Italian Cabbage Soup ~ Zuppa alla Valpellinese
When the weather outside has a chilly nip in the air, we crave foods that warm us both inside and out. Soup always satisfies this desire. From northwestern Italy, where the weather is more often cold than warm, comes this delicious, thick, hearty, and savory cabbage-and-bread soup. The classic ‘Zuppa alla Valpellinese’ (aka: Italian Cabbage Soup) is a mix between a savory bread pudding and French onion soup — only it’s Italian, and oh my gosh, it’s so delicious!
How does this sound for an incredible comfort food:
Layers upon layers of ooey-gooey, melted cheese, savory bread, cabbage, and onions . . . and then layer it several more times again! To those layers, add a rich stock, bake until hot, golden brown, and bubbling all over. The bread plumps up in the savory stock and is infused with flavors of garlic, sage, and rosemary. Oh my, huh?
The name means ‘soup’ (Valpelline style), named after the town of Valle d’Aosta (Aosta Valley), in the Italian Alps, where it originated. There are other names for this soup, each reflecting the different versions made in other regions where it spread across Italy. This rustic, rich, yet humble and comforting ‘zuppa’ is made with layers of coarse, crusty, stale rye bread, cabbage, and creamy melted Fontina cheese, simmered in beef stock – just right for taking the chill off of cold winter nights. So thick and dense that it could be considered a casserole.
Most people outside the region are unfamiliar with this soup. But if you visit the Aosta Valley during the winter and eat at an “osteria” (restaurant), you more than likely will find this delicious soup on a menu.
Zuppa alla Valpellinese is a beloved traditional Italian recipe rooted in the frugal tradition of Italian “cucina povera“, where nothing is wasted, and simple, everyday staples are transformed into nourishing comfort food. It’s one of Italy’s oldest peasant dishes that has fed people for hundreds of years. A budget-friendly dish, it’s made from humble ingredients; cabbage is slowly braised in a savory beef broth with pancetta, then layered with stale bread and cheese and baked until bubbling and golden. This unpretentious, rustic Italian cabbage and bread soup may not be much to look at—but it is hearty, warming, and deeply satisfying. It’s the kind of honest, unpretentious Italian comfort food that my Nonna made, just right for nourishing the body and soul.
A Bit About This Special Italian Alpine Soup
‘Zuppa alla Valpellinese’ is a regional wintertime dish, a decadent combination of rich beef broth, pancetta, and nutty fontina cheese. It reminds me of French Onion soup with its cheesy top layer! This hearty soup has the same thick cheese topping that’s bubbled under the broiler.
HEAVENLY!
Italian soup (‘zuppa’) doesn’t really mean ‘soup’ as most people think of it (with a liquid broth). An Italian soup (soeupa) is more like a stew or purée in consistency. Zuppa is a distinct category of recipes featuring a strong foundation of bread that has soaked in broth.
Zuppa alla Valpellinese is a prime example of how thick, filling, and unsoup-like a zuppa can be! You may not have expected to see an Italian recipe with cabbage. It’s certainly not the most common ingredient in the cooking of central and southern Italy, but it does appear in the cookery of northern Italy’s Valle d’Aosta cuisine, especially in cold-weather dishes like this one.
Ingredients You Need for Italian Cabbage Soup
- Beef stock – Use the best (low-salt) beef broth that you can buy, or if possible, and you have the time, prepare and use your own homemade beef stock/broth. Another good option that I recommend is to use broth made with “Better Than Bouillon” (beef flavor). Keep in mind that your stock must be of the highest quality for this soup to excel.
- Cabbage – Savoy cabbage is the regional favorite variety preferred in Val d’Aosta, with its more subtle, sweet, and mild taste. Italians favor Savoy cabbage, known as “verza”. Savoy works beautifully with earthy rye bread. However, if you can’t find it, you can use ordinary cabbage. The Piedmont region of Italy has its own prized variety of Savoy cabbage, which they style cavolo verza di Montalto Dora. Savoy cabbage is distinguished by leaves that are more ‘leaf-like’ by being more wrinkled, thinner, and less tightly packed around the head than those of a regular cabbage. The leaves are usually a darker green and more tender in texture. Although it is worth finding, it is more perishable.
- Alpine Cheese – It’s imperative to stay true to this regional cuisine to use a rich, creamy Fontina, with its mild and nutty Alpine flavor. Its creamy texture is perfect for melting into the soup. Even outside of this soup recipe, it is my favorite Italian cheese, second only to Parmigiano Reggiano! If you can’t find Fontina, there are a few good alternatives for ‘meltable Alpine cheeses’ such as Emmenthal, or even better, some delicious Gruyere.
- Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese – Parm is an excellent complementary cheese with Fontina (well, just about any cheese, really). Parmigiano’s ‘umami’ enhances Fontina’s taste to be sharper and more complex. It also makes the Fontina more vivid due to Parm’s saltiness. The final dish will also have a more intense aroma.
- Bread – The type of bread you use makes a huge difference in this recipe. If possible, bake some homemade bread for the best results. If you can’t do this, then buy an ‘artisan bread’ or baguette that’s more earthy and has a thick crust. Read the label and purchase a loaf with the fewest possible ingredients and that has no preservatives. Look for a bread with a nice mix of wheat and rye, especially rye. My preference is to use artisan or homemade rye alone. The flavor is unsurpassed in this soup! For those who aren’t fond of rye bread, go for a good, dense sourdough loaf. Knowing that it’s not always possible to find either of those, I recommend using a simple, plain, brown or wholemeal, crusty bread. Simple is the key! It’s critical that you don’t use commercial, big-brand white sandwich breads. These breads are so soft that they break down into mush in the hot beef broth. Next, and of equal importance, is that you must use the bread when it is stale, at least two to three days old. This zuppa is an excellent creation to use up leftover, old bread and epitomizes the Italians’ approach to never wasting any food. Whatever bread you choose, buy it ahead of time and let it dry out for several days, or place it in a very low-heat oven for about half an hour to an hour.
- Onion – A necessary aromatic for this soup. Any white or yellow onion works well in this recipe. I prefer yellow Vidalia onions for their milder, sweeter flavor.
- Garlic – Another absolutely required aromatic for any savory Italian recipe.
- Pancetta – The fat of pancetta absorbs the aromatics of onion and garlic and then coats the cabbage, so the flavor base builds. The sweet flavor of pancetta adds balance to the sharper edge of the cabbage. Also, pancetta adds a bit more natural salt to the soup. Finally, with most of the ingredients having a soft texture, the browned pancetta contributes a nice, chewy contrast.
- Olive oil and Butter – Although olive oil is healthier for us, butter is used frequently in Northern Italian cooking. Together, olive oil creates a healthier fat (the olive oil) with a richer flavor (butter). It’s important to saute’ the sage leaves in butter at the end of baking.
- Lardo – This soup needs lardo or ‘guanciale‘ (see next ingredient). Now, don’t let this word/ingredient shock you. In Northern Italian cooking, lardo is an essential ingredient. It is made from pork fatback and cured with herbs and spices. Once you taste it, you won’t believe what you’ve been missing and how wrong the perceptions of this ingredient have been. Lardo lends a surprising, subtle herbal essence to any savory recipe. Italian lardo can’t be found easily in American markets; however, you can order it online here, here, or here. Despite its high price tag, it is well worth it. It keeps well in a freezer, where I always keep some.
- Guanciale – If you prefer or cannot find lardo, you can substitute ‘guanciale’, which more Americans are learning about this as an essential Italian ingredient! Guanciale is literally the very fatty cheek of the pig. You can also use salt pork. You can purchase it online here, here , or here.
- Sage and Rosemary – Both herbs complement this dish and should be as fresh as possible.
My Video on Zuppa alla Valpellinese
Show your love by having some Zuppa alla Valpellinese waiting for your loved ones when they come in from the cold. They’ll surely ‘feel the love’.
Italian Cabbage Soup “Zuppa alla Val….”
Ingredients
- 3 – 5 quarts high-quality chicken stock/broth (homemade preferably), preferably home made
- 1 whole Savoy cabbage, stalks and outer leaves removed, washed, and rough chopped
- 16 slices artisan rye bread, sourdough, or whole wheat country style bread . . . stale, day-old, rock-hard bread
- 4 large garlic cloves, peeled, and smashed or minced
- 1 large onion, diced
- 16 slices pancetta (or thick-sliced bacon), chopped . . . a minimum of 8 oz.
- 4 oz. Guanciale, diced (or lardo)
- 1 4-oz can anchovy fillets packed in oil (about 20 – 25 fillets)
- 8 oz. Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, freshly-grated
- 16 oz. grated Fontina cheese (or another meltable Alpine cheese)
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves removed from stems
- ¼ cup butter
- 4 oz. extra virgin olive oil
- 8 – 10 leaves fresh sage
- 2 Tbsp. Italian parsley, minced for garnish
- 1 pinch or so ground nutmeg (optional)
Instructions
- Set oven to 450 F degrees
- Lay the bread slices on 2 or 3 baking sheets and bake for 10 – 15 minutes
- While hot, generously rub each slice of bread with garlic cloves
For an even RICHER version, which I find simply over-the-top amazing: fry the bread in butter before adding it to the pot. WOW!
- Place a tall pot on medium heat
- Add and melt the butter
- Add the guanciale (if you have some) and stir (it won't melt, the butter will though . . . it is added for flavor)
- Add 1 Tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil, simmer and let the guanciale flavor up the butter
- Add the diced onion
- Add the minced garlic
- In a separate small saucepan, heat up 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- Add the diced pancetta and saute' until reddish-brown
- Add the cooked pancetta to the tall pot and give everything a nice stir
- Add all of the chopped cabbage and allow to 'sweat' for 5 minutes until it is wilted and reduced in volume by half.
- Add the broth to cover the cabbage.
- Stir everything and bring to a boil
- Cover and simmer until the cabbage is fully tender, for 30 – 45 minutes
- Now use an DEEP oven-safe baking dish and start to LAYER the bread first on the bottom
- then ladle over some of the cabbage mixutre to cover the bread slices entirely.
- Then spread a HEAVY layer of Fontina cheese on top
- Sprinkle a generous layer of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and if using, sprinkle some ground nutmeg (I highly recommend to add this)
- Place another layer of bread
- Place another layer of the cabbage mixture
- Add another very generous layer of Fontina cheese
- Sprinkle with a lot of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- Place another layer of bread on top
- Top with another layer of the cabbage mixture
- Scatter the rosemary leaves all over the top
- Add the last layer of bread slices on top
- Ladel/pour all of the broth on all over to fill the pan/pot up to ½" below the top edge of the pan/pot NOTE: If it looks like there is not enough liquid/too dry, add more broth/stock so that the liquid is VISIBLE. Do not fill up the baking dish to the top because the zuppa will 'puff up' like a 'souffle' while it bakes in the oven.
- Top with LOTS of Fontina cheese
- generously sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- Bake at 350 F degrres for 20 – 30 minutes until the zuppa is bubbly hot and the cheese has melted to form a golden brown crust on top. The bread should have absorbed almost all of the broth while baking in the oven.
- Melt 3 Tbsp. of butter in a small pan
- Add fresh sage leaves to the hot butter and let set, then gently toss the leaves in the hot butter
- After the 30-minutes of baking, sprinkle once again, more Fontina cheese on top
- Then spoon the sage butter all over the top
- Sprinkle with a garnish of minced Italian parsley
- Serve piping hot! BUON APPETITO!
Thank you Angie….it’s over the top delicious too!
That’s probably the most beautiful and inviting cabbage soup that I have ever seen :-))