La Bella Toscana!
Italia's Tuscany region is best known for its fine wine, scrumptious cheeses and perfectly cured salami, though Tuscan food is much, much more.
La Ribollita is one of these famous Tuscan dishes that seems to fly under the radar. While greatly overshadowed by more popular dishes, and almost neglected my tourists in popular travel destinations like Florence or Pisa, I'd say it's worth the detour and the trip to give it a try.
Nestled on Italy's East Coast, the Tuscany region gets quite hot during the summer months, yet can be rather frigid come wintertime.
The term "ribollita" literally translated into English, means "re-boiled." The dish can be traced to lower-income Tuscans back in the early 1900s, who had to make do with fewer and cheaper ingredients. These lower-income Italians would generally prepare a large quantity of some "zuppa di pane," which is essentially a soup made with vegetables and bread. Once prepared, much of the soup would be stored, only to be boiled again in the following days. In fact, it is said that vegetable soup actually becomes more flavourful when it is cooked again.
La Ribollita is actually fairly simple to make, and comprises of a few, simple ingredients. The most important ingredients are Lacinato Kale (famous in Tuscany) and black Tuscan beans. The kale is usually left outside in the cold in order to become a little frigid, thus softening the kale leaves, rendering them more flavourful. Once that's ready, throw in an onion, some tomatoes, some cabbage, and a hint of olive oil. Any other vegetables are always welcome, of course. Oh, and don't forget to add some of that crumpled up bread for taste and texture! Once ready, it will resemble more of a potage than a soup, oozing with vegetables. Cook it once, and reboil it as many times as you'd like!
My adventure with la ribollita was quite an interesting one. I had heard about the dish before heading to Florence, and had learned about a famous ribollita restaurant about half an hour outside of the city. I don't quite recall what this restaurant was called, but I remember deciding to head out there on a cold day in late December. Eventually, Google Maps was telling me that I'd arrived, but the restaurant was nowhere too be seen. I scoured the two or three nearby blocks. Nothing. I eventually went into the butcher shop across the street and asked what had happened to the place. Apparently it had closed down a year prior, and Google Maps just hadn't updated yet...
So I went back into town, quite frustrated at this point. Unfortunately, downtown Florence is so overrun by tourists that nearly every restaurant aggressively markets its "traditional pizza" and "authentic pasta," yet I found one in the main square that seemed to be offering some ribollita. Unwilling to be picky after the long trek, I decided to settle for this spot, and that was that.
It turned out to be an excellent choice, however! As a starter, though, some penne rigate were in store. Delicious!
Then, of course, came la ribollita. It was perfectly spiced, all the vegetables were quite flavourful, and the softened bread added just the right amount of texture. It was worth it after all!
So is la ribollita the most famous Italian dish? Absolutely not! But la ribollita is a dish with humble roots, using seasonal ingredients, that is just packed with flavour, texture and warmth. Perfect for a cold Tuscan winter's day!
-Daniele
