Рецепт Ribollita, Tuscan Vegetable Soup and Stew
Mark Bittman, "The Flexitarian"Mark Bittman calls himself “The
Flexitarian”. He writes about his food
philosophy in The New York Times Dining Out Section once a month. I am happy to report that from the start Bittman
promised that, first and foremost, his new column would be an ode to great-tasting food. What he offers too is food for those of
us who are moderate in our eating habits—certainly not strict vegans or vegetarians--but
omnivores making conscious choices about what we eat. His recipes are for all
of us trying to incorporate more good-for-you plants and fewer animal
proteins into our diets. For all their
hullabaloo, vegans and vegetarians make up a scant 5% of the population. But a
lot of us are working hard to assimilate healthier grains, fish, legumes,
fruits and vegetables into our diets more often. And that’s where Bittman’s recipes come
in. They offer truly flavorful
food that I can only describe as even tasting healthy, a sensation I had as I dug
into this Ribollita, a cheesy, vegetable-rich stew with its giant ‘crouton’ of whole grain
bread.
This Tuscany, so beautiful it's impossible
to forget.Ribollita recipe is based on a famous
Tuscan soup. It acquires stew status when you add to its essential
ingredients: Leftover bread, cannelloni beans and carrots, onions, celery and
tomatoes. This version is perfect for yet
another dip by the Polar Vortex and ideal for a Meatless Monday. It’s pure peasant food and dates back to the
Middle Ages when the servants gathered up the remains of their feudal lord’s
banquets and boiled them for their own dinners. Ribollita
means ‘reboiled’ in Italian. I didn’t
follow Mark Bittman’s recipe to the letter.
I actually followed his advice when he wrote “even vegetable stews could
have more vegetables” and upped their quantities. I did however use what he described as "a
boatload of kale" to which I added baby spinach. I used a Dutch oven on the stovetop because the dish goes into the oven for the final 10 to 15 minutes. That's when its parmesan topping gets its crunch. The Dutch Oven works too because there's quite a volume to this recipe. The end result was luscious, brimming with flavor and texture. And there’s something so smug
positively glowing with health. And the
next morning, I even weighed less than the day before, a nice side affect of heating so well! Here is the recipe:
Ribollita adapted from Mark Bittman, The Flexitarian:
Takes about 1 hour all told. Serves 4 generous portions.
- 4 whole cloves of garlic,
- peeled
- Salt and ground black pepper
- 2 cups cooked or canned
- cannellini beans (1- 14oz. can)
- 1 28-ounce can whole peeled
- tomatoes
- 4 large, thick slices
- whole-grain bread, toasted
- 1 small red onion, thinly
- sliced
- 1 cup freshly grated
- Parmesan*
- *If you have a rind of
- parmesan in the cheese drawer, this is the perfect time to put it into the pot
- with the stew in step 2.
- Put
- 2 tablespoons of the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. When it’s hot, add
- onion, carrot, celery and garlic; sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook,
- stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft, 5 to 10 minutes.
- Heat
- the oven to 500 degrees. Drain the beans; if they’re canned, rinse them as
- well. Add them to the pot along with tomatoes and their juices and stock,
- rosemary and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat so the soup bubbles
- steadily; cover and cook, stirring once or twice to break up the tomatoes,
- until the flavors meld, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Fish
- out and discard the thyme stems and stir in the kale and spinach. Taste
- and adjust seasoning. Lay bread slices on top of the stew so they cover the top
- and overlap as little as possible. Scatter red onion slices over the top,
- drizzle with the remaining 3 tablespoons oil and sprinkle with Parmesan.
- Put
- the pot in the oven and bake until the bread, onions and cheese are browned and
- crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. (If your pot fits under the broiler, you can also
brown the top there.) Divide the soup and bread among 4 bowls and serve.