Ribollita Salad

I love Ribollita, the hearty (and frugal) Italian soup.  The soup that makes use of yesterdays bread and whatever is in the garden and pantry.  It's my kind of cooking.  And while I love a big, deep bowl of hot, fortifying soup, a salad of this magnitude is certainly welcome on my table on these chilly evenings.  As the winter weather rolls in and my basil is on its last legs and my cavolo nero is going through the roof, it's time to put these homegrown treasures to good use, as any good Italian mama would... not that I'm Italian, unfortunately.

  

Ribollita Salad

adapted from here

Serves 4

For the Basil Cream:

150g sour cream

1/2 cup basil leaves

50g parmesan, finely grated

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

For the Salad:

4 thick slices of sourdough, crusts removed and roughly torn

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt flakes 

Freshly ground black pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

100g semi-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced

2 big bunches of cavolo nero, stems removed and leaves roughly chopped

250g cherry tomatoes, halved

2 x 400g can borlotti beans, drained and rinsed

50g parmesan, finely grated

1/2 cup basil leaves, torn

Make the Basil Cream:

Put all the ingredients for the basil cream into a blender and blitz until smooth.  Set aside to chill in the refrigerator until ready to dress the salad.

Make the Salad:

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Put the bread onto a baking tray, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss to coat the bread in the oil and toast in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of the oil to a large frying pan and heat over medium heat.  Add the garlic and the semi-dried tomatoes and toss for about a minute. Add the cavolo nero and some salt and pepper and fry for about 5 - 7 minutes or until the leaves are wilted and tender.

Put the cavolo nero onto a large bowl add the fresh cherry tomatoes, toasted sourdough and borlotti beans.  Spoon over the basil cream and toss everything together.

Tip the salad out onto a large serving platter and sprinkle with grated parmesan and torn basil leaves.