From the Kitchen of

Matteo Russo

Simple ingredients, honest cooking. Recipes from the Italian countryside, adapted for the modern kitchen.

Ribollita Toscana
Tuscan bread and vegetable soup, twice-cooked
Prep 30 min
Cook 1h 20m
Serves 6
Diet Vegan
Intermediate
Cook Timer
00:00
Quick Set
Servings 6

The Base

400g dried cannellini beans, soaked overnight
1 head cavolo nero (Tuscan kale), roughly chopped
300g savoy cabbage, shredded
400g stale Tuscan bread (pane sciocco), sliced thick

The Soffritto

2 large white onions, finely diced
3 stalks celery, finely diced
2 medium carrots, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
400g San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand
80ml extra virgin olive oil, plus more to finish
1

Cook the beans

Drain the soaked beans and cover with fresh cold water by 5cm. Bring to a boil, skim any foam, then simmer for 45–60 minutes until tender but not falling apart. Reserve the cooking liquid. Crush one-third of the beans with a fork to thicken the soup.

💡 Never salt beans during cooking — it toughens the skins. Season only at the end.
2

Build the soffritto

In a large heavy pot, warm the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add onion, celery, and carrot with a pinch of salt. Cook slowly for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until completely soft and golden. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes more.

3

Add tomatoes and greens

Add the crushed tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes. Add the cavolo nero and cabbage, stir to coat, then add the beans and enough bean cooking liquid to make a thick, soupy consistency. Season generously with salt and pepper.

4

Add the bread — first cook

Lay the bread slices over the surface of the soup, pressing them down gently. They will absorb the liquid and become part of the soup. Simmer for 20 minutes. The soup should be very thick — almost a porridge.

💡 This is the "bollita" — the first boil. The "ri" (again) comes next.
5

The ribollita — second cook

Let the soup cool completely, then refrigerate overnight. The next day, reheat slowly, stirring to break up the bread. This second cooking is what gives ribollita its name and its character. Finish with a generous pour of your best olive oil.

A note from Matteo

Ribollita is peasant food in the most noble sense. It was born from necessity — stale bread, leftover beans, whatever greens were in the garden — and became one of Tuscany's greatest dishes precisely because of those constraints.

The overnight rest is not optional. It is the dish. A ribollita made and eaten the same day is just a vegetable soup. The transformation happens in the cold, in the dark, when the bread and beans and greens become one thing.

— Matteo