Zuppe and other Hearty Soups
Standbys
Adriana's Minestrone
An
extraordinarily creamy minestrone from the Veneto.
Difficulty: Moderate
Bean Soup: Minestra di Fagioli
A simple, tasty bean soup.
Difficulty: Easy
Bread Soup and Ribollita: Minestra di Pane e
Ribollita
Two of the best uses imaginable for day-old bread,
and one soup that makes winter worth getting excited over.
Difficulty: Easy
-- Moderate
Cheese Soup: Minestra di Formaggio
Cheese Soup, a rich winter offering from Piemonte.
Difficulty:
Intermediate
Chickpea Soup: Minestrone di Ceci
Minestrone is a thick vegetable soup. This variation, from Sardinia, uses
chickpeas.
Difficulty: Easy
Minestrone
A recipe based on
Pellegrino Artusi's, with sobering thoughts on 19th century life.
Difficulty: Easy
Pasta and Bean Soup: Pasta e
Fagioli
Pasta e Fagioli are also known as Pasta
Fazool -- about as hearty as one can get, and tasty too.
Difficulty:
Easy
Other Hearty Soups
Barley Soup, or Minestron de Orzo
Barley is quite hardy, and therefore popular in the mountains above
Vicenza, where this is a standard simple soup.
Difficulty: Easy
Bean and Barley Soup: Minestra di Orzo e
Fagioli
A simple, satisfying winter bean-and-barley soup that
gains substance from potatoes.
Difficulty: Easy
Barley Minestrone: Minestrone di
Orzo
A simple barley soup cooked in milk and water.
Difficulty: Easy
Barley and Nettle Soup: Sòpe di
Uàrdi e Urtìes
A thick barley and nettle soup
that will also work well with other greens.
Difficulty: Moderate
Black Leaf Kale and Bread Soup: Zuppa di Cavolo
Nero su Fette di Pane all'Aglio
Bread-and-kale soup with
garlic, a Versilian variation on ribollita.
Difficulty: Moderate
Bread Balls with Speck in Broth: Canederli allo
Speck in Brodo
Bread balls with speck for a clear soup had an
intriguing smokey tang to them. A recipe from the Dolomites.
Difficulty:
Moderate
Bread Balls with Liver in Broth: Canederli al
Fegato in Brodo
Bread balls with liver for a clear soup,
simple fare from the Dolomites.
Difficulty: Moderate
Cabbage Soup Canischio Style: Zuppa di Cavoli
alla Moda di Canischio
A rich cabbage-and-sausage-and-beef
zuppa from the Canavese area of Piemonte.
Difficulty: Moderate
Cabbage Soup: Seupa Vapellenentse
There is cabbage soup, and then there is... Cabbage Soup. This classic
from the Val D'Aosta is very much in the latter category.
Difficulty:
Moderate
Canavesana Soup: Zuppa alla
Canavesana
A rich cabbage-and-turnip-and-bread zuppa from
Piemonte.
Difficulty: Easy
Canavesana and Onion Soups: Zuppa alla
Canavesana o di Cipolle
In Piemonte's Canavese region they
make cheesy vegetable soups with a variety of vegetables, including cabbage,
leeks, and -- of course -- onions.
Difficulty: Moderate
Chestnut Minestrone: Minestrone di
Castagne
A hearty chestnut minestrone from the Abruzzo.
Difficulty: Easy
Chestnut Puree: Zuppa di Purea di
Marroni
A satifying chestnut soup for the cooler
months.
Difficulty: Moderate
Chestnut Soup, For Lent and Not: Minestra di
Castagne in Magro ed in Grasso
A tasty chestnut soup to keep
the winter cold at bay.
Difficulty: Moderate
Chickpea and Fennel Soup: Minestra di Ceci e
Finocchi
Chickpeas and fennel aren't a particularly obvious
combination in a soup, but will work quite well.
Difficulty:
Easy
Chickpea Minestrone: Minestrone di
Ceci
A creamy, hearty chickpea soup from the Abruzzo.
Difficulty: Easy
Chickpea and Pasta Soup: Ciciri Ca
Pasta
Sicilian chickpeas with pasta soup that's flavored with
pancetta and tomato, and is an indispensable part of San Guiseppe celebrations
(Saint Joseph's, March 19).
Difficulty: Moderate
Chickpea Soup with Saffron: Minestra di Ceci con
Zafferano
An unusual saffron laced soup with spinach to add
contrasting green.
Difficulty: Easy
Chilled Minestrone with Tomato: Minestrone
Freddo con Pomodoro
A refreshing summer soup.
Chilled Mint Soup: Zuppa Fredda alla
Menta
Perfect when it is really hot, and refreshing at any
time.
Difficulty: Easy
Cream of Squash with Fontina: Crema di Zucca con
Fontina
Some people would find stale bread a problem. This
Valdostan soup is a reason to accumulate the stuff!
Difficulty:
Easy
Farro (Spelt) Soup: Zuppa di Farro
A rich, hearty whole-grain soup from the hills overlooking Lucca.
Difficulty: Easy
Fava Bean, Pea and Artichoke Soup from the
Abruzzo: Zuppa Abruzzese di Fave con Piselli e Carciofi
The
Abruzzo region is known for hearty fare made of frugal ingredients, for example
this legume and artichoke soup.
Difficulty: Moderate
Fregula with Beans: Fregula e
Fagioli
The Sardinian equivalent of Pasta e Fagioli.
Difficulty: Easy, if you buy the fregula
Fregula with Celery and Potatoes: Fregula con
Sedano e Patate
A hearty, quasi-vegetarian soup.
Difficulty:
Easy, if you buy the fregula
Farro (Spelt) and Black Leaf Kale Soup: Farro e
Cavolo Nero
The combination of Farro and Kale makes for a
wonderful winter soup.
Difficulty: Moderate
Friulian Minestrone, with Barley: Minestrone
alla Friulana, con Orzo
A tasty winter soup that combines
barley and pancetta with the other vegetables
Frugal Farro (Spelt) Soup: Minestra Povera di
Farro
The soup of the poor who lived in the mountains along
the Tosco-Emilian border. And very tasty too.
Difficulty: Easy
Garlic Soup: Minestra d'Aglio
A
garlicky bread soup to clear the sinuses.
Difficulty: Easy
Good Thursday Soup: Ministruni D'U Jovi R'O
Lardaluoru
A rich minestrone with lard that the people of
Modica enjoy as they resolve their differences.
Difficulty:
Moderate
Ham Bone and vegetable Soup: Zuppa Con L'Osso
del Prosciutto
A hearty vegetable soup made with bread and a
ham bone, from Montalcino.
Difficulty: Moderate
Jota
A simple bean-and-sauerkraut
soup from Trieste.
Difficulty: Easy
Jota Ricca
Still
bean-and-sauerkraut, but considerably richer, for the wealthy or feast days.
Difficulty: Easy
Jota with Pickled Turnips: Jota con
Brovada
Still beans, but with pickled turnips instead of sauerkraut
-- And from Cormons rather than Trieste.
Difficulty: Moderate
Lenten Day Onion Soup: Zuppa Magra di
Cipolle
An Italian variation on a French classic.
Difficulty: Easy
Lentil Soup: Zuppa di Lenticchie
An amazingly simple Neapolitan recipe.
Difficulty: Easy
Lentil Soup: Zuppa di Lenticchie
A hearty Piemontese lentil soup will work wonders at any time of
year.
Difficulty: Moderate
Lentil Soup with Rice and Spinach: Zuppa di Riso
con Lenticchie e Spinaci
Rice is one of the finest ingredients
for a soup, far superior (I think) to noodles at providing body, and works
especially well with lentils.
Difficulty: Easy
Lentil and Cotechino Soup: Zuppa di Lenticchie e
Cotechino
A thick lentil stew to go with cotechino,
which will also double as a side dish.
Difficulty: Easy
Lentil and Greens Soup: Minestra di Lenticchie e
Borragine
A classic Neapolitan vegetarian
recipe.
Difficulty: Moderate
Lentil and Pasta Soup
Esau sold
his birthright for lentils, and one can almost understand the man when served a
soup like this.
Difficulty: Easy
Lombard Soup: Zuppa Lombarda
An extremely simple Tuscan bean soup, with beans, bean broth and toasted bread
highlighted by fresh olive oil.
Difficulty: Easy
Lombard-Style Minestrone, with Squash:
Minestrone Alla Lombarda, Con la Zucca
Squash and pasta add
substance to this soup, which is nicely seasoned with grated Parmigiano.
Meatless Bread Balls in Broth: Canederli di
Magro Brodo
Delicately flavored bread balls for a clear soup,
from the Dolomites.
Difficulty: Moderate
Milanese Minestrone: Minestrone alla
Milanese
A refreshing spring minestrone with peas and other
garden delights.
Difficulty: Easy
Milanese Tripe Soup: Busecca
Don't blanch until you've tried it; this rich beany soup is winter comfort
food at its finest.
Difficulty: Moderate
Mint and Asparagus Soup: Minestra di Asparagi e
Menta
The zesty flavors of spring.
Difficulty:
Easy
Onion Soup: Zuppa di Cipolle
A
distinctly non-French onion soup with tomatoes and hot pepper, from
Calabria.
Difficulty: Easy
Onion Soup: Supa de Scigol
Milano's onion soup is much like what they make in France, but perhaps
richer.
Difficulty: Easy
Orc da Cèrn
A Ladin
Carnival Soup made from grains, simple tasty fare to warm the heart.
Difficulty: Easy
Pasta e Fagioli Vicentina Style, or Pasta e
Fasui a la Visentina
In the Vicentino pasta e fasoi is made
with fresh tagliatelle, and it does make a difference.
Difficulty:
Easy
Pasta and Chickpea Soup: Pasta e
Ceci
Pasta with chick peas, a variation on pasta e fagioli
from the Marche.
Difficulty: Easy
Pasta and Lentil Soup: Pasta e
Lenticchie
A hearty lentil-based variation on pasta e fagioli
from the Lazio region, with prosciutto and garlic as seasonings.
Difficulty:
Easy
Pasta and Lentil Soup: Pasta e
Lenticchie
A vegetarian variation on pasta e fagioli made
with lentils, from Naples.
Difficulty: Easy
Pea Soup: Minestra di Piselli
A
simple, surprisingly delicate pea soup that even pea-haters will enjoy.
Difficulty: Easy
Pea and Barley Soup: Minestra di Orzo e
Piselli
This barley and pea soup will be perfect in late
spring, when fresh peas hit the markets.
Difficulty: Easy
Pesto Minestrone: Minestrone al
Pesto
A rich, summery Ligurian variation on Italy's signature
soup.
Difficulty: Easy
Primavera Soup: Zuppa di
Primavera
Bits of pasta, in a spring-like vegetable-and-potato soup.
Difficulty: Easy
Red Radicchio Soup with Midolline: Midolline al
Radicchio Rosso
Midolline are pasta bits shaped like melon
seeds, and a radichio-based soup to go with them.
Difficulty:
Easy
Ribollita
Stuart Borken's
version of a Tuscan classic.
Difficulty: Easy
Rice and Eggplant Soup, or Minestra di
Melanzane e Riso
A tasty, unusual Puglian soup made with eggplant
and rice. Quite refreshing!
Difficulty: Easy
Rice and Lentil Soup: Riso e
Lenticchie
Sounds like a risotto but is actually a rice and
lentil soup.
Difficulty: Easy
Rice and Lentil Soup: Riso e
Lenticchie
Another soup; this is Umbrian and includes lard and
tomatoes.
Difficulty: Easy
Rice Minestrone with Pesto Sauce: Minestrone di
Riso col Pesto
Rice Minestrone is just what it sounds like:
Minestrone with rice to give it body, and, here, pesto to add grace.
Difficulty: Easy
Salamureci
A refreshing
chilled tomato soup (for want of a better term): Peasant food at its
finest.
San Giuseppe Soup: Maccu di San
'Gnuseppi
A rich Sicilian legume soup for San Giuseppe, and
also a traditional way of clearing out the pantry at the beginning of spring.
Difficulty: Moderate
Sausage and Cabbage Soup: Minestra di Verza e
Salsicce
A hearty cabbage and sausage soup from the Veneto
region.
Difficulty: Easy
Sicilian Chestnut Soups
A collection
of three Sicilian chestnut soups, one with pasta and two with rice.
Difficulty: Moderate
Squash and Bean Soup: Sbroscia della Vecchia
Versilia
True peasant food, a simple squash and bean soup.
Difficulty: Easy
Thimbles (pasta) with Eggplant and Zucchini
Soup: Ditaloni con Minestra di Melanzane e Zucchine
Neapolitan
"thimbles" for soup, and a zucchini-and-eggplant soup to go with them.
Difficulty: Easy
Tomato Soup: Minestra & Zuppa al
Pomodoro
A collection of tomato soups from Ada Boni's
Talismano della Felicitá.
Difficulty: Easy --
Moderate
Tuscan-Style Minestrone, With Beans: Minestrone alla Toscana, con Fagioli -- Tuscans are known for their love of beans, so it's fitting that they go into this soup.
Walnut Soup: Minestra di Noci
An
unusual, creamy Piemontese walnut soup.
Difficulty: Easy
Spinach Soup: Zuppa di Spinaci
Creamed spinach soup with eggs and cheese.
Difficulty: Easy
Yellow Squash Soup: Zuppa Di Zucca
Gialla
A simple squash soup, from Artusi.
Difficulty:
Easy
If you haven't found
what you're looking for, please
ask!
Fish Soups
Light soups, some with pasta and others
without
Back to General Index
