Such a thing as too many veggies? This recipe adds a pound of kale—that’s right, a full pound—to softened onions, carrots and celery, combined with beans and tomatoes. It’s simply a matter of bringing the other vegetables to the party in a simmer, then adding the kale and topping with the thick, toasted, crusty slabs of multi-grain bread. The whole dish bakes in the oven for a few minutes to crisp the toast and the Parmesan.
Confession, the supermarket carried kale, but it was lousy looking at best, so we opted for the substitute of escarole. And for a time-saver we used canned cannellinis, in fact we used two cans, about double the original amount!
This might be just the ticket to feast on after indulging in all that rich food during the holidays. Make sure to get a thick crusty multi-grain loaf of bread that is cut into 1-inch thick slices and toasted. Add extra parmesan when serving, if desired.
Ribolita
Ingredients
- 5 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
- Salt and ground black pepper
- 2 cups cooked or canned cannellini beans
- 1 15-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes
- 4 cups vegetable stock or water
- 1 fresh rosemary sprig
- 1 fresh thyme sprig
- 1 lb. chopped kale or escarole
- 4 large, thick slices whole-grain bread, toasted
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
Directions
- Put 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large pot 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 rosemary and thyme stems, if you like, and stir in kale. 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.
Adapted from a recipe by Mark Bittman for NYTimes Cooking
Accounting for Taste 
This one looks great, too! Good for our way of eating. I am about to make the giner cookies you posted, and now I can’t find it anywhere. Would you mind sending me the recipe, please? I like that there is black pepper in them! Thanks, Teresa
Sent from my iPad
>
LikeLike
This looks really delicious!
LikeLike