Canavesana-Style and Onion Soup: People generally associate (even in Italy) onion soup with the French, but this doesn't mean that it's not made in Italy. Indeed, they've been making it for quite some time in Piemonte, where it's considered a variation on Zuppa alla Canavesana, a cabbage soup. Or at least that's how Giovanni Vialardi, head chef of the House of Savoy in the mid-1800s, describes it in A Tavola con il Re (Dining with the King), published in 1854.
Ingredients:
- ** For The Onion Soup **
- Six onions or six leeks
- 1 cup (200 g) unsalted butter (see note below)
- Broth or water sufficient to serve your guests -- 2 quarts for 6-8
- *
- ** For Zuppa alla Canavesana **
- A nice head of white cabbage
- 1/2 cup (100 g) unsalted butter
- 1/4 pound (100 g) cured lard, prosciutto fat, ot fatty pancetta
- Minced garlic to taste -- 1 to 2 cloves
- 2 quarts broth
- Slices of toasted bread
- Grated Parmigiano
- A pinch of nutmeg
Preparation:
To begin with the onion soup:
Clean six onions or six leeks, shred them or dice them, and sauté them in a pot with a cup (200 g) of unsalted butter until they are enticingly golden. Sprinkle them with broth or water and cook them until they are very tender, and then proceed as for zuppa alla Canavesana.
A note: you can reduce the butter, substantially, though I'm not sure how much lower than a half cup I'd go, because it does contribute to the richness and mouthfeel of the dish. I wouldn't use oil.
Next, Zuppa alla Canavesana:
Clean a nice head of white cabbage and unwrap the leaves, washing them and cutting away the tough ribs. Then shred the leaves and put them in a pot with a half cup (100 g) of unsalted butter, some lard (he means cured lard, not rendered lard; use either prosciutto fat or pork side with a little salt if you decide to include this), and some minced garlic, and simmer over a low flame until it's golden. Stir in 2 quarts (liters) of broth and continue cooking until the leaves are tender; check salt. While it's cooking toast several slices of Italian or French bread and use them to line a heat-resistent soup tureen. Pour the soup over them, dust it with grated cheese and a smidgen of nutmeg, cover all with an iron lid, and put hot coals on the lid to brown the cheese (this was the standard technique for browning dishes of this kind in the days before broilers; now simply run the tureen under a broiler until the cheese has browned).
One can also make this soup as a Lenten dish, using lightly salted water instead of broth, and seasoning with only butter and cheese.
Clean six onions or six leeks, shred them or dice them, and sauté them in a pot with a cup (200 g) of unsalted butter until they are enticingly golden. Sprinkle them with broth or water and cook them until they are very tender, and then proceed as for zuppa alla Canavesana.
A note: you can reduce the butter, substantially, though I'm not sure how much lower than a half cup I'd go, because it does contribute to the richness and mouthfeel of the dish. I wouldn't use oil.
Next, Zuppa alla Canavesana:
Clean a nice head of white cabbage and unwrap the leaves, washing them and cutting away the tough ribs. Then shred the leaves and put them in a pot with a half cup (100 g) of unsalted butter, some lard (he means cured lard, not rendered lard; use either prosciutto fat or pork side with a little salt if you decide to include this), and some minced garlic, and simmer over a low flame until it's golden. Stir in 2 quarts (liters) of broth and continue cooking until the leaves are tender; check salt. While it's cooking toast several slices of Italian or French bread and use them to line a heat-resistent soup tureen. Pour the soup over them, dust it with grated cheese and a smidgen of nutmeg, cover all with an iron lid, and put hot coals on the lid to brown the cheese (this was the standard technique for browning dishes of this kind in the days before broilers; now simply run the tureen under a broiler until the cheese has browned).
One can also make this soup as a Lenten dish, using lightly salted water instead of broth, and seasoning with only butter and cheese.
