soup, vegetarian

The Farmer’s Market in Bolzano

Posted by Anne & Giuseppe Carraturo on


Last week I took the train to Bolzano to go see Otzi, the iceman at the Museum of Archeology. That was pretty cool, really, but since this is a food blog, I’ll instead tell you about the market they have daily in Bolzano’s Piazza dell’Erbe. There was stall after stall of fresh, beautiful and seasonable produce intermingled with stalls selling dried fruits and nut, cured meats and roasted chestnuts. It was truly a feast for the eyes! Nothing there was from other countries or out of season, the market is a daily celebration of what nature has to offer right then and there and it’s incredible.
As you travel around Italy, you see that every region has a different specialty and different produce and cheeses. These regional specialties were created by using what grew best in the region and making it into something delicious. I think this is a concept that Americans in particular could learn from. We insist on having everything available to us at all times and this has led to super markets full of mediocre, foreign grown produce, sprayed with who knows what to keep it pretty and fresh. I won’t preach anymore, I promise, but I just love the idea of locally sustainable agriculture and that’s why I decided to start a blog about it. I hope you can at least enjoy the pictures while I figure out how to create a blog.

Here’s a recipe to get us started. I made this up myself, so excuse the unprofessional measurements and directions, but you really can’t go wrong with soup.

Autumn Minestrone
2 tbls olive oil
1 cup fresh or canned beans (whatever type you prefer)
1 small zucchini
1 onion
1 leek
1/2 a head of cabbage
1 cup of squash (any kind but spaghetti)
2 potatoes
parsley
8-12 cups of water or vegetable broth
salt & pepper
grated Parmesan cheese
Chop the onion and leek into small pieces, but not too fine. Chop the zucchini into quarters length wise and then into 1/2 in pieces. Chop the cabbage coarsely into 1/2 inch strips. Cube the potato and squash into cubes, roughly about 1/2 and inch.
Put the olive oil into the bottom of a soup pot and put it on a medium flame. When the oil is hot, add the chopped vegetables to the pot and saute for about 5 minutes. If there’s any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan, add some wine or water (1 tbsp) to deglaze. Add the rest of the water to the pan and increase the heat to bring it to a boil. Once the pot is boiling, add the beans and reduce the heat to medium low (a little more than simmering and less than a roaring boil). Cook for about an hour and a half and add salt and pepper to taste. When serving, top with a spoon full of the grated Parmesan.
Yummy and simple. Even my kids will eat it and its not easy to get them to rave about a bowl full of veggies. This recipe can definitely be played around with. Add whatever you have in the fridge or add some pasta or rice. Soup is good food, or something like that.

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