Ribollita is a famous Tuscan bread soup, a hearty potage made with bread and vegetables. There are many variations but the main ingredients always include leftover bread, cannellini beans, lacinato kale, cabbage, and inexpensive vegetables such as carrot, beans, chard, celery, potatoes, and onion.
“This vegetarian Italian classic is about as comforting as it gets, packed with vegetable mirepoix, meaty beans, and plenty of rich olive oil, and umami-packed Parmesan cheese. A note on that cheese: If you’ve been throwing out your Parm rinds all these years, that stops right now. The rind is full of flavor, and makes a great addition to any broth-y, stewy situation.” – And, embarrassingly enough, I may have wrecked my jaw recently gnawing on some Parmesan rind! 🤦🏼♀️
Italian Ribollita Soup
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 Tbs. fresh oregano, divided
sea salt and pepper
1 small wedge of Parmesan with rind (vegan Parmesan works well)
1 28-oz. can stewed tomatoes
1 14-oz. can cannellini beans
½ loaf Easy Artisanal Bread (about 10 oz.), chopped into large chunks, tossed in olive oil and salt, and toasted
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (vegan cheese is great here too)
Heat 1 Tbs. oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion until golden brown. Add the carrots, celery, garlic, sea salt and pepper, and 1 Tbs. oregano. Cook, stirring occasionally and covering, until the veggies are soft.
Add the cheese rind and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer.
Next, stir in the beans.
As the soup simmers over very low heat, toss the “crouton” bits of bread in oil and salt and toast until crispy.
Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the crispy croutons. Drizzle with olive oil and top with remaining fresh oregano and grated Parmesan cheese to serve.
