Recipe

Slow-cooker ribollita

Ribollita [ree-boh-lee-tah] literally means ‘reboiled’. This Tuscan soup was originally made by reheating leftover minestrone or vegetable soup and adding bread, white beans and vegetables such as carrot, zucchini, spinach and cavolo nero.

May 14, 2019 7:00pm
  • 8 hrs 45 mins cooking
  • Serves 6
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Ingredients

Ribollita
  • 1 ham hock (1kg)
  • 1 brown onion (150g), chopped finely
  • 2 stalks celery (300g), trimmed, sliced thinly
  • 1 carrot (180g), chopped finely
  • 1 fennel bulb (200g), sliced thinly
  • 3 clove garlic, crushed
  • 410 gram canned diced tomatoes
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
  • 2 litre (8 cups) water
  • 375 gram cavolo nero, shredded coarsely
  • 410 gram canned cannellini beans, rinsed, drained
  • 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 250 gram sourdough bread, crust removed
  • 1/2 cup (40g) flaked parmesan cheese

Method

Ribollita
  • 1
    Combine hock, onion, celery, carrot, fennel, garlic, undrained tomatoes, rosemary, chilli and the water in 4.5-litre (18-cup) slow cooker. Cook, covered, on low, 8 hours
  • 2
    Remove hock from cooker; add cavolo nero and beans to soup. Cook, covered, on high, about 20 minutes or until cavolo nero is wilted
  • 3
    Meanwhile, when hock is cool enough to handle, remove meat from bone; shred coarsely. Discard skin, fat and bone. Add meat and basil to soup; season to taste
  • 4
    Break chunks of bread into serving bowls; top with soup and cheese.

Notes

Cavolo nero, also known as tuscan cabbage, tuscan black cabbage and tuscan kale, is a member of the kale family. It has long, narrow, wrinkled, dark green, almost black, leaves and a rich mild cabbage flavour. It is available from better greengrocers and some supermarkets. If you can't find it use cabbage instead. Ribollita [ree-boh-lee-tah] literally means `reboiled'. This famous Tuscan soup was originally made by reheating leftover minestrone or vegetable soup and adding chunks of bread, white beans and other vegetables such as carrot, zucchini, spinach and cavolo nero

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