Zuppa toscana soup instant pot

This shows grade level based on the word’s complexity. WILL YOU SAIL OR Zuppa toscana soup instant pot ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift. However, their respective names and characteristics reflect their markedly contrasting pedigrees. Minestra predates zuppa by a good few centuries. Derived from the Latin ministrare, meaning “to administer”, the word reflects the fact that minestra was served out from a central bowl or pot by the figure of authority in the household.

Minestra was traditionally the principal—and for the poor—the only course of the meal. Today, it is a blanket term referring to a first course of vegetables, legumes, pasta or rice cooked in a stock. Risotti and pasta dishes such as spaghetti alla vongole are sometimes referred to as minestre asciutte or “dry” minestre. Minestrone is only one of many minestra soups. Regional variations abound, but a minestrone must always include a “thickening vegetable” such as fresh or dried beans or other legumes, potatotes, pumpkin or squash.

It must also include pasta or rice. Zuppa refers to a broth which, with a few exceptions, has slices of bread in it but never rice or pasta. The Italian word – along with the French soupe, Portuguese and Spanish sopa and German suppe – derives from the Gothic suppa, meaning “soaked bread”. That slice of bread encapsulates the less salubrious origins of this soup.

In medieval times, the plates on the tables of the nobility took the form of trenchers of sliced bread. These “plates”, which ended up saturated with the juices of meats and other foods placed on them, were subsequently cooked by the servants, in water or stock, for their own meal. This is always made a day or two before being eaten to allow the flavours to meld. It stands up extremely well to reheating and is a great one to make in bulk for freezing. The Livornese cacciucco, a seafood soup spiked with generous amounts of garlic and tiny, dried red chillies. This feral form is available in markets in Europe but near impossible to find in shops in Australia.

I have occasionally seen small quantities of it at my greengrocer – imported from France and with an eye-watering price tag! Although the following recipe is a tame and non-traditional rendition of this classic Sicilian zuppa in that it uses cultivated asparagus, it’s still delicious. You must use gutsy, rustic, Italian-style bread, not the supermarket cotton-wool apologies for bread. The former will hold its structure and chewy texture despite the soaking.

The latter turns into soggy cotton wool—hardly an appetising proposition! The leftover, de-headed stems can be used in stir-fries or simmered for about half an hour with the stock for the soup to intensify the asparagus flavour. Strain the stems from the stock before using for the soup. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a deep, heavy casserole over moderate heat.

Add garlic and asparagus pieces and fry until they just start to colour. Add stock and bring the soup to the boil. Meanwhile, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan. Brush the bread slices with olive oil.

Fry them until golden brown on both sides. Drain fried bread on kitchen paper set on a rack. When the soup comes to the boil, beat the eggs together with the pecorino. Add egg mixture to the soup. Stir gently and allow the soup to simmer for a few minutes or until the egg mixture coagulates. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Place a slice or two of fried bread in each bowl and ladle the soup over.