Heat the olive oil in a large pan and gently sweat the onion, carrots, celery and garlic until soft and fragrant.
Stir in the tomatoes and cook briefly. Add the white beans and vegetable stock, roughly mashing some of the beans so the soup turns thicker.
Prepare the kale, cut it into strips and add it to the pan. Simmer everything over a medium heat until the veg is tender and the flavours have come together.
Tear the stale bread into rough pieces and stir it in. Keep simmering until the bread has soaked up the liquid and the soup has its typical thick consistency.
Season with salt and pepper and let the soup rest briefly so it thickens a little more.
Ladle into bowls and serve with hard cheese and a little olive oil.
Good to know
Ribollita is simple comfort food with character. Hearty, soft, aromatic – and often even more rounded in flavour the next day.
Swaps
Kale → cavolo nero (similar fibre content and classically Tuscan). Hard cheese → vegetarian hard cheese made from sheep's milk (also provides protein and calcium). White bread → sourdough bread (often more flavourful). White beans → cannellini beans from a jar or home-cooked (same base of fibre and plant protein).
Allergens
Contains gluten (bread), milk (hard cheese) and celery. Suits children well if the celery and kale are cooked until soft, and during pregnancy it's fine if you use pasteurised hard cheese and heat the soup through well.
