Recipes Index - page 2
A Tuscan Onion Soup Recipe - Cipollata: A (Sort of) Frugal Onion Soup
This Tuscan cipollata could be considered a "poor cousin" of onion soup, and it may have been in its original form out on a farm, but as some point it gained a third of a pound (150 g) of Parmigiano, which would have been more than many farmers could afford 50 years ago. We're better off now, and this will be good.
A Tomatoey Calabrian Onion Soup Recipe - Zuppa di Cipolle
Here is a rich, tomatoey, distinctly non-French variation on onion soup, from Calabria.
Ribollita & Minestra di Pane - Tuscan Ribollita Recipe
Minestra di pane is one of the best uses for sliced Tuscan bread (crusty, firm of crumb, and without salt) I have ever come across. Tuscans make this hearty winter soup with cavolo nero, black leaf kale, a long-leafed variety of winter cabbage whose leaves are a very dark purplish green. When it's reheated the next day, Minestra di Pane becomes Ribollita, and is even better!
Duck Cassoeula Recipe - Cassoeula D'Anatra
Cassoeula is a classic Milanese winter dish that is, according to Antonio Piccinardi, common to areas once inhabited by Celts. There are many variations. This is from Brianza, an area that once was marshy, and rather than the usual pork, the recipe calls for duck.
Assuntina's Acquacotta - An Italian Vegetable Soup Recipe
Acquacotta means "cooked water", and this is a hearty peasant soup that farmhands would eat while out in the fields in the Maremma, a wild section of Tuscany southwest of Siena that extends to the coast and down into Lazio as well. It's one of those recipes with a great many variations, and Assuntina, who runs Monti della Tolfa, a neat agriturismo on a beautiful estate south of Rome that offers all sorts of activities, kindly shared her recipe.
Seupa Vapellenentse
Seupa Vapellenentse: This is one of the classic soups of the Valle D'Aosta, in part because the ingredients were readily available -- stale bread, Fontina cheese, and cabbage, which grows well in the cold of mountain valleys.
Creamy Squash Soup with Fontina Cheese - Crema di Zucca con Fontina
Creamy Squash Soup with Fontina, or Crema di Zucca con Fontina: This creamy soup recipe is a traditional way to use stale rye bread in the Monte Bianco area.
Giuseppe Verdi's Delicious Soup - La Squisita Minestra di Giuseppe Verdi
A tasty, traditional potato ball soup that is said to have been greatly loved by Giuseppe Verdi.
Art's Minestrone, or: A Diabetic's Breakfast
I mentioned in a newsletter that an old family friend has been diagonesed with diabetes, and that this is a both a shock and a wakeup-call. Art Singer, who was diagnosed as pre-diabetic, kindly replied with the minestrone that he now enjoys every morning for breakfast, and follows with a long walk. One could also enjoy his legume-rich minestone at other times.
Dalmatian Lenten Cabbage Soup - Broeta de Verza de Magro
his meatless soup was the traditional beginning of Vigil meals, especially Christmas Eve, when the chill of the Bora (a strong wind from the east) gives cabbage added bite, among the Italians who lived in Dalmatia prior to Tito's ethnic cleansing of the region during the Second World War. It calls for fish broth, which the cook would have had on hand because boiled fish is one of the standard second courses of a Vigil meal.
Tuscan Minestrone, With Beans - Minestrone alla Toscana, con Fagioli
Tuscan Minestrone, With Beans, or Minestrone alla Toscana, con Fagioli: Tuscans are known for their love of beans, so it's fitting that they go into this soup, which builds on a basic minestrone.
Roberto Giannini's Ribollita
Roberto Giannini writes,[br]
I wanted to send you a recipe for Ribollita followed by generations of my Tuscan ancestors. Even though since the birth of my Father we hail from Bologna, my family is Tuscan, from Massa Marittima in the Province of Grosseto more recently, and Terranova Bracciolini in the Province of Arezzo going further back. This recipe is more than 200 years old, written by my ancestor Teresa Stiatti at the end of the 1700s.
Enrico Banducci's Minestrone
Enrico Banducci was the late, great leader of the San Francisco club scene whose Hungry I introduced many performers to West Coast audiences, including Bill Cosby, Tom Lehrer, and Barbara Streisand. But he was also an excellent cook, and I am much indebted to his friend Ernie Beyl for sending me his Minestrone Recipe. "Enrico's grandmother learned how to prepare this minestrone in Genoa," Ernie says.
Tomato, Rice and Endive Soup -- Minestrone di Riso e Indivie al Pomodoro
A tasty, rich Italian tomato and endive soup.
Cassoeula
Cassoeula: Kathleen asked for a recipe for Cassoeula a while back. It's a classic Milanese winter dish, a thick, hearty pork, sausage, and cabbage soup that is, according to Antonio Piccinardi, common throughout the areas once inhabited by the Celts. In other words, one can find similar things in France and Spain. He says there's considerable variation from cook to cook...
Barely and Nettles Soup -- Sòpe di Uàrdi e Urtìes
Barely and Nettles Soup, or Sòpe di Uàrdi e Urtìes: Nettles, as you will know if you have ever put your hand upon one, are urticants, in other words they cause a painful stinging sensation when touched -- their attempt to avoid being eaten by grazing animals. However, if you wear gloves to avoid the stinging and blanch the nettles when you get home, they're very tender and are delicately flavored.
Barely and Nettles Soup -- Sòpe di Uàrdi e Urtìes
Barely and Nettles Soup, or Sòpe di Uàrdi e Urtìes: Nettles, as you will know if you have ever put your hand upon one, are urticants, in other words they cause a painful stinging sensation when touched -- their attempt to avoid being eaten by grazing animals. However, if you wear gloves to avoid the stinging and blanch the nettles when you get home, they're very tender and are delicately flavored.
Hearty Tomato Soup -- Zuppa di Pomodori
Some tomato soups are light. This is hearty.
Cream of Rice and Tomato Soup -- Minesta di Crema di Riso al Pomodoro
A simple Italian cream of tomato soup with rice.
Cream of Tomato Soup -- Minestra Crema di Pomodoro
A tasty Italian cream of tomato soup.
Cheese Soup -- Zuppa di Formaggio
You might expect zuppa di formaggio, a hearty cheese soup, to be from the Val D'Aosta, a land of cheese. Instead, it's from nearby Piemonte.
Black Kale Soup - Zuppa di Cavolo Nero
This is an extremely simple winter soup that will bring warmth and happiness overtones the kitchen. My Italian source simply listed ingredients, so I have given amounts; feel free to adjust them to suit your taste.
Kale Soup over Garlic Toasted Bread -- Zuppa di Cavolo Nero su Fette di Pane
Kale Soup over Garlic Toasted Bread, or Zuppa di Cavolo Nero su Fette di Pane all'Aglio: Tuscany is well known for bread soups, in particular the minestra di pane that's common in the center of the region during the winter months, and its cousin, ribollita, which one makes by reheating one's minestra di pane the next day. This soup is instead from Versilia, the coastal region north of the Arno, and involves considerably more garlic than one encounters inland.
Fennel Soup -- Fenecchìjdde
Fennel Soup, or Fenecchìjdde: This is a very simple thick winter soup from Puglia; it's a traditional Christmas Eve soup but is quite nice throughout the winter.
Adriana's Minestrone di Verdure
Adriana's Minestrone di Verdure: This is a Veronese variation on a classic Italian theme, and is extraordinarily creamy, thanks to a healthy number of potatoes. Adriana says you can use short pasta such as ditalini in the dish, but that she prefers croutons instead, which provide a pleasant texture contrast.