I was an extremely picky eater as a child. Most vegetables were a no-go. My main food groups were cereal, bread, potatoes, and chicken, but I made an exception: a bowl of ribollita from my favorite Italian restaurant.
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Ingredients
For the soup
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh rosemary, thyme, oregano, or marjoram
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 (14-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes
4 1/4 cups vegetable broth
2 (14-ounce) cans cannellini beans drained and rinsed
5 to 6 ounces (150 grams) Tuscan kale, stemmed and roughly chopped
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
For the toast
4 to 6 slices sourdough or country bread
1 clove garlic, peeled
Method
- Sauté the vegetables and aromatics:
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and salt and sauté for about 2 minutes, or until the onions are translucent. Add the pepper, garlic, bay leaf, rosemary, and tomato paste and stir until very fragrant and starting to stick to the bottom of the pot, another 3 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and broth and use your spoon to gently press the tomatoes against the side of the pot to break them up a little bit.
- Add the beans and kale and simmer:
Use a fork to mash up half of the drained beans (one can) in a bowl or rimmed plate until you have a thick paste. Add both the mashed and whole beans and the kale to the pot and bring up to a boil, stirring often.
Then, turn the heat to low and let simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes or until the broth is cloudy and the vegetables are tender.
- Meanwhile, make the toast:
While the soup is simmering, toast the bread on both sides in a toaster or under your oven’s broiler. Rub the whole garlic clove hard from edge to edge over one side of each warm slice. Place one slice in the bottom of each bowl.
- Season and serve:
Taste and season the soup with more salt and black pepper as needed. You can serve the soup right away, but if you have the time and patience, let it rest uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes. This allows the soup to cool to a better serving temperature where you can really taste all the flavors and enjoy the various textures of the vegetables.
Remove the bay leaf and any herb stems. Spoon the soup over the bread in the bowls and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese before serving.
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