Wigtownshire Ribollita

A hearty winter soup based upon a traditional Italian recipe using all locally sourced fresh Scottish produce and substituting Butter Beans for the traditional Cannellini Beans.

  Ingredients  (Serves 6-8)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus some extra to serve

1 Roughly Chopped Medium onion

1 sliced Leek

2 chopped carrots

2 celery stalks, chopped

4 thickly sliced small potatoes (about the size of large hens eggs)

4 sliced garlic cloves

Sea Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

200g Curly Kale (stems removed)

200g dark green outer leaves of a savoy cabbage (stems removed)

1 can plum tomatoes

1 litre Chicken or vegetable stock

1 heaped tsp. mixed Italian dried herbs

2 cans butter beans ( undrained)

4 thick slices of bread

50g grated Parmesan to garnish

Method

Heat the olive oil on a low heat in a large heavy bottomed saucepan, stir in the onion, leek, carrot, celery, potatoes and gently cook for about 10 minutes giving an occasional stir to prevent sticking. Tear the kale and the cabbage into small stamp sized pieces and stir into the mix and continue to cook for about another 5 minutes. Dice the plum tomatoes in the can and empty into the saucepan along with the stock, ½ a can of mashed or pureed butter beans , sliced garlic and the dried herbs. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat, season to taste and simmer for about 30 minutes. Break the bread into chunks add to the soup and continue cooking for a further 5 minutes. Add the remaining butter beans and juice, stir well and simmer for a further 10 minutes.

Then it’s decision time, you could, if you want, serve straight away or, if you wanted to be really traditional, remove the pan from the heat, allow to cool and leave to stand overnight this will allow the flavours to develop and also allows you to cook ahead. The following evening pre heat your oven to 190c. Place the pan in the oven giving the soup an occasional stir for the first 40 minutes to ensure it is heated evenly( if the soup looks too thick add a little water) then continue cooking for a further 25 minutes without stirring until the pieces of cabbage/kale on the surface are just  beginning to crisp. Ladle the finished soup into individual bowls, sprinkle with grated Parmesan, drizzle with olive oil, and serve straight away with chunks of fresh bread and wash it down with a nice glass of Chianti. Enjoy! 

Postscript :   In the Poitou region of France there is a tradition called “Godaille” (pronounced god eye ) which you might like to try. When you have just a couple of tablespoons of soup left in your bowl add the same amount again of red wine, mix it all together and slurp it down before wiping out the bowl with a piece of bread.  “Qui ne gaspille rien n'est jamais dans le besoin”