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slow food, wonderfully natural, and so easy to prepare!Apr 11, 2011
By albgardis Tausendschoen
"vegetarian witchy chef"
I have prepared these soups several times now, and I keep coming back to them. Being German, of course I grew up with these kinds of soups, we call them "one pots" (Eintoepfe), because all is being cooked in one single pot. On the first sight these umbrian legumes are similar, but then, the preparing tradition is a bit different, and in the end that makes the difference to the heavy german soups.
First of all, I loved the composition of the soups. You don't need to measure this amount of lentils and that amount of barley and another amount of dry peas. No, they are coming in a mix already, and all you need to do is: cut open the plastic bag, pour the dry contants into a big pot (calculate 3-4 times the size of the dry legumes!), pour a lot of water water over them and let them soak. (Not only cover the legumes with water, but add so much water to them that it stands high above them!)
The soaking times depends on the actual variety you are using. Beans will need several hours of soaking, while peas and lentils need only one or two hours. The zuppa rustica even claims it doesn't need any soaking at all, but I experienced a longer cooking time if you don't soak the ingredients ahead of time.
Once the legumes have soaked up the water, refill more water and start cooking the whole dish. Yes, right, you just move the same pot you have already been using for the soaking to the stove now. Start heating the soup on middle heat, not high temparatures! Because if you really boil them too fast and too much, the water will just boil away (evaporate) before the legumes are finished cooking. And if you don't pay attention, you might even find that they will burn onto your pot. You don't want that!
So you will start heating them gently and stir the whole dish regularly (once every 2 minutes). You can add broth if you want (I am doing that), you can also add carrotts and onions and garlic if you like. Anything that grew underneath the ground will fit in. Germans would add potatoes of course...
I am frying an onion in a separate small pan and add that with the oil to the cooking soup. Also I am adding some frozen carrotts to the mix once it is simmering and one sliced clove of garlic. Then the vegetarian broth.
Now you can also add sausages or meat to your soups, if you like that! I am adding vegetarian fake meat, of course, there are many products on the market that perform well for that purpose (Morningstar Farm Bacon, or Betty Crocker Bacos, or Ulmafit smoked Tofu, Field Roast Apple-Sage Sausage or Italian sausage or whatever you'd like...).
I have tried the soups with and without (fake) meat. I can't say which version I like more. I love both ways, they are like different meals either way.
In all cases I am adding a good olive oil to the dish AFTER it has been finished cooking. I am pouring it over the dish ON THE PLATE (not into the cooking pot), to get the best tasting result. It is absolutely crucial that you use a good oil (nothing from your local supermarket, nothing that says "pure olive oil" or so!).
I have a variety of outstanding oils at hand, as Gustiamo offers a great selection of really great (award-winning!!) oils from various italian lands, and whenever they have a sale, I am taking advantage of that! (Discounts!)
Germans would add butter to the finished dish, and they would eat that only in the cold months! These onepot soups were traditionally served when people had to survive winters without new foods available, they had to live on what they had harvested last year and what was now stored dry or smoked or in salt or pickled...
When you make these soups the italian way, they are actually alo great outside the winter! What a surpise to me! Replace the butter with a good oil, and the taste is so much lighter! So fresh! Add some fresh herbs, and you can make this even in the summer!
There is also a jar with Maida tomatos included, and oh, I love love love them! You can add some of them into the rustic soup, or invent your own soup recipe if you are creative. Or use the tomatos for a pasta sauce you will never forget!
All in all this is a wonderful selection of what Italy has to offer. A great gift for your vegetarian foodie friend!!!!! (As there is no meat in any of the included items) But also good for the cornivore cook, as the dishes can be enhanced easily with any meats or sausages. Slow food in its perfect shape!
The only thing that could be improved is the lack of english instructions. I understand basic italian food terms, and the 2 terms I didn't understand I was able to translate online. But I imagine there might be people who might not be able to do that. Especially inexperienced cooks who might not be familiar with these kind of soups, they might be overwhelmed by dry legumes without english instructions. A simple sticker with simple instructions could be attached or patched onto the plastic package, I would suggest... Other than that - this is perfect!!
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