Italy is very famous for its pasta dishes, yet there are myriads of vegetable soups and other cheap dishes no one knows about. Probably due to my peasant origins, I have always been more attracted to the comforting hug of a bowl of hot soup than the richness of a pastasciutta (pasta with tomato sauce). So, since I had some bread so stale that it was about to turn into a blunt instrument I could have used to inflict pain on my boss, I decided to prepare a soup. Like, a real soup.
Ancient Germanic tribes used the word suppa to refer to “bread soaked in a liquid”, and via the Longobards this passed into Late Latin, from which derived Italian zuppa, French soupe, English soup, and Spanish sopa. Still, bread soaked in some sort of liquid. It was the frugal cook’s trick to avoid throwing away hard bread, that’s why zuppa is so common throughout Italy, a predominantly rural – and poor – society until a few decades ago. In my recipe today bread is cooked in a stock made with a very ancient ingredient , rocket (a wild Mediterranean herb whose usage has been documented since Roman times), and – to balance – New World acquisition potato and tomato. I know from the pictures it looks horrible, but trust me if I say it tastes divine (especially if you like the piquant of rocket) [plus, if you want good-looking food there’s plenty of blogs of French cuisine and Japanese cuisine with extremely beautiful food presentation! :) ]
Bread soup with potatoes and rocket leaves (serves 2):
2 slices old bread, roughly torn
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 bunch rocket
1 l water (a very light vegetable stock is ok too)
a handful sun-dried tomatoes
2 Tbsp XV olive oil, plus extra to serve
2 cloves garlic, unpeeled and crushed (aglio in camicia)
1/8 tsp crushed red chili, plus extra to serve
salt to taste
Put the oil, garlic and chili pepper in a large pan over low heat. Add the potatoes and the rocket leaves roughly cut (you can add the stalks as well, they’ll give more character to the stock). Stir to coat everything in oil, and add the water or vegetable stock (in this case, use a very light one). Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 30 minutes; then add a handful of sun-dried tomatoes (cut or whole, that’s up to you) and salt to taste. Keep cooking for further 30 minutes, and add the stale bread (the older the better). Remove the lid, bring the heat to medium, and cook 10 more minutes uncovered. Remove the garlic cloves, let stand for a couple of minutes, then serve with a drizzle of XV olive oil and a bit of crushed red chili.
Buon appetito!
the soul kitchenette 