Recipe: Cabbage and Whole Wheat Bread Soup from Valpelline (Seuppa Valpellinentze) (Italian)

CABBAGE AND WHOLE WHEAT BREAD SOUP
FROM VALPELLINE (SEUPPA VALPELLINENTZE)

"The Valdostani are so fond of soup that they are apt to recite the following proverb: "Sette cose fa la zuppa, cava fame e sete attuta, empie il ventre, netta il dente, fa dormire, fa smaltire, e la guancia fa arrossire." ("Soup does seven things, it calms hunger and quenches thirst, fills the belly, cleans the teeth, makes you sleep, makes you lean, and gives color to your cheek.") Originally conceived to serve as one-dish meals, Val d'Aosta's soups are now considered first courses. Most feature vegetables and rice or bread, like this recipe from Valpelline. To achieve the proper texture, dense country bread is a must; also important is resisting the temptation to drown the bread, cabbage, and Fontina in broth, since this is more of a thick bread porridge than a soup in the ordinary sense. This version is from Maurizio Grange, owner of Locanda La Clusaz in Gignod."

4 cups (1 quart) Beef Broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 large Savoy cabbage leaves
5 ounces day-old whole wheat country bread, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
5 ounces day-old white country bread, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
3/4 pound Fontina from Val d'Aosta, rind removed, thinly sliced
Pinch ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Bring the broth to a boil in a medium pot and season with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Add the cabbage leaves and cook 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate (reserve the broth), cool, and cut into long, thin strips.

Meanwhile, spread out both types of bread in a single layer on an 11 x 17-inch baking sheet and toast in the preheated oven for 5 minutes, or until aromatic but not dry.

Line a shallow round 11-inch ovenproof dish with half of the slices of the whole wheat and white bread, breaking the bread as needed to fit. Top with half of the reserved cabbage and half of the Fontina, season with a pinch of salt, and repeat, making a second layer with the remaining bread, Fontina, and salt. Pour on the reserved broth, sprinkle with the cinnamon, and dot with the butter.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes for a moist consistency or 30 minutes for a golden crust. Serve hot.

Serves 4
Excerpted from Rustico by Micol Negrin
Copyright 2002 by Micol Negrin. Excerpted by permission of Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.