It’s a very successful marriage between the vegetables and the meat of the married soup, an ancient recipe from the Neapolitan Christmas tradition.
The preparation of this soup, generally consumed between Christmas and St. Stephen’s Day, is quite laborious as the different vegetables in the ingredients need to be cleaned, washed, and cooked separately to respect the relative cooking times. The more vegetables you decide to use (some unfortunately are strictly tied to the Campania region, so it might be difficult to find them elsewhere), the longer the preparation will obviously be.
The broth is particularly rich because, in addition to the aromatics, it involves the use of different types of meats such as pork, beef, and chicken. And it is precisely in this broth that the vegetables and the meat “marry” to give life to a soup full of flavors.
Every Neapolitan family has its own recipe, and today I want to share with you my very own version of the married soup.
Now take a minute to read the recipe and then…let’s cook and eat!!
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- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Moderate
- Portions: 5
- Cooking methods: Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Winter
Ingredients
- 1 g carrot
- 1 onion
- 1 stalk celery
- to taste salt
- to taste black pepper (ground)
- grated parmesan cheese (+ the rind)
- 10.58 oz beef (corazza)
- 2 legs chicken thighs (free-range)
- 2 pork ribs
- 2 sausages
- 3.17 qt water
- smooth escarole (Christmas)
- savoy cabbage
- chicory
- broccoli (Christmas)
- kale (torzelle)
- borage
Tools
- 2 Pots
- 1 Colander
- 1 Ladle slotted
Steps
To prepare the married soup, start by trimming, washing, and blanching the vegetables in salted water. The vegetables must be cooked separately to respect the different cooking times. However, to speed up this phase, you can use a single pot with boiling salted water and gradually cook the various vegetables. Once cooked, let them drain well, cool them, and if the preparation of the married soup is not immediate, freeze them as I did.
As for the meat broth, I personally prepare it the day before serving the soup to save time, given the long cooking and, above all, to have time to cool it and skim it a little.
So, if you want to follow my advice, the previous afternoon, prepare the broth by starting with cold unsalted water in which you will insert the aromatics and various pieces of meat. I used sausages, pork ribs, free-range chicken thighs, and beef corazza.
Cook the broth for two and a half hours, taking care to remove the foam that will initially form on the surface.
Once the cooking is completed, with a slotted spoon, remove the meat and place it in a bowl to cool and then refrigerate it. Also, remove the aromatics, let the broth cool, and then refrigerate it.
The next day, again with a slotted spoon, remove the fat that will have formed on the surface, then strain the broth, put it back in the pot, and bring it to a boil. Then add the vegetables, which you will have thawed the night before, and the cleaned and chopped parmesan rind.
Let it cook for 15-20 minutes, then add the boned and chopped meat.
Cook the meat and vegetables together for another 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the married soup rest for at least a couple of hours, reheating it for a few minutes just before serving.
Once plated, sprinkle it with plenty of grated parmesan cheese and accompany it with slices of toasted bread and a good glass of red wine 😉.
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