Slow Cooker Ribollita Food

SLOW-COOKER RIBOLLITA

Steps:

• Preheat a 4-quart slow cooker. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over high. Add onion, garlic, and red-pepper flakes and cook until softened, about5 minutes. Add kale and cookuntil just wilted, 5 minutes. Transferto slow cooker.
• Add 1 tablespoon oil to skillet, then add zucchini and cook over high until lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer zucchini to slow cooker along with tomato, beans, and boiling water; season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on high until beans are tender, 3 hours (or on low 6 hours).
• Heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet. Add bread and cook over medium, turning once or twice, until golden and crisp, 5 to 6 minutes. Let cool slightly, then tear into pieces; stir into stew in slow cooker. Coverand cook on high until thick, 1 hour more (or on low 2 hours more). Season with salt and pepper; serve, topped with grated cheese and drizzled with oil.

SLOW COOKER RIBOLLITA

Steps:

• Place the beans in a large bowl and add cold water to cover by 3 inches. Cover the bowl and soak the beans in the refrigerator overnight.
• The next day, pour the beans and their soaking liquid into a slow cooker. Add enough fresh water to cover the beans by 2 inches, cover with the lid, and cook on the high setting for 4 hours.
• Place a very large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil, and when the oil shimmers, add the onion. Season with salt and cook for 5 minutes, stirring every minute or so, until softened. Add the carrots, celery, butternut squash, and garlic, and cook for 5 more minutes, until starting to soften. Transfer the vegetables to the slow cooker. Add the tomatoes, crushing each one in your hand as you add it. Add the bouquet garni, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1/2 tablespoon of the red pepper flakes. Cook on the low setting for 3 hours.
• Uncover the slow cooker, remove the bouquet garni, and add the kale, bread, 1 cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano, and the remaining 1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes. Stir the soup well, season with more salt to taste, and serve with the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano sprinkled on top.

SLOW-COOKER RIBOLLITA

Steps:

• Combine the carrots, celery, cabbage, pancetta, beans, tomato paste, parmesan rind, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 7 cups water in a 5-to-6-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low, 7 to 8 hours. Leave 1 slice of bread at room temperature to dry out slightly.
• Before serving, add the stale bread to the slow cooker. Cover and continue to cook, about 10 minutes. Stir the soup well, then add the grated parmesan and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, preheat the broiler. Spread the remaining 4 bread slices on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Broil until golden, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Place a slice in each bowl.
• Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil and the garlic in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, swirling the pan frequently, until the garlic is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Stir the garlic and oil into the soup. Ladle the soup over the bread in the bowls.

SLOW COOKER RIBOLLITA WITH SMOKED MOZZARELLA TOASTS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or skillet over medium. Add the onion, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until limp and translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the leek, celery and fennel, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Add the chopped garlic, bay leaves, red-pepper flakes and white wine; season generously with black pepper. Stir well and let the wine come to a simmer before turning off the heat.
• Scrape the mixture into a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker. Add the stock, beans, tomatoes, thyme, rosemary and lemon juice. Cook until the beans are tender and creamy, about 6 hours on high or 12 hours on low.
• Before serving, remove and discard the bay leaves and herb sprigs. Switch the slow cooker to high (if it's not already), and stir in the greens and vinegar.
• Let the greens cook while you make the toasts: Turn on your broiler. Rub the bread slices with the halved garlic and drizzle them with olive oil. Position a rack 6 inches from the broiler, then toast sliced bread under the broiler until very light golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1 slice of mozzarella to each toast and broil until softened and browned in spots. Taste the soup and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Divide the soup among bowls and add a mozzarella toast to each bowl. Garnish with the reserved fennel fronds, and additional black pepper or red-pepper flakes, if desired.