Ribolitta

Just wanted to share this recipe my hubby has been making lately...courtesy of a recipe book we have from Williams-Sonoma called "Soup & Stew."  

Ribolitta is a staple of Tuscan peasant cooking.  It is great this time of year with the fall weather...a comforting vegetable stew that makes about 8 servings.  It does take some time and planning, but it isn't difficult and it is worth it.  It is actually better the second day, so it is good to make on a Sunday than have several easy reheat dinners and lunches during the week.  Plus it is super healthy (Gillian McKeith would be proud).

Ingredients:  

• 1 lb dried cannellini beans (pick over, rinse and drain)
  
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 5 fresh sage leaves
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 yellow onions, coarsely chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 3 stalks celery, sliced
• 2 russet potatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1/2 small savoy cabbage, cored and coarsely chopped
• 1 bunch each Swiss chard and Cavolo Nero (black cabbage), thick ribs removed, coarsely chopped
• One 14 1/2 oz can crushed tomatoes
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

• Place the beans in a bowl of cold water and soak for at least 4 hours (up to overnight) - drain and set aside.
• In large soup pot, combine the drained beans, 3 qt of water, garlic, and sage.  Bring to boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer until beans are tender yet firm (about 1 1/2 to 2 hours).  Remove from heat.  Using a handheld or standing blender, coarsely puree the beans, leaving some texture.  Set aside.
• In a large saucepan heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onions and saute until softened, 7-10 minutes.  Add the carrots, celery, potatoes, savoy cabbage, chard, and cavolo nero.  Toss to coat evenly.  Add the tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste.  Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes (until the greens are tender).
• Add the cooked vegetables to the pureed beans and cook covered until nicely thickened...about 40 minutes longer.  Add additional seasoning to taste.  

Traditionally this is served over stale or toasted country style bread and drizzled with a little olive oil when served...but we've been skipping that part and it is still dee-lish!

I've been using About.com's calorie count plus to track my calorie ins and outs lately.  I love this site!  It has every tool you could want to track your calories needed, consumed, and burned, and a daily  nutritional analysis.  Plus it is free, so you can't beat that.  Anyway...I used the recipe analyzer feature on the Calorie Count site  and each serving is only 345 calories, and packed with vitamins.  Low in saturated fat and sodium, no cholesterol.  High in Iron, potassium, Vitamin A and Vitamin C.  But the best thing is my kids like it so it's a winner here...and it is cost friendly.