by Jillian on January 26, 2011
It was a winter’s day almost twenty years ago. I was in the kitchen with a peasant. I was far from home. The old lady’s face was weathered by sun, toil and time, all of which end eventually. I did not speak her language, so we worked in silence. Or rather, she moved quickly around the hearth while I watched and waited. Vegetables from the earth, water from the well, fire cooking alchemy becoming the eternal. Before long she had a crone’s kettle of soup bubbling on the stove, filling the snug house with comfort and warmth. It was my first lesson in love.
A Recipe for Ribollita
adapted from 101 Cookbooks, Jamie Oliver and Ina Garten
Ingredients
- 3 diced strips of smoky bacon
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 1 chopped red onion
- 3 chopped carrots
- 4 chopped celery stalks
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 28 oz of diced tomatoes
- slug of red wine
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
- 3 cans of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 heads of kale, stems removed and curly leaves chopped
- 2 ciabatta rolls
- 4 cups of chicken stock and
- 4 cups of water
- salt
Method
In my large Le Creuset I heated the oil and added onion and bacon and salt, which then cooked for ten minutes on medium-low. Into this went carrots, celery, garlic and red pepper flakes, and cooked for another ten minutes. Then the tomatoes and their juices, wine, and bay leaf cooked together for maybe ten minutes more. This is when I added two cans of beans and all the kale, which was kind of a nightware. I put the lid on the pot and prayed it would cook down. After fifteen minutes I checked, and all was simmering well. And so in went the bread which I had ripped into pieces and the remaining beans which I pulsed with a little water in the food processor to make into a puree. I let this cook uncovered the thirty minutes and when it was done it looked intese. hearty. rustic. warming. I haven’t tasted it properly yet, because this is soup served best the next day (ribollita means reboiled) but I have a feeling it is healing, perfect for yet another winter day.
this is one of my all time favorite comfort foods — I make it without the bacon and with gluten free bread — not quite as good, but still so warm and satisfying.
I was born and raised in Florence, i love cooking and follow foodblogs around the world. Often the so called italian recipes in the hands of americans get transformed in something extremely far from reality. Even if this is not the “correct” recipe (red pepper flakes into a tuscan recipe), your description is really great and execution is perfect. My gramma was that kind of suncooked woman you described. My compliments.
That looks so hearty and amazing.
thanks!