Minestra Maritata or Italian Wedding Soup
From rescue_ranger 15 years ago
- 210 minutes to make
- Serves 6
During the autumn and winter months I usually get several emails requesting the recipe for an Italian wedding soup. Tuscans don't serve a specific soup at weddings, so I was curious as to the origin of the soup. Read more Until I found a discussion of minestra maritata in Jeannne Caròla Francesconi's La Cucina Napoletana and realized the dish has nothing to do with the happy day -- wedding soup is a mis-translation. To say two things go well together in Italian, one can say si sposono bene (they're well married) -- or, more to the south, that they're maritati, i.e. married. The combination of greens and meat in a clear broth certainly does work well and deserves to be called maritata -- no wedding involved. According to Ms. Francesconi, the dish is extremely old, falling into a group of meat-and-vegetable soups that are common throughout Europe, and may have a Roman origin. In any case, it was the standard Neapolitan fare before the introduction of pasta, so much so that people from other regions used to call Neapolitans "leaf-eaters"(mangiafoglie). Alas, minestra maritata's popularity is now waning among Neapolitans: Since it was designed to be a fulfilling single-course meal (and would likely have been the only meal of the day for many people a century ago) it is rib-sticking. Too rib-sticking for modern diners, who generally follow their soup with a second course, and are also much more conscious of fats than their ancestors were. As is the case with all traditional recipes, there are an infinite number of variations to minestra maritata. The important thing is that it contains meat and greens; within these restrictions feel free to vary the recipe to suit your tastes and what's available in your local market. A note on the meats: Ms. Francesconi says that those used traditionally are now difficult to find even in Naples, so I have substituted to our modern times. See less
Ingredients
- The Greens shopping list
- 1 pound broccoli rabe shopping list
- 3/4 pound broccoli florets shopping list
- 2 pounds chicory or escarole shopping list
- 1 pound green cabbage shopping list
- 1 pound torzelle (another kind of broccoli; you could also substitute something along the lines of collard greens) shopping list
- Aromatic herbs such as thyme or basil, to taste shopping list
- The Meats shopping list
- A prosciutto bone, if you like, with some meat attached shopping list
- 1/2 pound prosciutto rind -- if you cannot find this, use a quarter pound of fresh side pork (the cut used to make bacon). Do not substitute pork rinds or bacon, which have spices that will throw off the seasoning shopping list
- 1/2 pound Italian salami -- any kind of Italian salami, including cotechino shopping list
- 3/4 pound pork loin shopping list
- 3 fresh Italian sausages (mild) shopping list
- 1/3 pound cured lard, diced (get this from your delicatessen) shopping list
- 1/4 pound well-seasoned caciocavallo (a Southern cheese) shopping list
- 1/4 pound parmigiano, grated (or pecorino romano, if need be) shopping list
- A bouquet garnis consisting of a rib of celery, a peeled carrot and several sprigs parsley, tied with a string shopping list
- Half a red pepper (spicy) or more to taste (don't go overboard) shopping list
How to make it
- 1) Wash the meat and put it in a pot with the herbs. Cover the meat to a depth of about 2 inches with water and set the pot on the stove; simmer for about two and a half hours. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and pick it apart (if the meat on the prosciutto bone is still tough boil it some more). Transfer the pulled meat to another pot, and add to it a ladle or two of broth; check seasoning, adding more salt if necessary, cover the pot and set it aside.
- 2) Let the broth in the stock pot cool and skim the fat that rises to the surface. Then return the pot to the fire.
- 3) In the meantime, wash the greens well, coarsely shred them, and blanch them in a little bit of lightly salted water (dump them into the pot, cover it, wait for the water to return to a boil, and drain the vegetables into a colander). Squeeze out as much water as you can (it will be quite bitter because of the broccoli rabe).
- 4) Crumble the caciocavallo. Stir it into the stock, together with the drained vegetables and the hot pepper. Simmer for about a half hour, and check seasoning, adding salt if necessary. Reheat the pulled meat; you can either stir it into the soup in the kitchen, or serve it in a second bowl, allowing your diners to add as much as they want to their soup bowls. Serve the grated Parmigiano on the side.
People Who Like This Dish 4
- halfonit Manchester, NH
- momo_55grandma Mountianview, AR
- morninlite Kalamazoo, MI
- linspj New Hartford, NY
- rescue_ranger New Baltimore, VA
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The Rating
Reviewed by 3 people-
superb recipe high5 great post thanks
momo_55grandma
in Mountianview loved it
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Hi Ranger. I have posted my husband's recipe for Italian wedding soup. As you said, it is the uniting or melding of flavors, vegetables and meat. Yours is different than ours and quite interesting. I have bookmarked it to give it a try. Happy we...more
linspj
in New Hartford loved it
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This is my absolute favorite soup! Thanks for the story and the recipe!
morninlite
in Kalamazoo loved it
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