Mushroom ribollita
···
Servings
Minutes
···
Inspiration
“Ribollita is hands-down one of my favorite things to cook for people. I’ve been tweaking this version for years, exploring every opportunity to layer on flavor. Hopefully my hard work speaks for itself! It also freezes very well, so make a big pot and store it for a rainy day.
A special shoutout to Fruit of the Fungi, whose excellent mushroom stock mix I used to make this batch.”
Shared by Market employee Steve Ali.
Ingredients
32 oz dried cannellini beans
.75 oz assorted dried mushrooms, sliced (or 6 oz assorted fresh mushrooms, sliced)
1 head of garlic, divided into cloves and crushed
1 large carrot, diced
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
3 cups of fresh kale, roughly chopped
3 cups of assorted fresh and frozen vegetables, chopped
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp dried thyme leaves
2 tsp dried sage leaves
1 qt vegetable stock
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher or fine sea salt
Method
The day before you plan on making the soup, set the beans to soak: pour the dry beans into a 4 quart container or pot and cover with warm water until the water level is about two inches above the beans. Add salt to taste (a good rule-of-thumb is 2 Tbsp of Kosher salt per pound of beans) and stir a bit to dissolve. Soak for as little as 4 hours, or as long as 18.
When it comes time to cook, bring the beans and their water up to a boil along with the mushrooms, sage, and crushed garlic cloves. Drop down to a simmer, and leave to bubble until the mushrooms are fully hydrated and the beans are cooked through (overcooked is better than undercooked). Remove from the heat and buzz with an immersion blender until most of the solids are puréed, but some beans are still whole; if you don’t have an immersion blender, ladle half of the cooked vegetables and cooking liquid into a regular blender, purée, and recombine.
Coat the floor of a heavy-bottom pan with a layer of olive oil and heat on medium. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the black pepper to temper. After the pepper becomes fragrant, introduce the carrot, onion, celery, thyme, and a pinch of salt, and cook until the onions are translucent.
Add the tomato paste to the pot and stir to coat the vegetables. After a few minutes, it should deepen in color, and begin to smell sweet; at this point, add in the kale along with a pinch of salt and stir to coat that too. Cover and leave to stew for as little as half an hour or as long as 2 hours. The longer you stew the greens, the more developed the flavor will be in the final soup.
Combine the stewed veggies with the puréed beans, then add the chopped veggies and stock. Bring to a boil, bring the heat down to a simmer, then allow to stew for another 40 or so minutes before serving or freezing. Top with croutons, parmesan cheese, and black pepper.
