Recipe - Alberto Morellos Ribollita

1 One fourth cup Dried cannellini beans; see
cook's note
2 tablespoon Olive oil
One half lg Bunch Italian parsley;
chopped
2 Cloves garlic; minced
1 bn Celery; chopped
One half pound Carrots; peeled and chopped
2 md Red onions; chopped
1 cn (14 1/2ounce) minced
tomatoes; drained
3 cup Coarsely chopped savoy
cabbage or Swiss chard;
(ribs removed before
chopping), up to 4
10 sl Stale rustic bread; such as
ciabatta, about 11 1/2
inches thick; see cook's
note
Salt; (sea salt preferred)
and freshly ground black
pepper to taste
Optional garnish:
extravirgin olive oil

Cook's note: You can save preparation time by using canned cannellini
beans. Use two (15 1/2ounce) cans. Use one can of beans whole; puree the
beans in the other can. If you use canned beans, skip the first three steps
of the recipe.

1. Place dried beans in a large pot. Cover with cold water and allow to
rest overnight or for 8 hours. Drain.

2. Cover beans with cold water and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer,
covered, for 40 minutes or until beans are thoroughly cooked and softened,
but don't overcook them. Drain beans, keeping the cooking water for later
use.

3. Divide the beans in half. Leave half whole and process the other half
until pureed in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Set aside.

4. Heat oil in a large soup pot on medium heat. Add parsley, garlic,
celery, carrots and onions. Cook 30 minutes on low heat, stirring
occasionally.

5. Add tomatoes and stir to combine. Cook 1525 minutes. Add the whole
beans and the cabbage (or Swiss chard) to the soup. Add enough water to
cover the ingredients and bring to a boil on high heat. Simmer 30 minutes.

6. Add bean puree to soup. Stir to combine. Add enough boiling water to
make the soup liquid. The exact amount of liquid will vary; you need to
balance the amounts of liquid to the bread so that when the bread absorbs
the liquid, the soup is very thick. Stir in bread and season with salt and
pepper to taste. Simmer 4 minutes, or longer if you wish the bread to
further dissolve into the soup. If you wish, stir in a little extravirgin
olive oil, or use it as a garnish on top of the soup after it has been
ladled into individual bowls.

Yield: 10 servings

Nutritional information (per serving): 264 calories, 4.1 grams fat, 0.7
grams saturated fat, no cholesterol, 290 milligrams sodium, 14 percent
calories from fat

Source: Alberto Morello, Prego Ristorante, Irvine

Posted to recipeludigest by ncanty@juno.com (Nadia I Canty) on Mar 27,
1998