Ribollita and steak

Preparing for ribollita

I loved this!  I made a different version of ribollita from Saveur magazine and Sanford and I thought it was bland and mushy.  This was completely different and delicious.  When I tasted the soup, prior to layering it for the final baking, I was unsure.  But I was wrong.  It worked beautifully together.  The recipe comes from Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Italian Cooking.  Sanford balked at me getting this from the library, but his comment was this is a restaurant worthy dish.  Now the recipe:  Heat a pan.  Add 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil.  Saute 1 chopped onion, 1 chopped celery stalk, and 2 chopped, peeled carrots.  Cook 5 minutes.  Add 1 cup coarsely chopped cauliflower florets.  Saute 5 minutes.  Add 5 thinly sliced stalk of kale along with 1 cup sliced swiss chard (including stalks).  Add 2 chopped zucchini and 1 large diced boiling potato.  Cook another 5 minutes, stirring.  Add 2-3 cups cooked cannellini beans, 1/4 cup minced fresh herbs in equal parts, parsley, rosemary and sage.   Stir.  Add 2 1/2 quarts chicken broth.  Cook, uncovered, 30 minutes.  In a small baking dish, cover the bottom with soup.  Add thinly sliced country bread (we used ciabatta).  Spoon more soup over the bread.  Sprinkle with parmesan.  Continue to layer bread, soup and cheese then top with bread.  Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle more cheese.  Bake at 425 for 25 minutes.  About 5 minutes before it's finished push down on the bread and bake the last 5 minutes.  (Bill and Chris, we are planning to make this for you when you visit next month)

Bistecca alla Fiorentina:  Very large steak (the one Italian exception of not eating large amounts of meat).  Let sit at room temperature for 2 hours. (do not salt).  Rub with olive oil.   Cook on grill or in a hot cast iron skillet until browned.  Flip salt and turn.  Then flip, salt and remove to rest 10 minutes.  Served with sauteed spinach.

Now, we will have to wait until tomorrow for the biscotti dessert.  The family is waiting, quite impatiently, for me to stop blogging and finish making the dessert.  Until tomorrow....