THE’fall in Italy it is a magical and romantic season. As the sunlight becomes lighter, the landscape is tinged with warm colors, the leaves of the trees turn orange, red and gold. The weather is getting cooler and every now and then the rain appears. People spend time more willingly within the walls of a home and cuisine and palates also change accordingly. They prefer each other hot foods and comforting capable of warming stomachs and hearts.
Among the most loved dishes of this period there are certainly the soupswhich combine seasonal ingredients and centuries-old culinary traditions, which vary from region to region of the Bel Paese. Here is a journey through the most typical and tasty autumn soups of the Italian tradition.
Beloved and widespread in Tuscany and beyond, the spelled and legume soup it is a rustic and nutritious dish. Spelled, an ancient cereal used since Roman times, goes perfectly with legumes such as beans, chickpeas and lentils. This soup is enriched with seasonal vegetables such as carrots, celery and onions, and flavored with aromatic herbs such as rosemary and sage. It is a dish that tells the story of peasant cuisine, simple, rustic but rich in flavour.
Always from the villages and hills of Etruria comes the boileda soup that has its roots in popular tradition. The name “ribollita” means that it must be boiled several times, since this soup was prepared in large quantities and then reheated in the following days. The main ingredients are black cabbage, cannellini beans, stale bread and vegetables such as carrots, potatoes and onions. An anti-waste recipe, a symbol of bygone eras in which nothing was thrown away, not even dry bread. Ribollita is a substantial and satisfying dish, perfect for cold autumn evenings.
Throughout Italy we then find the minestroneis a soup that varies from region to region, from country to country, but which finds its maximum expression in autumn thanks to the richness of seasonal vegetables. Pumpkin, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, courgettes and beans are just some of the ingredients that make up this dish. The minestrone can be enriched with pasta or rice, and flavored with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of parmesan, parmesan or pecorino.
Between the Mantua and Emilian plains pumpkin soup it is an autumn classic, loved for its sweet flavor and velvety texture. The pumpkin is cooked together with potatoes, onions and vegetable broth, and then blended until a smooth cream is obtained. This soup can be enriched with spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon, and served with toasted bread. It is a dish that celebrates the true queen of the autumn season, the protagonist of an infinite number of recipes and dishes.
There onion soup it is a dish that has its origins in France, but which has also become very popular in Italy. The onions are slowly caramelized until sweet and soft, then cooked in meat broth and served with croutons and gratin cheese. It is a rich and tasty soup, ideal to enjoy on a cold and rainy evening in October or November
There chestnut soup it is a specialty of the mountain and hilly regions, especially the Apennines, where chestnuts are a fundamental ingredient of autumn cuisine. The chestnuts are cooked together with potatoes, leeks and broth, creating a creamy soup with a unique flavor. This dish is often enriched with bacon or sausage, which add a smoky and tasty note, transforming it into a very substantial single dish.
Other undisputed protagonists of this period are mushrooms and cooking them in a soup is a delicious way to enjoy them. Porcini mushrooms, honey mushrooms and chanterelles are cooked together with potatoes, onions and broth, creating a rich and aromatic soup. This soup can be served with a grating of truffle for an explosion of flavour.
There cabbage soup it is a typical dish of the regions of northern Italy, such as Lombardy and Piedmont. The cabbage is cooked together with potatoes, carrots and beans, and flavored with bacon or lard. It often accompanies sausages and pork ribs. A traditional dish certainly among the most loved.
In the mountains of Carnia in Friuli, not far from the Austrian borders, grandmothers prepare the so-called jota combining sauerkraut, beans and potatoes. This dish has Central European origins and represents a mix of flavors that make it special.
Other very particular soups with very ancient origins are undoubtedly there crap of Matera and the Calabrian Licurdia. The first is a legume and cereal soup with a thousand-year history while the second is a dish based on onions and potatoes which is served piping hot and reinforced with plenty of chilli pepper, certainly capable of warming anyone up.
We conclude this little journey to discover the flavors of autumn with an exquisite and famous dish from the culinary tradition of Naples, the minestra “married“. A very rich soup where vegetables and meat are “married”, they combine perfectly with each other, to give life to a symbolic dish of the Christmas holidays.
The journey could continue for a long time but we would never stop talking about it, because our traditional soups and broths are countless, even though they are just a chapter of our extraordinary Italian cuisine.