Lenten Soup, Brodo Magro di Digiuno: Lenten means both eaten during Lent, when the Church forbade meat consumption (and still frowns on it), and on Fridays, which were days of abstinence. So Mr. Vialardi likely made this meatless soup quite often for the King.
Ingredients:
- 5 onions
- 4 carrots
- 12 leeks
- Cabbage
- Olive oil
- A Bay Leaf
- Fresh Sage
- A quarter pound (100 g) of dried lentils
Preparation:
Clean 5 onions, 4 carrots, 12 leeks, and some cabbage; slice everything or chop it finely, and put it a pot with a little olive oil, a bay leaf, a little fresh sage, and a quarter pound (100 g) of dried lentils. Add three quarts (3 l) of boiling water, check salt, and simmer the pot for an hour, then strain it and you will have a fine broth for soups, rice, or pasta.
As a Lenten dish, you can also put everything you strained out of the broth through a fine strainer (or a food mill) and thus obtain an excellent purée.
As a Lenten dish, you can also put everything you strained out of the broth through a fine strainer (or a food mill) and thus obtain an excellent purée.
