Ribollita - wondersoup or wodge?

He Who Must Sometimes Be Obeyed has strong views about stodge and wodge. So to eat the wonderful Italian Ribollita, a soup that is stuffed with soggy bread I have to hive off to Florence on my own. It's tragic what must be done in pursuit of favorite foods. 

Ribollita is essentially left-over minestrone that is wadded up with left-over bread then served hot or at room temperature with a good slug of olive oil sloshed over it. A classic peasant way that makes the most of every last scrape of food.

When they serve it in summer, it comes room temperature, sometimes with torn leaves of basil tossed over it. It's worth making double the amount of minestrone you need just to get Ribollita (which means 'reboiled') out of it. A key ingredient is cavolo nero, a strong cabbage with dark green leaves for which you can substitute Savoy but not the pale Dutch cabbage.

It's a meal in itself to which you only need to follow with some perfect peaches or a slab of cheese and some salad. 

Oh yes - Florence was as delicious as the soup - warm, sunny, not too crowded with tourists... 

Recipes for minestrone change depending on area and even on family. For Ribollita the most important ingredient is cavolo nero, a cabbage with leaves so dark green they're almost black. Use kale as a substitute or Savoy cabbage but not the light Dutch cabbage. This recipe for Tuscan minestrone gives you that soup on the first day, then with addition of the stale bread, Ribollita thereafter. It's worth making in large quantity to benefit from the Ribollita, delicious served at the height of summer at room temperature with a good glug of olive oil drizzled over.

1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 leek, white part only, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
4 carrots, sliced into half-inch rounds
4 zucchini, sliced into half-inch rounds
1/4 whole Savoy cabbage, shredded and chopped
1 bunch cavolo nero or kale
1 small bunch spinach, shredded and chopped
4 potatoes, peeled and cut into one-half inch cubes
1 cup green beans, cut into bite-size pieces
2 cups Tuscan white beans, one-half cup pureed and one-half cup whole
2 tablespoons coarse sea salt or kosher salt
4 tablespoons tomato paste
1 pound stale Italian or rustic bread, torn into chunks
4 tablespoons olive oil, plus good virgin olive oil for drizzling
freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large metal casserole and sauté the onion and leek together over low heat until they begin to brown and caramelize a little. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute, stir in the tomato paste then throw in everything else except the beans. Season with sea salt and stir to integrate all the vegetables. Cover and cook over low heat until the vegetables have collapsed, stirring once in a while, about 15-20 minutes. Fill the casserole to the brim with water and stir it around the vegetables making sure nothing is catching on the bottom. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat. Cover again and simmer for 1 hour. Add the Tuscan beans. Leave overnight if you can for the next day's minestrone to allow the flavors to mellow.

Once you've had your minestrone, pour the left-overs into a ceramic or glass baking dish, fold in the torn up chunks of bread and bake in a 350F oven until it all becomes a complete wodge, stirring once in a while to soften the bread. Serve piping hot in winter or at room temperature in summer with plenty of ground black pepper and a good glug of strong olive oil drizzled over each helping.