Ribollita
Photo: Ithunn · CC BY-SA 3.0

History

Ribollita means 'reboiled' in Italian. The dish traces to the Tuscan peasant table, where minestrone left over from a Friday meatless dinner was thickened with stale bread on Saturday and re-baked into a denser dish. The name was canonised by 20th-century food writers including Pellegrino Artusi. Cavolo nero, the curly Tuscan kale, is the canonical green; cannellini and borlotti beans split the legume roster. The Slow Food movement enrolled ribollita in its Arca del Gusto in 1997.

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Common allergens: Gluten

Make it at home

Yield 6Hands-on 45 minTotal 3 hrDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 400g dried cannellini beans, soaked overnight
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 2 celery sticks, diced
  • 4 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 400g cavolo nero (Tuscan kale), stripped from stems
  • 300g savoy cabbage, shredded
  • 400g tinned plum tomatoes
  • 500g stale Tuscan unsalted bread, sliced 1cm thick
  • Tuscan extra-virgin olive oil
  • Sea salt, black pepper
  • Parmigiano rind (optional)

Method

  1. Drain the cannellini, cover with fresh water, simmer 90 minutes until tender. Reserve the cooking water.
  2. In a Dutch oven, sweat onion, carrot, celery, garlic in olive oil until soft, 15 minutes.
  3. Add cavolo nero and cabbage, cook 10 minutes until wilted.
  4. Add tomatoes and the Parmigiano rind. Simmer 20 minutes.
  5. Add half the cannellini whole, blend half with cooking water, return both to pot. Season.
  6. Layer bread slices over the top, pressing to soak. Cool, then refrigerate overnight.
  7. Next day, reheat slowly on the stove or in a 180C oven for 45 minutes until thickened.
  8. Drizzle with Tuscan olive oil before serving; black pepper but no Parmigiano.

Tip from the editors. The overnight rest is non-negotiable; ribollita means re-boiled and the day's rest is what makes it dense.

Where to eat ribollita

Ribollita in Florence

Trattoria Mario ★ 4.5

€ ItalianSan Lorenzo

Trattoria Mario in Florence's San Lorenzo has run the working-class lunch counter since 1953 next to Mercato Centrale, with a daily pasta carte at €8 a primo.

OrderRibollita, pappardelle al cinghiale, a glass of house Chianti for €3.

TipQueue from 12:00; lunch-only Mon-Sat. Cash only. Closed all of August.

Directions

Trattoria da Burde ★ 4.4

€€ ItalianCampo Di Marte

Trattoria da Burde in Florence: italian room. Bus 35 to a 1901 trattoria the working quarter still treats as its own; Friday-night bistecca.

Why locals goBus 35 to a 1901 trattoria the working quarter still treats as its own; Friday-night bistecca dinner is the seating locals book three weeks ahead.

TipLunch Mon-Sat; dinner Friday only. Book three weeks ahead for Friday.

Directions

Trattoria La Casalinga ★ 4.1

€€ ItalianOltrarno

Trattoria La Casalinga off Piazza Santo Spirito is the 1963 family cucina povera room with ribollita and trippa for 10 euros, no concession to the centre.

Why locals goFamily-run cucina povera since 1963 just off Piazza Santo Spirito; ribollita and trippa for €10 a course, no concession to the centre's tourist circuit.

TipClosed Sunday; cash only. Lunch is calmer; dinner books up a week ahead.

Directions

Trattoria Marione ★ 4.3

€€ Florentine TrattoriaSanta Maria Novella

Trattoria Marione in Florence's Santa Maria Novella quarter runs the unfussy lunchtime carte locals queue for, with the four pillars of Florentine cucina.

OrderRibollita, pappa al pomodoro and the bistecca alla fiorentina by the etto.

TipCash and card; queue from 12:30. Closed Sunday; lunch and dinner both seat at 12:30 and 19:30.

Directions

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