Name: Slow Cooker Ribollita (Italian Cannellini Bean, Kale, and Bread Stew)
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 1 pound dried cannellini beans; 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1 large sweet onion, small-diced; Kosher salt; 2 large carrots, small-diced; 3 celery stalks, small-diced; 1/2 large butternut squash, peeled and small-diced (2 cups); 1 head garlic, cloves separated, peeled, and thinly sliced; 1 (28-ounce) can San Marzano tomatoes, drained; Bouquet garni: 2 bay leaves plus a couple sprigs each of fresh sage, oregano, flat-leaf parsley, and thyme, tied together with twine; 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes; 1 pound cavolo nero (a.k.a. dinosaur kale or Tuscan kale), leaves torn into small pieces, stems finely minced; 3 cups torn country bread, toasted; 1 1/2 cups finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese; 6-quart (or larger) slow cooker

A pot of slowcooker ribollita with beans greens and a metal spoon.

Photo by Andrew Thomas Lee

Ribollita is like a heartier version of minestrone, thickened with bread and redolent with garlic. It is a beautiful soup when it’s fresh from the pot, but it is also perhaps the most noble of leftovers. I like to take a ladleful of soup and reheat it in a hot pan with a little olive oil. When the moisture cooks down, it almost becomes an Italian bean pancake, luscious and just a touch crisp. This is a blatant rip-off, respectfully, of a version I had at Craig Stoll’s Delfina twenty years ago. It was a rainy San Francisco night and we were wedged into one of the tiny tables in the tiny restaurant, the first place that I had ever been to where they told you, upon sitting, what time they needed you to leave in order to accommodate the next reservation. Fortunately this strange instruction was totally compensated by amazingly tender and sensuous food, and we ended up loving every moment of it. We also left on time.

Recipe notes

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