Ribollita is an Italian Bread soup that is packed with veggies, hearty beans, and topped with crusty bread. This spin on a classic tuscan dish include plump asparagus and fava beans – it’s a perfect vessel to enjoy the beautiful seasonal veggies.
Make sure to add the asparagus right before serving to keep the beautiful green color. They just require a couple minutes in the simmering soup, and will be the perfect crisp tender texture. For the fava beans, I keep these on the side and top each individual bowl with a few spoonfuls of the prepped beans. They’re so luxurious and vibrant, you want to make sure to keep them front and center.
If you happen to have any leftovers of this dish, you’re also in luck. This is delicious as leftovers, and makes a great base to add noodles to as well.
Ribollita – Italian Bread Soup with Spring Vegetables
- Total Time: 45
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
Italian Bread Soup with Spring Vegetables
Ingredients
- 1 bunch spring onions
- 5 stalks of celery
- 2 carrots
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- pinch red pepper flake
- 1 lb fava beans – shucked, shocked, then peeled – optional, can also be replaced with 1 lb fresh peas or 1/2 cup of frozen peas
- 1 lb mild italian sausage
- 1 14 ounce can of white beans
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 1 qt chicken broth
- 1 bunch of asparagus
- 1/2 loaf sourdough bread, or any crusty bread, but into 1” pieces
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Parmesan cheese
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 425F.
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Prep the veggies – dice the spring onions. I like to use the bulb and 1/2 the green stalk into the base, and keep some of the top green part for garnishing at the end. Then, chop the celery and carrots.
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Heat a large pot on medium high heat and add 1 tablespoon of neutral oil. Add the spring onions, celery, carrot and a large pinch of kosher salt. Cook until soft, about 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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Dice the bread and add this to a sheet pan. Drizzle with a couple tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, and black pepper, and bake for 7-9 minutes.
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Mince the garlic and add this and a pinch of red pepper flake to the veggies. After the veggies are soft, add the sausage and let brown and break apart.
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After 3-4 minutes, add the crushed tomatoes, chicken stock, white beans, and another large pinch of kosher salt. Bring up to a simmer and let this stew for 15-20 minutes as you prepare the other ingredients.
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Prep the fava beans. There are 2 shells to the fava beans, so first remove the beans from the long pod. Once these are removed, blanch these in hot water for 30 seconds then place into an ice bath. The outer shell can now be easily removed by pinching the shell and the bean will come out with a little squeeze. Set this aside into a bowl.
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Chop the asparagus into ½” pieces and finish peeling the fava beans if needed. After the ribollita has been stewing for 15 minutes, add the asparagus and another pinch of salt. Let this cook for 3 minutes, then turn off the heat. Taste, and adjust the seasoning as desired.
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Spoon into a bowl, top with some of the croutons, soaking a few of them into the broth, and enjoy!
Notes
You can make this vegetarian by skipping the sausage and replacing with either plant based ground meat or brown button mushrooms. You could also replace the ground meat with chicken sausage.
To make this gluten free or more low-carb friendly, feel free to skip the croutons.
I also love to take the leftovers of this dish as a base to make soup noodles. Reboil with a splash of water or chicken stock, add some fresh veggies, noodles, and an egg, and it’s SO good!
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 15
- Category: soup
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: italian
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