ONLY POOR PEOPLE EAT SOUP (and ZUPPA DI PESCE e VERDURA – Fish and Vegetable Soup)

I have a Brazilian friend who once said to me that: Soup is for poor people. I must have looked stunned so he repeated it in a different way:

Only poor people eat soup.

Especially because I come from an Italian background, I do understand what he is saying. Cucina Povera (poor cooking) is the Italian term for Peasant Cookery.

Soups were the poor dishes of the peasant tradition made from available and inexpensive ingredients. In the kitchen, nothing is thrown away is what we are also adhering to today. And soups have definitely made a comeback.

Poor people did eat soup because they may have not been able to afford to eat anything else or did not have access to other ingredients. Soups were made with what was once considered the poorest of ingredients – Fare qualcosa fuori di niente – Making something out of nothing.

The stock of supplies varied according to climate and conditions.

The fact that every crop is of short duration promotes a spirit of making the best of it while it lasts and conserving a part of it for future use.

Honey from a Weed, Patience Gray.

The contadini (peasants on the land) may have slaughtered and sold their meat but the bits that had no value and couldn’t be sold may have been added to what other ingredients went into the soup: seasonal vegetables from the garden, wild herbs, or once again, other produc no one wanted to buy: grains and pulses, where possible, were added and these were very nutritious.

There are many soups that have old bread added for sustenance and as a thickener and also as a way to follow the motto: In the kitchen, nothing is thrown away. And in these soups, not just bread, but leftovers also contributed to the good flavours. The Tuscan soup Ribollita (re-boiled) is a good example.

There are also many regional recipes for fish soups from the coastal areas of Italy. These were made from what was usually superfluous or discarded fish. Many of the famous Italian fish soups come from peasant stock – both because they originated as peasant cuisine and because fish was simmered to make stock. The transaction may also have been through barter or exchange. Whatever else was available was added. These simple soups were the forebears of the various regional Zuppe di Pesce, now made with expensive fish, but not always.

The limitations imposed by a single pot, a single heat source, local produce, and little or no access to imports are all characteristic of peasant cooking and give it a particular identity.

European Peasant Cooking, Elisabeth Laud

Practical rather than economic factors may also have contributed to what and how food was cooked – the number and size of pots and the heat source were likely to be very limited.

In Italy, Peasant Cooking of course, was not just soup and one could wax lyrical at length on about Italian regional pasta, polenta, rice dishes, and even produce made with chestnut flour or potatoes as food to feed the poor.

I grew up in a household that supped on many a Zuppe and Ministre. Maybe my Brazilian friend did not. Soup is a very significant part of Italian cuisine.There was no stigma attached.

You may have wondered why Italians use the word Zuppa…as in Zuppa di Pesce.. and Minestra… as in Minestra di verdure (vegetable soup).

A zuppa is a soup or broth that is served over slices of bread to soak up (inzuppare) the liquid. Sometimes toast or croutons are floated on the surface.

The Oxford Companion of Italian food, Gillian Riley.

Gillian Riley doesn’t really give an explanation for Minestra, but other sources say that a Zuppa never has rice or pasta. This implies that a Minestra does. Pureed vegetable soups are also classed as a Zuppa.

The Minestra, therefore, could imply “a thicker soup” with rice or pasta … or polenta or some other cereal as a thickener.

 And something that may confuse you even further: A Minestrone is a big soup, a hearty one, and implied by the ending one, and if you see the word Minestrina, the ina implies little soup, a light one. Usually a Minestrina is fed to babies or young children, or sick people. It is never heavy.

I consulted a number of resources and this book: Grande Enciclopedia Illustrata della Gostronamia. It is written in Italian and therefore it is probably not surprising that it has more clarification about Zuppa and Minestra.

About Zuppa

According to many scholars, the term Zuppa derives from the Celtic and means “slice of bread

It goes on to say that since the Middle Ages they have been seen as a food of the people, because they do not contain meat. Indeed, the nobles often replaced the dishes with large slices of bread on which they placed the accompaniment. The leftovers of the loaves were given to the servants who put them to cook in pots with vegetables and cereals.

About Minestra

Derived from the Latin ministrare, meaning “to administer”, the word perhaps reflects the fact that Minestra was served out from a central bowl or pot by the figure of authority in the household.

I like this quote from this book; it is what I think:

Ma benché sia così radicata nella tradizione italiana oggi non è affatto semplice definire che cosa sia esattamente una minestra.

‘But although it (minestra and zuppa) are so rooted in the Italian tradition, today it is not at all easy to define what exactly a soup is’.

And there is so much more to discuss like broth and wet pasta dishes that are neither soup or Pasta Asciutta – dry pasta dishes. There is  Pappa as in Pappa al Pomodoro that is a pureed tomato soup thickened with bread! Pappa means Pap.

I love the Italian language!

ZUPPA DI PESCE e VERDURA (Fish and Vegetable Soup)

Because of my Italian background, if I say ‘fish soup’ I usually think of recipes like those from countries around the Mediterranean like Zuppa di Pesce (Italy), Zarzuela (Spain), Bouillabaisse (France), Kakavia (Greece) or maybe Aljotta (Malta). Some soups are served with bread, others with croutons, some add extra flavour by adding a soffritto, rouille or aioli – which all have garlic as the essential ingredient. There are many local variations to the recipes in each of these countries and the names may differ, but all these soups are really like chunky fish stews.

This fish soup recipe is very different to those. It is made with a variety of vegetables and it could be made in any region of Italy. I like to eat it as a thick soup, packed with vegetables and little fish, but some may prefer it with more broth, less vegetables and more fish.

There is no reason why you could not vary the range of vegetables, for example in spring add some seasonal vegetables – use some asparagus, peas and fresh green beans.

I have used only one fish, a wild caught Victorian rock flathead. This is one of the least expensive, sustainable and great tasting. By using a whole fish you eliminate adding fish stock. Select local sustainable fish – Snapper, Silver Perch, Silver Trevally. Ask your fishmonger.

To make fish stock and cook the fish, cover the whole fish with cold water (5-6 cups to make soup for 6 people), add a little salt, a stalk of celery, a carrot, a small onion and a bay leaf – I leave all of these whole. Bring to the boil and poach until the fish is cooked. Drain the broth, remove the flesh from the fish (keep it in large pieces); keep the broth and the fish and discard the vegetables and the bones.

Alternatively, use a good quality fish stock and fresh, fish fillets (select a non-oily, fleshy fish).

INGREDIENTS

1 whole fish and vegetables: make fish stock as above

 ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil

1 clove of garlic

2 spring onions

2 zucchini

1 carrot

1 celery heart

1 potato

4 outside leaves of lettuce (iceberg, butter or romaine)

1 tomato or 1 tablespoon of tomato paste

½ cup of chopped parsley

salt and 1 chopped, fresh chilli or freshly ground black pepper to taste

PROCESSES

Slice or cube all vegetables into small pieces.

Heat the oil in a saucepan (large enough to hold all of the ingredients) and sauté the vegetables except for the tomato (or paste). Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly.

Add fish stock, seasoning and tomato. Cover and cook until the vegetables are soft and to your liking.

Add the cooked pieces of fish, heat through and serve.

If using uncooked fish fillets, cut them into manageable pieces, add these to the hot soup, cover and cook the fish to your liking.

FISH BRAISE WITH TOMATOES, GARLIC, RED CHILLIES AND ANCHOVIES

Left over braises make excellent pies.

Over many years I have cooked with one of my friends who now lives in Queensland. I help her cook, she helps me, and we respect each other’s taste in food and manner of working in the kitchen. We can chose to work together or ignore each other completely and do our own thing, but together over the many years we have prepared some excellent meals

Recently I spent time with her in Queensland and this fish braise was her idea – she thought it had Sicilian flavours, and it does. I thought that she was using far too much garlic and too many chillies in her recipe for it to be Sicilian, but she carried on regardless. I have to admit that the resulting fish braise tasted great; the flavours melded into a mild, sweet flavoured sauce with subtle tastes. We ended up with a thick fish soup (Zuppa Di Pesce) and ate it with bread .

Ingredients for each pie

I complemented her dish with some roasted peppers – they are in season in Queensland and I was able to purchase red, yellow and green peppers. These complimented the fish braise very well.

Both of us always cook too much food (just in case people are hungry), but also because we can both use leftovers creatively and needless to say we had fish braise and peppers left over, hence individual pies for the next day – these were my idea.

Some people hate anchovies; omit them all together, or use white anchovies if you prefer a milder taste (called boquerones).

For the fish braise:

INGREDIENTS
1k fillets of firm white-fleshed fish (we used Flathead)
10-12 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
8-10 long, red chillies (remove the seeds), sliced finely
salt and pepper to taste
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
800g red tomatoes, peeled and chopped into small pieces (or use tinned)
4- 6 anchovies chopped finely,
¾ cup of chopped parsley, fresh oregano and basil.
PROCESSES
Cut fish fillets into serving size pieces, rub with a little salt and pan-fry them in a in a large frying pan with a little of the oil. Remove them and set aside.
Heat the rest of the oil and over medium heat sauté the garlic and chilli until the garlic begins to soften – leave some of the seeds in the chillies if you like hot food.
Stir in chopped anchovies until they dissolve.
Add the wine and evaporate for 2-3 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, herbs and a little salt and cook the sauce until it is reduced. (Remember that the anchovies will be salty).
Add the fish pieces and gently press them into the sauce. Ensure that the sauce covers them, and heat through.
Check that the fish is cooked to your liking.
Spoon the fish braise onto plates and serve with some crusty bread.
Use the left over fish to make pies. We also included a layer of roasted peppers on top of the fish before topping with the pastry.
For the pastry:
INGREDIENTS
250g plain flour, 120g cold butter cut into small cubes, 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil, 1-2 tbs cold water, a little salt.
PROCESSES
Put flour and salt into a bowl, add butter and oil and rub it into the flour until it resembles bread-crumbs. Alternatively use a food processor.
Add just enough cold water to bind the dough together – use the blade of a knife to do this.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 10-15 minutes before rolling out and cutting it into the shapes that will cover the pies.
 
Spoon cold fish braise into oven-proof bowls (we made 4 individual pies). Do not include too much of the braising liquid – see photo above.
Top with strips of roasted peppers (optional).
Cover with pastry.
Bake in preheated oven, 200C until golden (15-25 minutes), then cool pies on a wire rack.
 

We accompanied the pie with this salad.

MA2SBAE8REVW

RICH FISH SOUP FROM SYRACUSE COOKED IN THE OVEN

Review of Sicilian Seafood Cooking from PSnews by Christine Salins:
http://www.psnews.com.au/dinepsn325.html

A Sicilian-born Australian cook creates a deliciously hearty winter soup, writes Christine Salins

Seafood feast by Christine Salins

I’ve only just discovered Marisa Raniolo Wilkins’ blog, All Things Sicilian and More, but I’ve had great fun reading about her passion for food, especially the cuisine of Sicily, the island of her birth.
Marisa spent her early childhood in Trieste before moving to Australia with her Sicilian parents, but clearly the childhood memories have never left her.
She is, by all accounts, a generous home cook who is passionate not only about using fresh produce but also about sharing her knowledge of food and its traditions.

Food photography Graeme Gillies, stylist Fiona Rigg

 

Sicilian Seafood Cooking by Marisa Raniolo Wilkins.

Her mother’s surname was Leone, or lion, and there’s a Sicilian proverb that, loosely translated, says “every dog feels like a lion in his own house”.
Marisa describes herself as a lion in control of her own kitchen and she is certainly a fierce advocate of Sicilian cuisine and culture.
So much so that she has now produced a beautiful book, Sicilian Seafood Cooking (New Holland, $45) celebrating the great diversity of Sicilian food and the role that seafood plays in both Sicilian cooking and its economy.
Not only does she draw on her own personal recollections and family traditions, she also takes readers on an historical journey, showing how the cuisine has been shaped by Greek, French, Arab and Spanish influences.
She canvases some of the issues around the sustainability of seafood, and there are some wonderfully evocative illustrations of dishes and Sicilian scenes.
But it’s the recipes, along with the huge number of immensely knowledgeable tips and suggestions, that are the real star, and if you love seafood, you’ll be delighted as I am to join in her culinary journey.
The following recipe reproduced from her book is a deliciously hearty soup for winter. Zuppa di pesce from Syracuse is reputed to be the best in Sicily. Here it is
baked, leaving the fish undisturbed so it does not break up.
You need large chunks of boneless fish – either buy a whole fish, fillet it
yourself and use the heads and bones for the stock, or make the stock from fish carcasses.

Rich Fish Soup from Syracuse Cooked in the Oven

  2kg mixed seafood
 1 cup dry white wine
 2 cups fish stock
 500g tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
 ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
 2–3 celery hearts (pale green stalks and leaves), chopped
 3–4 bay leaves
 10 cloves garlic, finely chopped
 2 tablespoons finely cut flat-leaf parsley
 Fronds for fennel, finely cut
 1 tablespoon fennel seeds, crushed
 Zest of 1 orange, peeled thinly and cut into large pieces
 Salt and freshly ground pepper
Cut the boneless fish into chunks.
Clean shellfish, molluscs and squid and cut the squid into mouth-sized pieces.
Arrange the fish in an ovenproof pan that will fit all the ingredients.
Add the wine and cover the fish with the strained stock. Add all the other
ingredients. Cover the pan (use foil if you do not have a lid) and place in a
200°C oven for 30 minutes.
Serve with oven-toasted bread.
 

To find out more about Christine Salins click here.

MA2SBAE8REVW

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