Ribollita.

Name: Ribollita
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 150 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 0.25 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to serve; 1 red onion, finely chopped; 2 carrots, diced; 2 stalks celery, diced; 2 cloves garlic, sliced; 10 oz cavolo nero (Lacinato kale), stems removed; 14 oz Savoy cabbage, shredded; 2 medium potatoes, diced; 1 cup canned peeled tomatoes, crushed; 3 cups cooked cannellini beans; 6 cups vegetable broth; 8 oz stale crusty bread, sliced; to taste salt and black pepper

The Tuscan bread and bean soup that farmers made from leftovers, and that tastes even better the next day.

30 minPrep

2 hCook

6Servings

EasyLevel

Illustration created with AI

The story of ribollita.

“Ribollita” means “reboiled”. In the Tuscan countryside, a big pot of vegetable and bean soup was made on Friday, thickened with stale bread, and boiled again the next day. That second boil is what turns it from soup into something thick, silky and deeply comforting.

It is a peasant dish, so there is no single official recipe. But three things are non-negotiable: cannellini beans, cavolo nero (Tuscan kale) and good stale bread.

Origin: Tuscany, Italy

Where to find the ingredients in the US.

Cavolo nero is sold as Lacinato or dinosaur kale in most supermarkets.
Bread: use a crusty country loaf without much salt, at least two days old.
Beans: dried cannellini cooked at home are best; good canned ones work too.

Three steps. That’s it.

What each stage should look like.

Step 1

Slow soffritto.

Cook onion, carrot and celery gently in olive oil for 10 minutes, until soft but not browned.

Step 2

Greens and beans.

Add the vegetables, tomatoes, beans and broth. Simmer for about 1½ hours.

Step 3

Bread, then rest.

Layer in the bread, let it soak, then rest overnight and reboil the next day.

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Recipe

Ribollita.

Prep 30 min · Cook 2 h · Total 2 h 30 min

6 servings

Ingredients

extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to serve
red onion, finely chopped
carrots, diced
celery, diced
garlic, sliced
cavolo nero (Lacinato kale), stems removed
Savoy cabbage, shredded
medium potatoes, diced
canned peeled tomatoes, crushed
cooked cannellini beans
vegetable broth
stale crusty bread, sliced
salt and black pepper

Instructions

Warm the olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium-low heat. Add onion, carrots and celery and cook for 10 minutes, stirring, until soft. Add the garlic for the last minute.
Add the potatoes, cabbage and cavolo nero, stir for 2–3 minutes until the greens wilt, then add the tomatoes.
Blend half the beans with a ladle of broth until smooth. Add the purée, the whole beans and the remaining broth to the pot.
Cover partially and simmer gently for about 1½ hours, stirring now and then. Season with salt and pepper.
Layer the bread in a second pot, ladling soup over each layer. Leave to soak for 15 minutes, then stir.
Cool and refrigerate overnight. The next day, bring back to a boil (“ribollire”), stirring, until thick. Serve with a generous drizzle of raw olive oil.

Notes. The soup should be thick enough for a spoon to almost stand up. Keeps 3–4 days in the fridge; add a splash of water when reheating. Vegan as written. With dried beans: soak 1½ cups (300 g) cannellini overnight, then simmer them for about 2 hours with 2 unpeeled garlic cloves and 4 sage leaves, salting only at the end; use their cooking liquid instead of part of the broth.

Sources consulted: Gambero Rosso. Our own text, with US and metric measurements.

What you’ll need.

Heavy Dutch oven.

Even heat for long, gentle simmering.

Immersion blender.

For the bean purée that gives body to the soup.

Tuscan olive oil.

A peppery new-harvest oil to finish each bowl.