ONE OF THE OLDEST FORMS OF SOUP, panades are soups based on leftover stale bread, often toasted, which thickens the soup by absorbing its liquid. Panade comes from the Latin word for bread (panis). The related word, pap, as in the Pappa al Pomodoro in this chapter, comes from a Latin word for children’s food similar to porridge. Bread-based soups were a common peasant food because stale bread, often baked in large loaves in the village oven once a week, was too precious to throw away and could be used as a way to stretch small amounts of assorted vegetables, cheeses, meats, or other ingredients to make a soup that was filling enough to be served as a main dish, sometimes with an egg poached in the broth as in the Acquacotta Maremmana in this chapter.
Fresh, unwaxed rutabaga and celery root on the branch for Acquacotta Maremmana.
The broth could be made from meats, poultry, vegetables, or seafood in the case of bouillabaisse, cacciucco, and related seafood soups. More simply, the liquid could be water (as in Acquacotta), wine in France and southern Europe, beer in northern Europe, or raw vegetable juices (as in Golden Tomato Gazpacho with Smoked Paprika, page 138). Milk could also be used, often in a sweet cinnamon-scented soup—a more liquid form of bread pudding.
Bread soup is mentioned in a tenth-century Arab cookbook, Kitâb-al-tabîj. An old Arab bread soup, known as tarid, was made from crumbled bread, garlic, coriander, and water, a possible forbear of gazpacho. In Provence, soupe á l ‘ail (garlic soup), rich with eggs, exotic peppercorns, and generous amounts of olive oil all poured over toasted bread slices, was presented by a new wife to her husband in the hope that their lives would be equally rich and abundant.
Açorda, a Portuguese bread soup, legacy of centuries of Arab presence in the Iberian Peninsula, is most common in the south of the country where the Arab influence is strongest. Inland, açorda is made from pork meat and sausages, but on the seacoast, açorda is made from fish and shellfish.
Cacciucco alla Livornese, Spanish zarzuela, and many others (see chapter 3, “Fish and Seafood Soup/Stews”) are one-dish fish soups or stews made with whatever small bony fish and random shellfish the fishman or fishmonger had leftover at the end of the day and are served over toasted bread rubbed with garlic to sop up the juices. In Germany and Scandinavia, rye breads are used to make schwarzbrotsuppe (black bread soup) and Danish ollebrod (beer bread soup), which dates back to medieval times and still popular today as a morning-after hangover remedy. It is made from stale pumpernickel bread and dark beer simmered with honey, cinnamon, and lemon.
One must for bread soup is crusty bread, which will keep its shape when soaked in liquid; soft bread will just dissolve into a sticky paste. In Italy, ciabatta, focaccia, and other substantial, chewy breads are sliced, toasted, and placed in the bottom of the bowl with the soup ladled over top. Other bread soups are thickened with crumbled bread simmered until it breaks down (see Pappa al Pomodoro, page 81, and Green Gazpacho with Garlic, Grapes, and Almonds, page 140).
ZUPPA PAVESE
THIS QUICK AND NOURISHING peasant soup originated, according to legend, in 1525 when King Francis I of France was defeated by King Charles V of Spain at the Battle of Pavia. The king took refuge in a nearby farmhouse where the woman of the house was preparing soup. To make her humble soup fit for a king, she fried stale bread, placed it in a bowl, added two poached eggs, and ladled broth over top and finished it with a sprinkling of Grana Padano (the hard, grating cheese of the region). The soup pleased the king who asked for the recipe to be given to his servant. It is actually a traditional peasant soup long prepared in the region of Pavia in Lombardy with ingredients at hand, such as the Grana Padano cheese and either chicken, beef, or veal broth.
Makes about 3 1/2 quarts (3.5 L), serves 6
INGREDIENTS
6 thick slices (4 ounces, or 115 g) crusty, substantial French or Italian bread
1/4 cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil, or 4 tablespoons (70 g) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 pound (115 g) freshly grated Grana Padano cheese, divided
2 tablespoons (30 ml) white or cider vinegar
6 eggs
2 tablespoons (8 g) finely chopped Italian parsley
3 quarts (3 L) Beef Stock (page 8) or Roasted Chicken Broth (page 20)
Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4).
Brush the bread slices with olive oil or spread with butter. Arrange on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
1. Place a slice of bread in the bottom of each bowl and sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon (5 g) of cheese.
Meanwhile, bring a medium wide-mouthed pot of salted water to a rolling, vigorous boil. Add the vinegar, which helps to firm the eggs when poached. Crack one egg at a time into a small bowl or other container. This ensures that no shell pieces are added to the broth.
2. Pour the egg into the water. Repeat until you’ve added all the eggs to the boiling vinegared water.
Cook the eggs about 2 minutes or until the whites have set on the outside but the yolks are still quite liquid.
3. Use a slotted spoon to scoop the poached eggs from the water and transfer one at a time to the prepared bowls. Discard any raggedy edges from the eggs before adding to individual soup bowls. Sprinkle with parsley.
Meanwhile, in a medium pot, bring the Beef Stock or Roasted Chicken Broth to a boil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Sprinkle cheese on each egg.
5. Pour or ladle the boiling broth over the eggs. Serve with more cheese to sprinkle on at the table.
6. The egg should still be soft in the center and enriches the broth when broken.
SAVE FOR STOCK:
This is such a thrifty soup that no trimmings will be left for stock other than a few parsley stems.
FRENCH ONION SOUP
WHEN THE GREAT open Paris wholesale market of Les Halles was still open (it was demolished in 1971), hungry truckers and late-night revelers alike would head there in the early hours of the morning to get their bowl of burn-your-tongue-hot reviving onion soup topped with a croûte (toasted slice of French bread) under a blanket of broiled Gruyère cheese. One of the world’s best known soups today, French onion soup became a perennial on U.S. restaurant menus during the heyday of French cooking in America in the 1960s. Because few restaurants, especially chains, prepare their own rich, hearty beef stock, relying on additive-laden concentrated commercial beef base instead, your homemade soup will likely be far superior to any you’ve had in any but the best restaurants.
Makes about 1 gallon (4 L), serves 8 to 12
INGREDIENTS
1/4 pound (1 stick, or 115 g) unsalted butter
5 pounds (2.3 kg) (about 6 large) Spanish onions, sliced
2 tablespoons (26 g) sugar
2 bay leaves
3 sprigs fresh thyme, tied with kitchen string (see Appendix, page 153)
1/4 cup (1 ounce, or 31 g) all-purpose flour
1 cup (235 ml) dry red wine
1 gallon (4 L) Beef Stock (page 8)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons (45 ml) brandy
1 crusty baguette, sliced (stale bread preferred) and toasted until firm and brown
1/2 pound (225 g) Gruyère or Emmenthal cheese, grated or sliced
Melt the butter in a large pot with a wide bottom over medium heat.
1. Add the onions and stir to mix with the butter.
2. Stir in the sugar, which helps the onions brown.
3. Add the bay leaves and thyme; here we made a bouquet garni, tied it with kitchen string, and then tied it to the handle of the pot to make it easy to fish out.
4. Cook until the onions are very soft and evenly caramelized to a deep brown color, about 30 minutes, stirring often preferably with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to avoid scraping up any metal bits into the soup.
5. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium low so the flour doesn’t burn, and cook for 10 minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste.
6. Add the wine and stir to deglaze the browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
7. Add the Beef Stock and 1 quart (1 L) of water, bring the soup back to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes, or until the broth is smooth and slightly thick, stirring occasionally. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper and, just before serving, stir in the brandy.
8. When you’re ready to serve, preheat the broiler. Ladle soup into French-style lion-head soup bowls, or other heat-proof soup bowls. Top each portion with one to two toasted baguette slices.
9. Sprinkle generously with cheese, making sure to cover the toasts completely.
Arrange bowls on a metal tray and then place under the broiler for about 3 minutes, or until the cheese has browned and is bubbling. Or, arrange the toasted baguette slices on a baking sheet in a single layer, sprinkle with the Gruyère and broil until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Top each serving of soup with one or two cheese croûtes.
10. Serve the soup, which will be piping hot, so take care not to burn your mouth.
SOUPMAKER’S TIPS
If desired, for extra flavor, brush the bread slices with olive oil or beef drippings (the fat from a roast of beef) and then rub with a cut clove of garlic before toasting.
SAVE FOR STOCK:
Onion trimmings (outer layers of skin, tops, and tails)
FRENCH SOUPE DE POTIRON
(Red Pumpkin Soup)
THIS PANADE SOUP thickened with toasted sourdough bread makes a striking presentation if made from and baked and served right in a French “Cinderella pumpkin.” Known in French as rouge vif d’etamps, this giant, flattened, brilliant red pumpkin may be found in farmers’ markets in autumn and is the perfect size and shape for this traditional French dish. If not available, make the soup with a sugar pumpkin, also known as a pie pumpkin with its crooked neck and rough skin. Jack-o-lantern pumpkins are too stringy. An alternative is to make it from a speckled green and orange Spanish calabaza, commonly found in Latino markets or use a squat Korean ridged tan pumpkin. Vegetable stock may be substituted for the customary chicken stock, and the soup can be served for a vegetarian Thanksgiving meal. The soup does not freeze well.
Two squat French red pumpkins ready to stuff and bake for a bread-thickened (panade) soup.
Makes about 1 1/2 gallons (6 L), serves about 12
INGREDIENTS
6 ounces (167 g, or 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 pound (455 g) sourdough bread, thickly sliced
1 pound (455 g) leeks, trimmed of dark green portions, sliced and washed thoroughly (see Appendix, page 153)
1 tablespoon (2.5 g) chopped fresh sage leaves
1 teaspoon (3 g) freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large cooking pumpkin weighing about 10 pounds (4.5 kg)
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil
1/2 pound (225 g) gruyere or sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
6 cups (1.5 L) Chicken Stock (page 9) or Roasted Chicken Broth (page 20), simmering
1 cup crème fraiche, for garnish
Sprigs of sage, for garnish
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4).
1. In a large skillet, melt the butter and allow it to brown for nutty flavor, but do not allow the butter to burn.
2. Arrange the bread slices in a single layer on a baking tray. Brush both sides with about half the browned butter, reserving the remainder. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Reserve, leaving the oven on.
3. Add the leeks to the skillet containing the remaining brown butter. Cook the leeks over moderate heat, stirring often, until they are soft and tender, about 10 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat, season leeks with sage, fresh grated nutmeg as shown, salt and pepper, and reserve.
5. Place the pumpkin on a sturdy baking tray. Use a marker to draw dotted lines in a rough circle measuring about 6 inches (15 cm) from the center of the pumpkin.
6. Using the marker, join the dots together to draw a circle.
7. Using a serrated knife and working in an up and down sawing motion, create a lid by cutting through the ink circle.
8. Pull off the lid and reserve.
9. Use a large sturdy metal spoon to scoop out any seeds and strings from the pumpkin and from the bottom of the lid.
10. Rub the outside of the cleaned lid and ready-to-stuff pumpkin with the oil. Season the inside of the pumpkin with salt and pepper.
11. Make a layer of half the toasted bread inside the pumpkin.
12. Top with half the leeks.
13. Sprinkle with half the cheese. Repeat layering the bread, leeks, and cheese.
14. Pour in the stock so that the pumpkin is about two-thirds full—the pumpkin itself will give off a lot of liquid as it cooks. Fit the lid onto the pumpkin.
15. Bake until the pumpkin begins to soften and brown on the outside and the stock bubbles on the inside, about 11/2 hours. Pierce the side of the pumpkin near the top edge. The pumpkin should be tender but still firm enough to hold its shape. Bake 15 minutes longer if necessary.
16. Carefully remove the baking dish from the oven, remove the lid and set aside. Using a long-handled metal spoon, gently scrape the softened flesh away from the sides of the pumpkin and into the soup, taking care not to pierce the skin.
17. Serve the soup including a portion of the pumpkin flesh in large bowls, top each portion with a dollop of crème fraiche, and garnish with a sprig of sage.
SOUPMAKER’S TIPS
* Place the pumpkin on a paella pan, a deep-dish pizza pan, a large ceramic quiche pan, or a large cast iron skillet for baking.
* If the pumpkin does collapse, use a baster to sop up the excess liquid from the pan and transfer to a pot or a large measure. Bring the liquid to a boil. Serve the soup in bowls and pour a portion of the hot liquid over top.
SAVE FOR STOCK:
Bread ends (use to thicken soup or to make breadcrumbs), leek trimmings, inner pumpkin scrapings, pumpkin seeds (dry, salt, and roast for a delicious, healthy snack)
PAPPA AL POMODORO
THIS THRIFTY TUSCAN home cook’s soup depends on the juiciest, ripest fresh tomatoes, preferably tasty heirloom varieties, and the best fruity green extra virgin olive oil. It is even better made a day ahead and reheated or it may be served cool—not ice cold, which would deaden its delicate flavor. Like other dishes of la cucina povera (Italy’s cuisine of the poor), pappa al pomodoro has become a fashionable restaurant dish. In summertime, some cooks layer sliced bread, olive oil, chopped garlic, chopped basil, diced tomato, and salt and pepper, and soak it in water or broth for a cold summer soup-salad that is a second cousin to Golden Tomato Gazpacho with Smoked Paprika (page 138). The soup is vegan (and vegetarian) if made with vegetable stock.
Makes about 1 gallon (4 L), serves 8 to 12
INGREDIENTS
2 medium onions, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
6 tablespoons (89 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
4 pounds (1.8 kg) ripe beefsteak tomatoes, cored and coarsely chopped and/or canned ripe tomatoes
4 to 6 sprigs fresh basil, tied in a bundle with kitchen string
3 quarts (3 L) Vegetable or Chicken Stock (page 14 or 9)
1 loaf (1 1/2 pounds, or 680 g) stale hearty Italian bread, crusts removed and diced
Salt (preferably sea salt) and freshly ground black pepper
Basil chiffonade (see Appendix, page 150) and extra-virgin olive oil, for garnish
1. In a large soup pot, sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil until softened but not browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the chopped fresh tomatoes, if using, and the basil sprigs, bring to a boil, and cook over medium heat until softened, about 15 minutes.
2. Add the Stock and canned tomatoes (if using) and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat and simmer until the soup is thick, about 20 minutes. Remove and discard the basil sprigs.
4. Add the bread cubes and stir to combine. Simmer 20 minutes longer or until the bread is quite soft. Season soup generously with salt and pepper.
5. Pour soup into individual serving bowls, sprinkle in the fresh basil Chiffonade and drizzle generously with best quality extra-virgin olive oil just before serving.
SAVE FOR STOCK:
Onion, garlic, and tomato trimmings, basil stems, save extra bread to make croutons or cut into small bits and process in the food processor to make homemade breadcrumbs.
ACQUACOTTA MAREMMANA
ACQUACOTTA, OR “COOKED WATER,” a specialty of the Tuscan Maremma, was prepared and eaten in the field as a one-pot meal by the region’s shepherds and horseback cattlemen. Greens such as chard and Tuscan kale are essential. Seasonal vegetables such as zucca (hard pumpkin-like squash), garden peas, zucchini and yellow crookneck squash, fennel bulb, broccoli Romanesco, chard stems, and green beans are cut into bite-size pieces and mixed with shelled fresh cranberry, borlotti beans, and/or fava beans. In Italy’s weekly town and city markets, each produce vendor sells his or her own mixture of cut-up vegetables, so it’s easy to make this nourishing vegetarian soup. Each portion includes a poached egg. Some cooks prefer to beat the eggs with grated pecorino (sheep’s milk) cheese and pour it into the soup while stirring to make raggedy shreds.
Makes about 1 gallon (4 L), serves 8 to 12
INGREDIENTS
1 cup (235 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 ribs celery, trimmed and sliced
2 carrots, trimmed and diced
2 medium onions, trimmed and diced
1 small head fennel, trimmed and diced
1 small whole hot dried red chile pepper
About 2 pounds (900 g) diced mixed firm seasonal vegetables, such as zucchini, yellow squash, butternut squash, eggplant, green beans, celery root, turnip, parsnip, and rutabagas—the more kinds, the better the soup
1 bunch chard greens or Tuscan kale, stems removed, washed and cut into thin strips, and/or 1/4 savoy cabbage, cored, shredded, and cut into short lengths (see “Cutting Cabbage into Shreds,” page 85)
Stems from 1 bunch chard, thinly sliced (preferably ruby chard)
1 pound (455 g) ripe round tomatoes, diced (don’t bother skinning unless you’re using thick-skinned plum tomatoes)
3 quarts (3 L) boiling water
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, optional
1 loaf crusty Italian bread, sliced about 3/4-inch (1.5 cm) thick on the bias
8 to 12 large extra-fresh eggs, preferably thicker-shelled brown-shell eggs
1/4 pound (115 g) grated pecorino cheese, preferably milder Pecorino Toscano
1. Place half the olive oil and the celery, carrots, onions, fennel, and hot pepper in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot. Cook together until crisp tender, about 5 minutes; then, add the mixed vegetables. Bring back to boil and cook 5 minutes or until crisp tender.
2. Add the greens and ruby-chard stems and stir to combine. Bring back to a boil and cook over medium heat until the greens are soft, stirring once or twice.
3. Add the tomatoes and cook together until the vegetables are mostly tender, about 20 minutes.
4. Add the boiling water and simmer 15 minutes longer or until the vegetables are quite tender, adding more water as needed to make a chunky soup with a moderate amount of broth and skimming as needed. Add salt and pepper to taste, if desired.
Meanwhile, toast the bread slices until golden. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil.
5. Just before serving, crack open the eggs one at a time into the boiling soup. Allow the eggs to poach in the soup until the whites are set but the yolks are still liquid, 3 to 4 minutes, ladling boiling soup over top to cook the whites evenly.
6. To serve soup, place one or two slices of toasted bread in the bottom of individual large soup bowls. Using a slotted spoon, scoop out the poached eggs and place one on top of the bread in each bowl (don’t worry about white shreds of eggs, which will remain in the soup).
7. Ladle the soup broth and vegetables over the eggs and then sprinkle each portion with cheese and serve.
SOUPMAKER’S TIPS
If serving only a part of the soup, poach only enough eggs to serve one per portion as the eggs should be poached with a liquid center, not hard cooked.
SAVE FOR STOCK:
Celery trimmings, carrot tops and tails, onion trimmings, chard stems, tomato cores, zucchini tops, yellow squash tops, eggplant trimmings, fennel (tough outer layers, trimmings, larger stalks), green beans ends, and celery root parings.
Cutting Cabbage into Shreds
Here we use a mild, curly-leaf Savoy cabbage, preferred in Italy where it is known as verza. Choose a head with bright, crisp, dark green outer leaves. As the cabbage ages, produce workers will pull off the outer leaves—a head with only lighter green leaves on the outside has been on the shelves too long.
1. Place the cabbage on the work surface holding it steady with your nondominant hand. Using a sharp chef’s knife, cut the cabbage in half.
2. Lay one half of the cabbage with its flat side down and the root end away from your body. Slice in half again.
3. Place one cabbage quarter on the work surface with a flat side down and the root end toward your body. Slice away the core, angling the cut down away from the root end.
4. Use the tip of your knife to cut away any remaining core section. Discard the core, which is too strong-tasting for stock, unless you’re making cabbage soup.
5. Lay the cored quarter down and cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) slices, keeping the slices together.
6. Turn the sliced quarter 90 degrees and cut into thin shreds, about 1/3-inch (1 cm) thick.
7. Repeat until you’ve cored, sliced, and shredded all the cabbage quarters.
