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Ribollita – Tuscan vegetable and bread soup
Have on hand
3 slices smoked and cured bacon, cut into ¼ inch strips-about
1 cup
1 small yellow onion, small dice – 1 cup
5 cloves garlic, chopped – 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
7 medium carrots, peeled and chopped – 2 cups
1 medium fennel bulb, diced – 2 cups
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 – 28 ounce can diced tomatoes with juice, fire roasted if possible
1 small bunch fresh thyme
1 quart chicken stock
Kosher salt, to taste
1 bunch kale, thick stems discarded, chopped – 4 packed cups
5 slices bread, seasoned, drizzled with olive oil, and toasted
Parmigiano-Reggiano, not the pre-grated stuff
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, as needed
Instructions
In a cold pot, combine the bacon with the onions. Turn on the heat to medium, and stirring occasionally, cook until the bacon browns and the onions become translucent, 7 to 8 minutes.
Stir in the garlic, and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add the red pepper flakes, carrots, fennel, plus a few good grinds of pepper, and continue cooking for approximately 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Now add the beans, tomatoes, fresh thyme, stock, and ¾ teaspoon Kosher salt. Lastly stir in the kale. Increase the heat to high, bring to a simmer, then lower the heat until a slow simmer is achieved.
Cook for 30 minutes. Season to taste. Now at this point you may either go classic and add the bread to the soup, and continue to cook for 5 minutes until the bread thickens the soup, or simply serve the soup with a crostini on top, so that the soup begins to soften the bread. Or, do as I do, and serve the soup separately, with the crostini on the side. Dip the crisp bread as you choose. Either way, it’s all good! Using a vegetable peeler, serve with a few fresh shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano, with a good drizzle of oil to finish.
Yield: 10 cups
About Joe Lamp'l
Joe Lamp'l is the Host and Executive Producer of the award winning PBS television series Growing A Greener World. Off camera, Joe dedicates his time to promoting sustainability through his popular books, blog, podcast series, and nationally syndicated newspaper columns. Follow Joe on Twitter
Made this soup recently and must say it is perfect! I don’t use fennel often and wondered how it would be, but it totally enhances the flavor, something celery (as a substitute) could never do. And I used veggie stock (not having any chicken stock on hand). Moves to my go-to recipe list now!! Many thanks.
Betty,
So glad you enjoyed the soup. Yes, fennel is a great addition for soups and other recipes.
Have a great New Year!
The soup recipe sounds really good. I have a question about the fennel. You said in your video that the fennel adds a sweet taste but also a licorice taste? I don’t like licorice so can I either omit that ingredient or will the taste of the fennel change once it’s cooked? Hanks for your input.
Thank you, Nathan. I’m having a damp, chilly day but I have almost all the ingredients on hand and will really enjoy this soup.
This looked wonderful when you prepared it on your show.
I am going to try it out.
I love soups and this one seems so nutritious…………………………………………I have been home with the flu and I think that this might just be “what the doctor ordered”!
Love the show and I will report in on my results!
Thanks Mary. We hope you feel better soon. Please do let us know how you liked the soup.
This is the third recipe we have tried and, so far, we’ve enjoyed all three. We love the show, especially the cooking segment with Chef Nathan. Thank you for bringing the show, great ideas and easy, tasty recipes to us.
I made this because it looked so good on TV. The only addition is I added chicken pieces and omitted the bacon. Very hearty, especially for the cool weather in S.F. Thanks. I certainly will look at your other recipes, also.
Happy New Year, Joe, and Lena! Well … and everyone else involved in the GGW community, of course. I’m glad to hear that people are really enjoying my recipes. This one really has had some exceptional feedback. Mother Nature certainly gives us good reason to cook wonderful one-pot stews, doesn’t She? Just wait until you all see what I’m planning for season two!
Have a delicious winter everyone!
Nathan, this soup is a winner! Love the healthy ingredients, and even better…it’s meatless.
Great dish!
Nathan, thank you for this delicious recipe. It was a cold and snowy day here in Wisconsin and I decided it would be the PERFECT day for homemade soup. My husband and I both said that this is a ‘make again’ soup.
Next time I make it I will brown the bacon alone, not with the onion. I would like to get the bacon browner. Adding the onion with the bacon kept the bacon from getting crisp. I will add the onion AFTER the bacon has browned. All in all this is a 5 star recipe.
Smiles, Lark
I agree with you Lark. When I make a bacon spaghetti sauce ( I call it American style). I always cook the bacon to brown it, then I add the onions. It gives it more flavor from the browning.
I will try this soup soon as I am looking for ways to cook with kale.
That’s a fantastic soup, Nathan! Thanks for sharing. I saw the episode featuring this recipe this past weekend and tried it from memory. I had no idea what I was doing except for what you put in the pot and the order you put them in. Forgot the Love (Black Pepper & Salt) and the red pepper flakes. Didn’t have fresh thyme, so, I used dried thyme. Didn’t use the bread and couldn’t bring myself to buy the fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano used the plastic canned parmesan cheese instead. Got everything at the store but the maplewood smoked bacon but substituted three slices of smoked breakfast ham. It was so good!!! I’ll definitely have it again. Even without the Love, red pepper flakes, bread, and fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano, it had a truly wonderful flavor!
Hello Lance. Hello Cristy.
Being from VA, I hear you on the ham hocks, Lance. So great. Then toss in some corn bread? Ouch. Now that’s a meal. Also, Cristy? I’m so glad you enjoyed my recipe. The thing about Ribollita is that it’s classically thickened with old bread, so it’s normally a very thick soup/stew. That said, I hear you on adding more chicken stock, because I do love that last bit of flavorful liquid deliciousness in the bottom of the bowl, and a little more chicken stock would certainly do the trick! Enjoy.
Made this for dinner tonight. Delicious! Great flavor. My only suggestion would be to increase the volume of the chicken stock. Will make again!
We were going to try this with mustard greens and collards from cleaning up the garden today but had ham juice and ham hocks in the freezer so will go with greens instead. Will be trying this really soon though as it sounds wonderful.
Joan! You may use Swiss Chard in lieu of the kale, but given the delicate nature of the Chard, the mouth feel will no doubt be softer … let’s say, silky. Nothing wrong with that, right? I say go for it! And Bobbytiger? True that. It’s a goodie for the colder months. Case in point, my parents back in Virginia really enjoy my simple, yet delicious one-pot wonder, and I’m confident you will too. Thank you both for taking the time out of our day to share your messages with me. I really appreciate it! Enjoy.
It’s not that I am looking forward to winter, (because I’m not), but this soup should help me successfully get through it, It sounds, and looks great.
I cannot wait to try this soup. Wondering if I could also use Swiss Chard? Love the show. Thank you.