Zuppa alla Valpellinense

While farmers were preparing their soup with rye bread and vegetables in season, the gentlemen loved to taste the soup broth enriched with meat, cheese and butter. Among those zuppe the most famous is the " la Zuppa alla Valpellinese " Even the bread was not the same for farmers and for the first signori. The wealthy ate fresh white bread. He poor people the black bread. The black bread was prepared once a year involving the entire family, while the women kneaded, the men took care of the wood stove in the country.
The cooking was careful and meticulous, and when the bread came out of the oven was a great feast.
Once dried, it became very hard and was used to cut the "Copapan", a kind of iron knife that can still be found in craft shops. Placing it for a few minutes to soak in the soup, milk, or, if on the other, water, and then softened this bread.

Ingredienti (per 4 persone)

• 1 litro e mezzo di brodo
• 1 verza
• 4 etti di fontina
• mezzo kg di pane bianco (casereccio) tagliato a fette
• cannella in polvere
• 150 grammi di burro.

Preparazione

In una pirofila, disponete a strati il pane e la fontina, terminando con lo strato di fontina.
Fate bollire la verza nel brood. Aggiungete il brodo sul pane e attendete che il tutto si ammorbidisca, aggiungendo poi il burro fuso (molto caldo) sull’ultimo strato. Spolverate con cannella; passate in forno già caldo (200-220°) e lasciate cuocere per circa 40 minuti, fino a quando la fontina non diverrà dorata, iniziando a formare una crosta. Servitela calda.

Ingredients (serves 4)
• 1 and a half liters of broth
• 1 cabbage
• 4 ounces fontina
• half a kilogram of white bread (homemade), sliced
• cinnamon powder
• 150 grams of butter

Preparation
In a baking dish, arrange layers of bread and fontina, the layer of fontina.
Boil the cabbage in the brood. Add the broth over the bread and wait until it all softens, then melted butter (very hot) the last layer. Sprinkle with cinnamon; past in a preheated oven (200-220 degrees) and cook for about 40 minutes, until golden fontina is starting to form a crust. Serve hot.