Customer Reviews

Zuppa: Soups From The Italian Countryside

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A friend who owns a bookstore saw me looking at this book in his store and said, "Oh, you must have this book. My wife and I have tried several recipes from this book, and we love it." For some reason, I'd never thought of a whole cookbook just for soups, but that's because (I've discovered) my imagination was lacking. I love to cook, and I love to have good stuff in the refrigerator during the week to warm up, and I like to able to throw things together. The soups here, and the theory that accompanies the text, makes all this very easy and very delicious. I've recommended it to several other friends, and they have all enjoyed it very much.

I bought this book for inspiration and new ideas for warm, nourishing and comforting soups. I got that and much more. There are over 130 inspiring recipes for soups, each described in the context of how it fits into the lives of the people who make it. The chapters are organized by the major types of soups--broths; vegetables; bread, puree and cream soups; rice, pasta, polenta and chestnuts; farro; lentils and chickpeas; beans, fish; meats. Each chapter is introduced with an insightful overview of some aspect of the character of natives of the Garfagnana, a little known area of Northern Tuscany where all these soups originate. I've loved the soups I've made--a rich vegetable broth, wonderful by itself with Gorgonzola cheese crumbled in, even better as the base of a thick hearty soup with potatoes, butternut squash and Savoy cabbage; a rich chicken broth which served as the base for a spinach/butternut squash soup and a mushroom broth with watercress. Among the soups on my to-do list is a shrimp and baby artichoke soup served over focaccia, and Garmugia--a meat-rich soup with asparagus and artichokes used in the 1600's to cure depression. This is a cookbook to read cover to cover, soups to fall in love with, and a wonderful-sounding region in the Tuscan Alps to dream about visiting.

My grandmother raised her family during the depression and has always relied on inexpensive and plentiful meals to serve to her family. Soup or "Zuppa" has always been a staple in her freezer and often shows up on her table. When she received this a a birthday gift form me she was delighted. It breaks each region of Italy into it's distinctive cooking styles. There are dozens of soup recipes that are sure to keep the palate pleased and my grandmother busy experimenting with the recipes. An excellent cookbook for those who love soups!

Dear Humans,

This book, together with Anne Bianchi's other works, teach at the level of friend, family, ingredient, seasonality and heart what it means to be Tuscan and to be human. The radical simplicity producing complex flavors, tradition producing new experiences, poverty producing wealth, warmth producing clarity -- all these are Tuscan.

When we were in Florence at a traditional hole in the wall we ate: crusty bread, a raw artichoke with olive oil (served uncooked solo), rare steak cut thinly with salt and pepper and olive oil, watermelon, a bread with wine grapes, wine. Hum -- life need not be complex -- just fine and pure and simple. All served family style.

Her work together with Patient Gray's "Honey from a Weed" are my guides.

In a country that is very over populated, the Garfagnana Valley of Northern Tuscany remains pleasantly remote and untraveled. Ms. Biachi does a fine job in catching the real food and the people of this region. The soups featured are treasures of Italian peasant food. The recipes are tasty, healthy and easy to make. My personal favorites are Ceci, Mele, Salisiccia e Patate alla Garfagnana and the Sausage and Savoy Cabbage Soup. The only thing better in the Garfagnana Valley than the food is the hiking.