Cook the Book: Italian Bread and Cabbage Soup with Sage Butter
Don't be fooled by this recipe's austere title. There's nothing austere about the crisped pancetta, grated fontina or globs of sage butter that take today's Cook the Book dish from subsistence to celebratory.
Jamie Oliver's Italian bread and cabbage soup is a glorious way to use Savoy cabbage at peak season. What could be more warming on a cold winter's night? Make a few extra pieces of melted fontina on toast, and it's a complete, nearly meatless meal.
Italian Bread and Cabbage Soup with Sage Butter
- serves 8 -
Adapted from Jamie at Home by Jamie Oliver
Ingredients:
3 quarts good-quality chicken or vegetable stock
1 Savoy cabbage, stalks removed, outer leaves separated, washed and roughly chopped
2 big handfuls of kale, stalks removed, leaves washed and roughly chopped
About 16 slices of stale country-style or sourdough bread
1 clove of garlic, unpeeled, cut in half
Olive oil
12-14 slices of pancetta or bacon
1 4-ounce can anchovy fillets in oil
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves picked
7 ounces fontina cheese, grated
5 ounces freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus a little for serving
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
A couple of large knobs of butter
A small bunch of fresh sage, leaves picked
Procedure:
1. Preheat your oven to 350F. Bring the stock to the boil in a large saucepan and add the cabbage and kale. Cook for a few minutes until softened (you may have to do this in two batches). Remove the cabbage to a large bowl, leaving the stock in the pan.
2. Toast all but 5 of the bread slices on a hot griddle pan or in a toaster, then rub them on one side with the garlic halves and put to one side. Next, heat a large 4-inch-deep ovenproof casserole-type pan on the stove top, pour in a couple of glugs of olive oil and add your pancetta and anchovies. When the pancetta's golden brown and sizzling, add the rosemary and cooked cabbage and toss to coat the greens in all the lovely flavors. Put the mixture and all the juices back into the large bowl.
3. Place 4 of the toasted slices in the casserole-type pan, in one layer. Spread over one third of the cabbage leaves, sprinle over a quarter of the grated fontina and Parmesan and add a drizzle of olive oil. Repeat this twice, but don't stress if your pan's only big enough to take two layers--that's fine. Just pour in all the juices remaining in the bowl and end with a layer of untoasted bread on top. Push down on the layers with your hands.
4. Pour the stock gently over the top till it just comes up to the top layer. Push down again and sprinkle over the remaining fontina and Parmesan. Add a good pinch of pepper and drizzle over some good-quality olive oil. Bake in the preheated oven for around 30 minutes, or until crispy and golden on top.
5. When the soup is ready, divide it between your bowls. Melt the butter in a frying pan and quickly fry the sage leaves until they're just crisp and the butter is lightly golden (not burned!). Spoon a bit of the flavored butter and sage leaves over the soup and add another grating of Parmesan.
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1 Comment:
My boyfriend just made this a couple of weeks ago. It is amazing. I think I ate 90% of it myself and was distraught when we finally polished the whole thing off. I could eat three bowls of it right now. Well done Jaime!
em at 2:09PM on 12/30/08