Hearty Ribollita
This Ribollita recipe is a longtime favorite when I am craving a rich and healthy vegetable soup. I like that I can find all of the ingredients at my local Trader Joe's and make a pot of this soup on a Sunday to enjoy during the week. Ribollita is like a minestrone without pasta and includes beans. In Italy this hearty soup is traditionally ladled over bread and rich green vegetables. I love to add toasted bread along with sautéed spinach to finish this dish. Dig in and enjoy this hearty soup for dinner topped with a sprinkle of parmesan, salt and pepper.
Equipment
- 1 8 qt Stockpot I use my trusty Le Creuset 8 qt Stockpot
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 container Trader Joe's Mirepoix or use one diced medium onion, two diced carrots and two diced celery stalks
- 4 cloves chopped garlic
- 1 bulb fennel, trimmed and chopped approximately one cup
- 2 medium zucchini trimmed and chopped approximately two cups
- 1 14oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 tbsp pesto
- 1 32oz vegetable broth
- 1 14oz can great northern beans, drained
- 1 5-6oz container of spinach
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil use 1 tbsp for the spinach and 1 tbsp for the bread
- 6-8 slices white baguette
- parmesan cheese for topping
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Slice the bread and place 6-8 slices on a baking sheet and brush with the olive oil. Bake the bread until lightly brown and toasty. Remove from the oven and place a slice of bread in each bowl.
- Heat ¼ cup olive oil in a large stockpot. Add the mirepoix, garlic and fennel and sauté slowly for 10 minutes. Add the zucchini and sauté another 5 minutes.
- Next add the diced tomatoes, pesto, vegetable broth, beans and bring the soup to a boil. Turn the heat to LOW and cook for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Before serving, sauté the spinach in 1 tbsp of olive oil in a non-stick pan until it wilts. Spoon the spinach over the bread in the soup bowls, then ladle the soup over the spinach. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top!* Sometimes I am lazy and just dump the spinach in the stockpot when I know that we are going to go through the entire batch in one evening. It saves a few steps and some dishes at the end of the night.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
