Different types of Italian soup, know your Minestra or Minestrone, Zuppa, Passato, Vellutata and Crema

 

When you next see a packet of a mini pasta in Lidl buy it. You'll only use a little in your Italian Minestra or Minestrone. Tiny pasta cooks in five minutes so just add it when your soup is just about ready or even when you take the soup off the heat, if you like your pasta with bite.

Scotland and Italy to me are the greatest soup creators with many well known traditional soups from Cullen Skink, and Scotch Broth, to Minestrone, and La Ribollita, These blog's pages are decorated with recipes of great soups from both these great countries.

Whilst I'm on about soups, and on this page Italian soups, a bowl of definition follows; you see in Italy a minor difference is important. And what we know about Italian Cucina, is that it has to be correct. Making Carbonara with cream in Rome still carries a prison sentence. And rightly so.

A 'Minestra' is a soup that has pasta or rice in the dish. A 'Minestrone' would be made with beans or chick peas but not rice. . Try Florentine Bean Soup it's fab

 'Zuppa' is a soup without rice, beans or pasta and is normally served with bread or croutons. Bread occurs in many Italian soups... In this poverty soup it's the star.

See Pappa al Pomodoro

A 'Passato' like a 'Zuppa' does not have rice, beans or pasta but is blended like the above Pepper, Tomato and Chilli soup.  Click here

A 'Vellutata' consists of only two, three or four ingredients. See Lentil soup with Pepperoni  which has lentils, toms, pepperoni and onions as main ingredients.

 And a 'Crema' is made with one main ingredient, pureed and thickened. See Courgette soup