This ribollita recipe comes straight from Tuscan tradition, where nothing was ever wasted: yesterday’s bread, beans, and winter greens slowly cooked into the most satisfying and warming soup. Simple, rustic, and at its best when reheated the following day.

Ingredients (raw weight)

• Cooked cannellini beans: 2 cans (400 g each, drained ≈ 500 g total)
• Tuscan kale / cavolo nero: 1 large bunch ≈ 1 kg (after trimming ≈ 700–800 g leaves)
• Savoy cabbage: ½ small head ≈ 500–600 g (≈ 350–400 g net)
• Swiss chard: 1 medium bunch ≈ 800 g (≈ 500–600 g net)
• Leek: 1 large ≈ 250 g
• Onions: 2 medium ≈ 300 g
• Carrots: 2 medium ≈ 250 g
• Celery: 2 large stalks ≈ 200 g
• Potatoes: 2 medium ≈ 400 g
• Peeled tomatoes, crushed = 200 g
• Stale bread: 500 g (ideally unsalted Tuscan bread; if not available, use rustic country-style bread)
• Extra virgin olive oil: 6 tbsp + more for drizzling
• Herbs: 1 sprig of thyme or sage, salt, black pepper
• Cooking liquids: ½ liter stock broth + about 1 liter hot water

Directions

1. Prepare the beans
   • Drain the beans. Purée half of them with a little warm water until smooth, leave the rest whole.
2. Make the soffritto
   • In a large pot (5–6 liters, cast iron or stainless steel), heat 3 tbsp olive oil.
   • Sauté onion, leek, celery, and carrot (finely chopped) until soft and translucent.
3. Add the vegetables
   • Stir in diced potatoes.
   • Gradually add Savoy cabbage, Swiss chard, and finally Tuscan kale, stirring to let them wilt down
4. Add beans and tomato
   • Mix in the tomato paste.
   • Add both the puréed beans and the whole beans.
   • Pour in ½ liter vegetable stock and about 1 liter of hot water.
   • Season with salt, pepper, and thyme or sage.
5. Slow cooking
   • Cover and simmer very gently for 2–3 hours, stirring occasionally.
   • Potatoes should completely break down, giving the soup a creamy body.
6. Layer with bread
   • Use a large earthenware or glass dish (avoid plastic).
   • Break the stale bread into large chunks (do not soak beforehand).
   • Layer alternately: bread → hot soup → bread → soup, finishing with soup on top.
7. Resting
   • Cover and let rest at least 6–8 hours, preferably overnight.
8. Reboil (“ribollita”)
   • The next day, return the dish to the pot and gently reboil for 10–15 minutes.
   • Trick: keep a small pot of hot water or broth nearby. If the soup is too dry and sticks to the spoon, add half a ladle of hot liquid and stir.
   • The ideal consistency is like soft polenta: creamy, thick, and spoonable, but not solid.
9. Serving
   • Serve hot, with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and freshly ground black pepper.