Meatless Day Challenge
Autumn is upon us and it is time where thick soups, stews, roasts, pies and loads of yummy rich desserts (especially chocolate) to tie us through the grey and cold weather. This week will be the first of the thick soups to make its appearance.
I am not Italian and I am sure many Italians will have their own secret recipe for Ribollita. It is a Tuscan dish that means ‘reboiled’. There are so many versions of this but it seems that the most authetic Italian recipe involves the use of stale bread in the soup. I had it at the side and hence is it called ‘Almost Ribollita’. The vegetable and bean soup was definitely kept overnight and then reheated the next day, a good drizzle of good olive oil and served with a side of toasted sourdough bread.
Tuscan
Ingredients:
- 4 large carrots, diced
- 1 bunch of celery stalks, diced
- 150g of tuscan, chopped and leafs shredded
- 3 large potatoes
- 1kg of tomatoes, deseeded and diced
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 480g of canned white beans
- 350ml of white wine
- 31/2L of vegetable stock
- Salt and pepper
- 2tbsp of olive oil
Diced vegetables
Method:
- Heat pot with olive oil. Fry onions till translucent. Add carrots, celery and potatoes and mix through for a couple of minutes. Add tomatoes. Add wine, coat through and simmer the wine down
- Add the stock followed by the white beans. Lower the heat and allow the soup to simmer for 45mins
- Garnish with finely chopped parsley and serve hot with chucky bread at the side
Almost ribollita
So this is my take on Ribollita. I hope that the Italians don’t throw tomato sauce on the screens in protest of my very simple version of this very famous peasant dish. I thoroughly enjoyed having heaps of soup this week for lunch as our dinners are filled with Melbourne Food and Wine Festival activities and also having outlaws in town!
And stay tune for my MFWF aventure. I hope to get the first post up soon. 
I want more thick soup recipes. Please leave a comment or email me!
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
That looks scrumptious!!
.-= Sook @ My Fabulous Recipes´s last blog ..Lentil Soup =-.
So jealous…wish our trip had been later so I could have gone to the MFWF. Did you top the soup with your new O&Co. olive oil?
Hi Penny! Nice simple soup can sometimes be just what the doctor ordered. I have 14 of my favorite soups blogged under "Soup and Stock" on my home page. You find a new favorite there. Let me know if you do!
.-= Danielle´s last blog ..Chiles Rellenos with Tomato-and-Avocado Salsa w "Refried" Beans =-.
Hilarious, I had just finished a bowl of hot vegetable soup and was tucking into a chocolate dessert as I read this – the predictability of human beings! The soup looks good for when you want something thicker than Chinese broth but less cloying than *shudder* cream of chicken soup! And I'm sure some tomato sauce (even scraped off the screen) wouldn't go astray!
.-= Vee @ Munching (in) Melbourne´s last blog ..Lunching @ Les Boucheries Parisiennes =-.
Don't worry. They won't throw tomatoes. The soup is nourishing in itself. I do have some thick soups that I plan to post but not soon. How about barley and sausage with tomatoes?
hmm….. that could work pretty well. I am thinking very basic morrocan spices.
Wow, the soup looks really beautiful! Nice!
.-= The Little Teochew´s last blog ..Nam Yee (Red Fermented Beancurd) Chicken Wings =-.
Hi Jeroxie,
try this one if you want a thicker soup. It is one of my favourites, curried sweet potato soup by Jill Dupleix
http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe/curried-sweet-po…
cheers
Polecat
Ooh, the first of the thick soups? Looking forward to more as it gets colder! I was so excited I was able to actually use my doona last night for the first time in seemingly forever.
I've never heard of "tuscan" before… is it like kale? I'm a bit clueless about those vegies..
.-= Conor @ HoldtheBeef´s last blog ..It's a rocky road to brownie town =-.
Yeap. It is Tuscan Kale.
I am not going to waste tomatoes
) besides there are many variations to the dish, so no worries. I love anything without meat, and this dish is my kind of dish.
.-= citronetvanille´s last blog ..Pudding or not pudding? – Mini mango, coconut and brioche pudding with caramel =-.
Yum, looks delicious. And I hear you when you say you want something simple and cleansing after a week of eating out
.-= Belle@OohLook´s last blog ..Sweet, sweet Hummingbird Cake =-.
That's another healthy soup. I love simple soup like this…..simple, light and delicious.
.-= MaryMoh´s last blog ..Special Fried Rice =-.
A delicious vegan soup for preparing us into Autumn, great!
.-= Christine@Christine's Recipes´s last blog ..Roasted Chicken Drumsticks with Garlic and Sweet Potato =-.
Oh I love chunky clear soups and I think I'm like you – I prefer my bread toasted and on the side. Looks very nourishing and comforting – perfect for the onset of winter!
What a great, healthy, beautiful dish!!! I love the great chunks of fresh veggies….
Fabulous and tasty andhealthy too, what more could you want. Great recipe.
.-= Jeena´s last blog ..Steamed salmon in tin foil recipe =-.
when it comes to Italian cuisine I'm only familiar with their pasta and pizza..glad to learn something new..thanks for sharing..your ribollita sounds really good and looks so healthy
.-= Olive´s last blog ..Daring Cooks’ Challenge: Risotto =-.
Looks great to me! Course, I'm not Italian either.
Penny this looks really delicious. I've never had ribollita but your version looks very enticing. I really enjoy your meatless challenges, how long has it been now?
.-= Joy´s last blog ..Holy Guacamole! =-.
I love your version of ribollita! Will definitely work well for my family since they're not fans of tomatoes.
.-= 5 Star Foodie´s last blog ..Citrus Honey Coconut Sorbet =-.
I love the bowl of chopped vegetables! Looks fantastic!
.-= Stacy´s last blog ..Strawberry Balsamic Sorbet =-.
This looks sooo hearty and healthy!
.-= Trissa´s last blog ..Chocolate Blinis, Chocolate Mousse and Coco Pops “Caviar” =-.
Thanks everyone! I had the soup for lunch for 3 days to compensate my indulgence during melbourne food and wine festival. It definitely made me feel slightly better
Hi I didn’t throw tomatoes on the screen – and favorited your pic on flickr, but since i’m tuscan can I just say one thing? Ribollita is bread soup, that is re – boiled after it has been made (cooked) this results in an extremely thick stew like soup. Since you also asked for ideas for thick soups maybe you can try making a tuscan ribollita!
P.s. your kale is fantastic!
Oh!! I did say ALMOST… kekeke… I shall try it with bread for sure. Thanks for being my flickr friend too!