soup club: ribollita

After a nice holiday hiatus, Soup Club is back in action. I wanted to start the year off with one of those Italian Soups that inspired me to start this club in the first place. Jenny sent me a link to a ribollita recipe, and seeing as there are few things I love more than wet bread, I knew I had to try it.

These days, Cheech is obsessed with being in the kitchen while I'm cooking, and since kitchens aren't exactly safe spots for babies, I like to be in and out of there as quickly as possible. Therefore, I was in such a rush when making this soup, that I ended up following the instructions in the wrong order. The final product still resulted in a lovely soup, however, and it goes to show that cooking has so much more to do with confidence in what you're doing, than following a recipe word to word.

Ribollita

(serves 6)

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling on bread
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 4 ounces pancetta, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, 1 minced and 1 whole
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 pound frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1 (15-ounce) can cannelloni beans, drained
• 1 tablespoon herbs de Provence
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 (3-inch) piece Parmesan rind
• 4 to 6 ciabatta rolls, halved lengthwise or 1 loaf, sliced
• Grated Parmesan, for serving

Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, pancetta, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook until the onion is golden brown and the pancetta is crisp, about 7 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir until dissolved. Add tomatoes and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all the brown bits. Add the spinach, beans, herbs, stock, bay leaf, and Parmesan rind. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Drizzle the ciabatta halves with olive oil. Toast until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and rub the top of the toasts with the whole garlic clove. Place the toasts in the serving bowls and ladle the soup over the toasts. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve immediately.

Notes

- Because of it's fat content, pancetta, like bacon, has a tendency to burn if you're not ultra careful. In order to avoid a disaster, I always brown my pancetta first (by itself), remove it from the pan, and add it back to a recipe once all the other ingredients are in. I've never had problems doing it this way.

- One of you, at some point, had mentioned something about cooked spinach being the devil, or evil, or something along those lines. Although I wouldn't take it that far, I do have to admit that I'm not exactly a fan either. The thing is, there is such a spectacular selection to choose from in the greens family, that choosing spinach always seems so boring. I opted for purple kale for this particular recipe. The color was beautiful, the flavor was more intense, and the texture was quite a bit heartier. If you're not so big on spinach either, or if you're just looking for something new to try, I highly suggest you go with kale as well.

Since kale is a heartier green, it requires a much longer cooking time than spinach (especially frozen spinach, which is already cooked). I chopped my kale and sauteed it with my onion, carrot, garlic and spices. Then, once I added all the liquids, I brought it all to a boil and let it simmer for double the amount of time suggested. That allowed for the kale to really tenderize, and it resulted in a stewier soup. BIG win!

- The recipe suggests you toast the ciabatta, but in my humble opinion, GRILLED bread is where it's at.