Hot soup might not seem a likely addition to your repertoire heading into summer, but facing meat shortages even those among us who haven’t readily made attempts to embrace a more plant-based diet may be finding it necessary, at least in the near future. This version of Ribolitta, a spin on the classic Tuscan bread soup, keeps the bread, a la Sally Albright, on the side. (IF you’re scratching your head you need to watch When Harry Met Sally, like right now, stop watching things like Tiger King, please.)
So lets get to it. This is one of those “meal in a bowl” soups and you can make it 100% vegetarian by using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. You could also skip the white wine by adding more broth, but why, it adds flavor, I love cooking with wine… let me re-phrase, I love wine.
A VERSION OF RIBOLLITA
2 15 oz. cans of white beans (cannellini, great northern, navy, whatever you have or can find, sometimes they’re just called white beans.)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
4 to 5 shallots, chopped medium-fine
5 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
2 to 3 carrots, 2 if they’re medium/big, 3 if they’re skinny. I actually look for skinnier carrots, I find them to be more tender.
½ cup fresh sage, leaves only, chopped
3 or 4 sprigs of fresh thyme tied together with kitchen string for easy removal later. No one likes twigs in their soup.
2 bay leaves, fresh if you have them, otherwise dried works too
½ cup sauvignon blanc, or any dry white wine
2 ½ cups good chicken broth
Half a bunch of swiss chard, stems chopped into half inch pieces, leaves rolled and cut chiffonade
To Finish:
¼ cup heavy cream
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
Empty beans into a colander and let drain. Meanwhile, heat olive oil and butter in a stock pot over medium heat. Add the shallots and carrots and let cook, stirring often until softened and the shallots are transparent. Add sage, thyme, bay leaves and swiss chard stems and continue cooking for another 3 minutes or so then add the minced garlic, followed by the wine and beans about a minute later. Let that cook down for a couple minutes then add the chicken broth.
Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, then add the swiss chard leaves. Continue simmering for another 10 minutes. Take off the heat, fish out the bay leaves and thyme stems and add the cream, stirring to combine. Give it a taste and season with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.
Ladle yourself a bowl, drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil on top and pair with a nice piece of toast, on the side, for dipping. It’s healthy, meatless, inexpensive and delicious. Enjoy!
