Turn Your Stale Bread Into Tuscan Ribollita Soup

This recipe hails from sunny Tuscany and was originally a way to switch up leftover minestrone or other vegetable soups from the night before (hence the name, which means “re-boiled”). And what would an Italian soup be without a healthy heaping of bread?

The idea is to use up stale day-or-two old crusty Italian bread as a soup base to soak in all that juice and red wine. But you can substitute in or out any of the ingredients mentioned for what you already have in your pantry and fridge.

Feel free to get creative. I had bagel thins on hand, but I’ve also tried substituting Triscuits and sourdough bread and the taste was still on point.

Tuscan Ribollita Soup

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 30 minutesCook time: 45 minutesTotal time:1 hour 15 minutesServings:8 servings

Ingredients

• 6 slices of bacon
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion
• 3 stalks of celery
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1 can of cut potatoes
• 1 can of cannellini beans
• 4 cups of beef broth
• 3 cup dry red wine
• 2 handfuls of kale or swiss chard
• 4 toasted bagels or slices of stale bread
• 2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoon crushed, dried basil leaves
• 2 cups of water
• Handful of baby carrots

Instructions

1. 
   

   Chop all fresh vegetables and set aside.

2. 
   

   Break bacon into pieces and brown in a medium soup pot. Once brown, add in olive oil and onion. Cook until onions are translucent stirring frequently.

3. 
   

   Add rest of the veggies and cook until carrots and celery are soft. Add in red wine, broth, water and seasonings. Cover and bring to a boil. Let simmer for about 45 minutes or until you are ready to eat.

4. 
   

   Toast bread (unless it is already stale and hardened). Break into smaller pieces and cover the bottom of a bowl.

5. 
   

   Pour soup over the bread, wait for bread to soak up the juice and garnish with basil and Parmesan cheese if desired.