Jamie Oliver - Italian Cabbage Soup Recipe | Jamie Oliver
The recipe involves boiling cabbage, cavolo nero, and kale in chicken or vegetable stock. Stale bread is grilled or roasted, then rubbed with garlic for added flavor. Anchovy fillets and pancetta are roasted until crispy, and mixed with the greens. Fontina and Parmesan cheeses are layered with the greens and bread, creating a lasagna-like structure. The dish is baked until the bread absorbs the stock and becomes golden and crunchy. A sage butter topping adds a rich, aromatic finish. This dish combines the textures of bread pudding and French onion soup, offering a hearty, flavorful meal.
Key Points:
- Boil cabbage, cavolo nero, and kale in stock for 5 minutes.
- Use stale bread, grilled or roasted, rubbed with garlic for flavor.
- Roast anchovy fillets and pancetta until crispy, mix with greens.
- Layer greens and cheeses with bread, bake until golden and crunchy.
- Top with sage butter for added flavor and aroma.
Details:
1. 🥬 Preparing the Vegetables
- Choose a whole head of Cavo cabbage for soup preparation.
- Include a big handful of cavon Nero in the recipe.
- Add a big handful of red and green curly kale for diversity and flavor.
- Thoroughly wash all vegetables to remove any dirt or pesticides.
- Chop the Cavo cabbage into bite-sized pieces for even cooking.
- Strip the leaves of cavon Nero and kale from the hard stems before chopping.
- Ensure all vegetables are evenly chopped to facilitate uniform cooking in the soup.
2. 🍞 Toasting the Bread
- Toasting bread on a griddle pan enhances flavor and texture compared to standard toasting methods, offering a unique culinary experience.
- Utilizing stale bread for toasting not only reduces food waste but also serves as a cost-effective option.
- Cooking the bread in chicken stock for 5 minutes infuses additional flavor, with veggie stock as a flexible alternative for dietary preferences.
- The griddle pan method creates a distinctive, crispy exterior while maintaining a soft interior, elevating the overall eating experience.
3. 🧄 Infusing Garlic Flavor
- Rubbing hot bread with a piece of garlic enhances flavor by allowing the garlic oils to penetrate the bread, providing a subtle yet impactful taste.
- Roasting garlic in the oven at 400°F for about 30 minutes softens the cloves and deepens their flavor, making it easy to incorporate into various dishes.
- Using garlic-infused oil is another method to add garlic flavor, perfect for drizzling over salads or pasta.
4. 🥓 Preparing the Bacon and Anchovies
- Use a tray in the oven for cooking bacon and anchovies together.
- Pour oil from a tin of about 14 anchovy fillets onto the tray for added flavor.
- Lay 12 rashers of pancetta on the tray, ensuring even coverage for consistent cooking.
- Place the tray in the oven to render the bacon and make it crispy.
- Exercise caution while handling anchovies to avoid breaking them apart.
5. 🧀 Choosing the Cheeses
- Fontina cheese is recommended for its mild flavor and excellent melting qualities, making it ideal for dishes requiring stringy and light textures.
- Parmesan cheese is used to enhance flavor, suggesting its role as a complementary ingredient rather than the primary cheese.
- A specific quantity of 200 grams of Fontina and 150 grams of Parmesan is specified for the recipe, indicating precise measurement for balance in flavor and texture.
- Transitioning from Fontina to Parmesan, the balance between melting quality and flavor enhancement is crucial in achieving the desired dish outcome.
6. 🥘 Mixing Ingredients in the Pan
- Ensure the anies are fully melted before proceeding to the next step to guarantee proper heat management and ingredient integration.
- Cook bacon until it reaches a crisp texture, using this as a benchmark for achieving optimal flavor and texture balance.
- Thoroughly coat the greens in the mixture, which enhances both flavor and presentation, making them suitable even as a standalone vegetable dish.
- Use a casserole-type pan for this process; it ensures even cooking and superior flavor distribution.
- Maintain medium to high heat to achieve the desired crispness in bacon and thorough melting of anies.
- Start with pre-heated pan for even cooking and to prevent sticking, enhancing the overall cooking efficiency.
7. 🥪 Layering the Bread and Greens
7.1. Start with Stale Toasted Bread and Add Greens
7.2. Add Cheese and Olive Oil
7.3. Layer Like Lasagna
7.4. Bread and Cheese Layering
7.5. Press Down and Prepare Stock
7.6. Final Touches and Cook
8. 🕒 Baking the Soup
- Bake for approximately 40 minutes at 180°C (350°F) to achieve a crunchy and golden top.
- The water absorbs into the bread, mixing flavors for a delicious result.
- The dish is a hybrid between bread and butter pudding and French onion soup, with most water absorbed into the bread after 35-40 minutes.
- If the top browns too quickly, cover with foil to prevent over-coloring.
9. 🌿 Making Sage Butter
- Use a large knob of butter to make a classic sage butter.
- Melt the butter and add sage leaves, taking them off the stem.
- Cook in the oven for 30-40 seconds to achieve a snappy, crisp texture.
10. 🍲 Serving the Bread Soup
- The dish is not a creamy or broth soup; it is a Bread soup with a distinct Italian flair and attitude.
- The presentation involves using a large piece of bread to soak up the flavors, enhancing the dish's rustic appeal.
- The soup incorporates sage leaves sautéed in butter until brown (but not black) for an earthy, aromatic flavor.
- Finishing touches include a light grating of Parmesan to elevate the dish's richness and taste.