There’s nothing like a piping hot bowl of soup during the fall to jumpstart those cozy holiday feelings. Though there are definitely a few soups that may take a little while to prepare if you’d like to go the fully authentic route, the end result is totally worth it. Let’s review five of the best Italian soups you can make at home this autumn.
Stracciatella
The first soup on our list is stracciatella, which technically refers to three different dishes depending on the content. Besides soup, stracciatella (which translates to little rags) can be either ice cream or cheese. The soup is made with a combination of broth, eggs, and parmesan. Hundreds of years ago in Rome, locals would purchase their meat in bulk in order to prepare a delicious and savory broth for Christmas. Since there would always be leftover broth, they had to figure out how to repurpose it in a delicious way. Thus, stracciatella was born, gaining its name from the texture and appearance of the beaten eggs in the soup.
Italian Wedding Soup
When you hear the phrase “Italian soup”, your mind almost immediately goes to Italian Wedding Soup. This dish, full of tasty greens, meatballs, and chicken broth, was conceived as a peasant dish called minestra maritata, which means “wedding broths”. Though you may have always thought this soup was served as a dish a weddings, the name actually refers to the wedded flavors and textures of green vegetables and meat. In this soup, you’ll likely find pasta such as ditalini and leafy greens like spinach, while the meatballs tend to consist of leaner meats like pork, chicken, or turkey.
Zuppa Toscana
This soup, otherwise known as minestra di pane, originates from Tuscany. It was created to prevent the waste of stale bread. Though the soup was largely made popular in the United States by Olive Garden, the real Tuscan version of this soup is made with primarily cannellini beans, kale, and potatoes, offering a protein-rich, nutrient-dense soup that is sure to keep you nice and toasty this fall. Different variations of this soup swap out the beans for bacon and Italian sausage, adding in a bit of garlic and cream to elevate the dish.
Ribollita
Another great soup that prevents bread waste is the Ribolitta, which is a soup that contains bread, cannellini beans, and an assortment of veggies. This soup can be classified as a porridge due to it’s carb-rich, thicker consistency. It was used as a meal that incorporates cheaper vegetables, which in the Middle Ages allowed servants to make hearty meals with what little they had.Though it tends to be regarded as a poverty meal, it can be a very delicious traditional Italian meal that poses as a great lunch should you have leftover ingredients you don’t want to go to waste.
Minestrone
Italians love a thick soup, and minestrone is a rich and hearty meal full of tomatoes, carrots, celery, onions, leafy greens, pasta, and vegetable stock. This meal is great for those who are vegetarians or may be trying to lower their meat consumption. The history of minestrone varies, but it is often attributed to the early days of the roman empire, when meat was scarce and vegetable-based meals were eaten of out necessity.
Visit Strega For a Meal to Remember!
Strega is the perfect place to gather for a warm autumnal family meal. We use the freshes igredeints to produce the most memorable dishes in Boston. Our renowned North End location is open for lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch. Make your reservation today!
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