Zuppa alla Valpellinentze · Seupa à la Valpelleunèntse
Valle d'Aosta · soup · serves 4 · 120 min total · easy
From the Valpelline valley — stale bread, savoy cabbage, fontina, broth. The dish that kept villagers alive through long mountain winters.
Ingredients
- 500 g savoy cabbage
- 300 g stale dark rye or country bread
- 300 g Fontina d'Aosta DOP
- 1.2 L beef broth
- 80 g butter
- 0.25 tsp cinnamon (a pinch)
- 1 tsp black pepper
Method
- Slice cabbage thick. Blanch 5 minutes in salted water. Drain.
- Slice bread thick. Toast in 1/3 of the butter until golden.
- Slice fontina.
- Butter a deep terracotta dish. Layer: toast, cabbage, fontina slices, pepper. Repeat 3-4 layers.
- Pour hot broth gently down the side to come halfway up. Dot top with butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
- Bake at 200°C (390°F) for 35-40 minutes — top dark, cheese bubbling, bread soaked.
- Eat with a spoon, straight from the dish.