrigerate overnight.
Step 6
The next day, mash the soup and the bread into a thick porridge. Boil to reheat. As an alternative, you may saute the ribollita in a skillet in 4 tablespoons of olive oil until it forms a light crust. In either case, each serving should be topped with the remaining olive oil.

Tip

Tuscan bread is available in many cities, but if you cannot find it, substitute any dense, crusty bread. The bean of choice is cannellini, a white kidney bean. Other white beans are perfectly acceptable.