Traditional Ossola Soup
A mountain soup rich in vegetables and legumes, inspired by the tradition of the Val d’Ossola: leeks, cabbage, Savoy cabbage, turnips, potatoes, Swiss chard and beans, slowly cooked.
Ingredients
For 6 personeFor the soup
To finish
Before you start
Method
Prepare the vegetables
Wash and cut the leeks, Savoy cabbage, cabbage, turnips, potatoes and Swiss chard into even-sized pieces.
Start cooking
Place the beans and firmer vegetables in a pot, cover with cold water and slowly bring to the boil.
Cook slowly
Add the Savoy cabbage, cabbage and Swiss chard, then continue cooking over a low heat until the legumes and vegetables are tender.
Add water if necessary.
Rest
Turn off the heat, adjust the salt and leave to rest for a few minutes.
Serve
Serve the soup piping hot, optionally with a drizzle of uncooked oil.
Traditionally, Ossola soups were simple, hearty dishes of peasant cuisine.
Good to know
Tips
Cut the vegetables into similarly sized pieces and cook slowly. The final resting time helps the flavours blend.
Variations
In spring, you can add wild herbs or wild asparagus; when in season, pumpkin and courgettes can also be added. The historical composition varied according to what the kitchen garden and fields had to offer.
Storage
Store in the refrigerator for 2 days. Like many vegetable soups, it is often even more flavoursome the following day.
Behind this recipe
VisitOssola recalls a rich tradition of soups based in winter on leeks, cabbage and Savoy cabbage, together with turnips, potatoes and wild herbs. In late spring, Ossola minestrone was also enriched with wild asparagus, onions, pumpkin, courgettes, fennel, Swiss chard and beans.
