Maxi’s Ribolita
SERVES 8 - 10
Ingredients
1 cup of dried cannellini beans, soaked overnight (or you could use 3 cans, drained)
Salt
¼ cup good olive oil, plus extra for serving
250g pancetta (first choice) or if you can’t get this, then bacon, diced
3 stalks celery, chopped roughly
2 onions, chopped into small blocks
3 carrots, chopped into rings
6 cloves garlic, grated
1t black pepper ½ t crushed chili flakes
2 cans of plum tomatoes
4 cups of cabbage, shredded (or cavolo nero, if you can get)
4 cups kale, roughly chopped ½ cup basil leaves, chopped
6 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 loaf of stale sourdough bread roughly broken into small pieces
½ cup freshly grated parmesan, for serving
Method
Place the drained uncooked beans in a pot with plenty of water to cover them generously and bring to the boil, then lower heat and simmer for about an hour without the lid.
Add a teaspoon of salt towards the end of the cooking process as this prevents the shell of the bean from becoming too hard.
Blend half the beans in a half a cup of the cooking drained beans.
Take a large pot and heat the oil and add the chopped pancetta (or bacon) with the onions and simmer over a medium heat until the onions are translucent for about 10 minutes.
Now add the celery, carrots and garlic along with the salt, pepper and chilli flakes and cook over a medium heat until vegetables are tender.
Add the cans of tomato, squeezing the whole tomatoes by hand to break them down as you add to the soup.
Add in kale, cabbage and the basil and simmer over a low heat for about 10 minutes.
Add the pureed and whole beans to the soup.
Add the chicken stock and mix well, and simmer for about 20 – 30 minutes.
Finally add the bread to the soup just before serving and stir this into the soup.
Check seasoning and serve sprinkled with parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil.
Aubergine Parmigiana
SERVES 8
Ingredients
4 large aubergines, sliced into rounds
1 cup of olive oil
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 T dried oregano
1 litre good tomato passata
1 cup of homemade (if possible) pesto
2 cups mozzarella, grated (which shouldn’t be too full of moisture, so not buffalo, rather a pizza type of mozzarella)
1 cup parmesan, grated
1 handful fresh basil leaves
Method
Salt the aubergines by placing them in a colander and sprinkle liberally with salt. Rub this in and leave for 20 minutes to sweat. Wipe off the salt and use a paper towel to press any more water out, so they are as dry as possible.
In a small bowl, mix the olive oil with the oregano and grated garlic.
Place the aubergine in a baking tray and brush the slices liberally with this mixture, and grill on each side until golden. If you prefer, you can do this in a griddle pan too, but i find that they tend to be a bit oily.
Now set oven to 180°C for the baking process.
Mix the two grated cheeses.
Take a large baking dish, and put a layer of tomato passata on the bottom, follow with a layer of aubergine and brush this with a little fresh pesto and a few torn basil leaves, scatter on a layer of the mixed cheeses, as well as salt and pepper.
Repeat this process for 3 layers or until your aubergine is finished, topping the dish off with a good layer of cheese.
Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes, then remove foil and bake until bubbling and golden, for about another 15 – 20 minutes.
Allow to stand for about 10 minutes before serving, so that it sets slightly and makes serving easier, and top with fresh basil.