Serves: 4-6 - Time:
This is a spiced-up ribollita, a hearty bean and black cabbage stew/soup. The addition of a few spoonfuls of fiery nduja paste adds richness and heaps of flavour. Nduja is a soft paste of pork and spicy peppers from Calabria. On paper that might not sound particularly appetising, but it is delicious and a great ingredient to have in the cupboard to give a quick lift to your food; stirred into pasta, spread on toasted sourdough or added to casseroles. If you can’t find cavolo nero kale would be a good alternative.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
- 180g carrots, about 3-4 small, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 stick celery, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
- 400g tin plum tomatoes
- 400g tin borlotti beans, drained and washed
- 400g tin cannellini beans, drained and washed
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 200g cavolo nero, washed and roughly chopped
- 3-4 tablespoons nduja paste
- To serve Crusty bread and grated parmesan
Method
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan or deep sauté pan. Add the onions, carrots and celery and fry over a low heat for 15 minutes until the vegetables are almost soft. Add the garlic and cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly.
- Stir in the tomatoes, breaking them up a little with the back of a wooden spoon. Stir in 700ml water and the beans and herbs. Bring to the boil then turn the heat down and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Stir in the cavolo nero and nduja paste, tasting the ragoût to decide how spicy you want it to be. Season with salt and ground black pepper and leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the cavolo nero is tender and the ragoût thick.
- Serve the ragout with plenty of crusty bread and grated parmesan if you like.
