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5 from 7 votes

Ribollita - Tuscan Vegetable Soup

Ribollita, a hearty Tuscan vegetable soup made with cannellini beans, cavolo nero, bread, potatoes and garlic it's packed full of nutrition and flavour. A great recipe for chilly winter evenings!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time1 hour 20 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 235kcal
Author: Emily Wyper

Ingredients

For the beans

  • 1 ½ cups 250g dried cannellini beans
  • 2 sprigs rosemary
  • 5 sage leaves
  • 3 cloves peeled garlic

For the soup

  • 1 carrot
  • 1 white onion
  • 1 stalk celery
  • 1 leek sliced
  • 1 lb (500g) cavolo nero
  • 2 medium sized potatoes peeled and cut into cubes (around 560g/oz)
  • 1 cup 270g canned chopped tomatoes
  • 5 cups/ 1 litre vegetable stock
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 7 oz (200g) crusty bread

Instructions

  • First, soak the dried cannellini beans in cold water for at least 12 hours (ideally 24 hours).
  • Once the beans have soaked, drain them and add them to a pot with 3 peeled garlic cloves, two sprigs of rosemary and 5 sage leaves. Cover the beans with 4 cups/1 litre water and place on a low heat, covered. *see notes if using pre-cooked cannellini beans.
  • Let the beans simmer gently for 2 hours then remove the beans with a slotted spoon and place in a separate bowl and discard the rosemary and sage. Keep the bean cooking liquid, this will act as your stock for the soup.
  • Finely chop the carrot, onion and celery and add to a large pot with the olive oil. Saute gently until soft then add the potato (peeled and cubed) and the leek, continue to cook until the leek has softened.
  • Add the bean cooking liquid, vegetable stock and canned chopped tomatoes along with a good pinch of salt and pepper, simmer gently for 40 minutes.
  • Now add the roughly chopped cavolo nero and cannellini beans, simmer covered for 20 minutes then add the chopped bread. Simmer gently for another 10 minutes then serve.

Notes

  •  If you're pressed for time, skip the first 3 steps and add pre-cooked canned cannellini beans in at the end. Replace the bean cooking liquid with extra vegetable stock.
  • Overall time excludes bean soaking time

Nutrition

Calories: 235kcal