Italian bread soup

Italian bread soup

“When Niko Romito got his first Michelin star in 2007, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that haute cuisine was being made in the southern borders of my province of L'Aquila.

Rivisondoli is a delightful mountain village, known since the postwar period for its living nativity scene. Niko and his sister Giuliana, in taking over the family pastry shop, had launched an impossible challenge: self-taught cooks out to conquer the world. After the second star in 2009, I was struck by Niko's decision to open a school for young cooks in 2011: teaching others is always synonymous with generosity.

I therefore decided to offer a scholarship to one of their deserving young cooking students. The rest is well known: the transfer of the Reale to the ancient convent of Casadonna in the Abruzzo National Park, the conquest of the third star in 2013 and the first Stars of the East at the helm of the Bulgari restaurants.

Niko has remained the same but I would never have dreamed that one day he would pair two of his magnificent recipes to our wines.”

Bruno Vespa

the recipe

Ingredients for 4 persons

Stale bread 4 slices
Potatoes g 300
Celeriac (Celery Root) g 200
Turnip Greens g 150
Onion g 50
1lt Fresh whole milk
1lt Vegetable broth
4 Egg yolks
4 thin slices of Caciocavallo cheese
Water g 200
Extra virgin olive oil g 80
1 clove of garlic
Chilli powder, to taste
Salt, to taste
Peanut oil g 500 (for frying)

Preparation

1. Clean the vegetables. Finely slice the onion, dice the potatoes, chop the turnip greens, julienne the celeriac.

2. Sauté the onion in a little oil; add the potatoes and leave to flavor, then cover with milk and 800 g of vegetable broth. Cook for about 30 minutes over medium heat; season with salt then blend everything with an immersion blender or bell blender.

3. Fry the unpeeled garlic with two tablespoons of oil and a pinch of red pepper in a separate saucepan. Then remove the garlic and sauté the shredded turnip greens, using the tenderer leaves, over medium heat. Pour in the remaining vegetable broth and stew for a few minutes: the vegetables must remain al dente. Keep this broth aside for soaking the bread.

5. Fry the celeriac julienne in abundant oil.

6. Bring some water to a boil in a saucepan, and, one at a time, add the egg yolks, cooking them for 10 seconds and immediately removing them gently with a slotted spoon or a strainer.

Presentation

Put a ladle of potato cream in a shallow bowl; in the center of this place a slice of bread which has been previously soaked in some of the hot broth; sprinkle it with a spoonful of turnip greens.

Place one of the freshly poached egg yolks on top and cover with a veil of caciocavallo cheese. Garnish with a few sprigs of fried celeriac and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.