zuppa di verza e cavolo riccio per Anna / Savoy cabbage and kale soup for Anna

Savoy cabbage and kale soup

Since I started writing (mostly about food), I look at memories and memoirs with a different eye. I grew up with a father who was constantly narrating stories and a mother who basically never did. When I was a kid, I listened to my father, but I was not fully aware of how important such transfer of information was. Now I have a different perspective.

A little voice inside me has been saying that I should record my father's stories. The voice grew firmer after I read Anna, Heart of a Peasant, by Carol Marie Davis. Ms. Davis is Anna's granddaughter and is also Rachel's mother and Rachel writes The Crispy Cook and co-hosts the Cook the Books Club.

Anna's story is different from that of any member of my family, since none of them traveled half-way across the world and started a new life in a place utterly different from the one in which they had grown up. My maternal grandmother moved from Croatia next door to Italy after marrying, but I have no idea what she thoughts of her adoptive country. I guess I did move half-way across the world, and I can tell you that it was not an easy transition, although I had several advantages over Anna, not the least of them the fact that I spoke the language and I had someone waiting for me in California. Anna was sent away from her native village in Byelorussia (now Belarus) following a terrible accident (I am trying not to give away too much here) and after a brief interlude, she boarded a ship headed towards America.

In the first part of the book, Ms. Davis recreates the life of Anna's family in the countryside of Byelorussia, a life steeped in popular traditions that coexist with religious faith. In the second part, we see Anna holding on to the traditional knowledge her grandmother had transmitted to her, while adjusting to the ups and downs of life in the US (having arrived in 1914, Anna experienced, among other things, the Great Depression).

The book follows Anna as she gets married, starts a family, moves into a house, raises children and grandchildren in Hastings-on-Hudson (NY). The last chapter includes a moving photograph of Anna and her husband, saying goodbye to each other on the grounds of a nursing home. The photo was taken by Ms. Davis and I want to think that it represents how she remembers her grandparents: looking at each other, holding hands. Together, they've gone through a lot.

The last pages of the book contain a set of recipes, a tribute to Anna's cooking. When I read them, I had no doubts about my choice: cabbage soup. Interestingly enough, the same recipe caught the attention of other readers of the book. In particular, Rachel, Anna's great-granddaughter, has made the soup and I refer you to her post on the topic for the original recipe. I made a number of changes to adapt it to my taste and ingredients I have available. I used a lovely purple Savoy cabbage, locally grown, and Red Russian kale from my garden. I added a bit of celery and thyme to the garlic, onion and carrot base, used fire-roasted crushed tomatoes instead of puréed tomatoes, omitted the sugar and cut down the lemon juice. Finally, I topped the soup with homemade kefir instead of sour cream.

purple Savoy cabbage

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 pound Savoy cabbage sliced into 1/2-inch ribbons
• 3/4 pound Red Russian kale, thick ribs removed and sliced into 1/2-inch ribbons
  
• olive oil
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic (aglio)
  
• 1 large onion (cipolla), chopped
• a few sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1 large carrot (carota), chopped
• half a celery rib (costa di sedano), chopped
• 1 quart (4 cups) homemade light chicken stock or vegetable option
• 1 28-ounce can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste (concentrato di pomodoro)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• salt and freshly milled black pepper
• homemade kefir (optional)

In a large soup pot, heat oil and sauté garlic for a couple of minutes, then add onion and thyme and sauté for a few minutes, then add carrot and celery and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring often. Add stock, tomatoes, tomato paste, and bay leaf and simmer for 10 minutes or so, until carrots are tender.

Take out the bay leaf and discard. Purée with an immersion blender. Add lemon juice, cabbage and kale, and 3 cups of water. Simmer until cabbage is cooked (in my case it was about 45 minutes). Add more water, if needed, to obtain a soup of the desired consistency. Adjust salt and pepper and serve topped with some homemade kefir.

kale everywhere

Kale grows plentiful in my little vegetable garden and it reseeds itself, mostly due to the fact that I always let one or two plants go to seeds and then the seeds end up in my compost, so spreading the compost means spreading kale. I am not complaining: above you can see a corner of the garden where kale is a cover crop.

I am adding my thoughts on Anna, Heart of a Peasant to those of other bloggers, as you can see in this post, where Rachel of The Crispy Cook has gathered all the reviews. Thank you, Ms. Davis, for a very interesting read, and thank you, Rachel, for sharing your mother's book with us.

And I am sending this hearty soup to Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays, a weekly event created by Deb of Kahakai Kitchen (another co-host of the Cook the Books Club).

This post contains the roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

zuppa di verza e cavolo riccio per Anna

or launch the zuppa di verza e cavolo riccio per Anna audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

FTC disclosure: I have received a free review copy of the book mentioned in this post. I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for discussing the book on my blog. The views expressed in the post are my own.

cabbage, kale, tomato, soup

Comments

[Priscilla M]

Looks hearty and delicious :)

[Carol Marie Davis]

Thank you Simona for your thoughtful review of my book.

Rachel's other grandma, Maria Venuto came from Italy and brought along wonderful Neopolitan recipes, especially for soups and sauces. I guess you might say we had the best of both cooking worlds- Italian and Russian.

Your savory interpretation of Anna's cabbage soup makes me want to cook up a pot real soon.

[Paz]

Yes! You should definitely record your father's stories. This book sounds very interesting and inspiring. I like your soup.

[Claudia]

What lovely photos Simona, and the soup sounds delicious. I want to make that soon with your adaptations. A very well thought out review as well.

[Baol]

Sembra proprio buona 'sta zuppa Simò! :)

[Caffettiera]

I had a grandfather who told stories, but I don't remember them, since he became seriously ill when I was very young. I'd love to hear about your father's. Thank you for the review, it is very inspiring.

[Rachel @ The Crispy Cook]

I think the Red Russian Kale is an inspired addition to this Russian soup! Thank you so much for taking the time to read and blog about this book. I am very lucky to have such great blogger friends spread out across the world. Lovely cabbage soup indeed!

[Simona Carini]

Thanks, Priscilla.

You are welcome, Carol Marie. Thanks for sharing with us another snippet of your family history. Russian and Italian sounds like an interesting combination.

Thank you, Paz, for your encouraging words. The soup is very nice.

Thanks, Claudia.

Ciao Baol. Anche da te ha nevicato? Spero di no, comunque col freddo la mia zuppa aiuta ;)

Thanks, Caffettiera. My father turned 90 last year, so he has quite a lot to tell, in particular about fighting in WWII. I realize that people with that experience are becoming rare to find.

I agree Rachel. Thanks to you for organizing this special event.

[Aiuolik]

Ciao Simona, piacere di conoscerti! Mi fa molto piacere sapere che vorresti partecipare all'abbecedario, ti posso però chiedere di scegliere un'altra regione? Mi piacerebbe che tutte giocassimo "fuori casa" in modo da imparare un po' di ricette nuove e di fare nuove esperienze (sono ricercatrice nell'anima!)...che mi dici? Dai dai scommetto che ci sono tante città che ti incuriosiscono, scegline una ;-)

[Aiuolik]

Sei un mito, grazie! Ti metto alla M di Matera che è più vicina nel tempo, grazieeeeeeeeeee :-)

[Francy]

Ciao Simona, la zuppa ha un aspetto fantastico, con quei colori così caldi ed invitanti!! e bello deve esser il libro, le storie vere mi sono sempre piaciute, e spesso superano in bellezza quelle di fantasia! bacioni

[brii]

What a lovely post, Simona.
Yes, you should record the stories of your father.
I never knew my grandparents, they where gone before I had a chance to know them.
And my parents have told my very little about their childhood :/
It is such a pity not knowing ones roots.
Thank you for the review and this soup.
baciusss

[Ivy]

Just perfect for this cold weather!

[Simona Carini]

Ciao Aiuolik! Va benissimo. Comincio da subito a raccogliere informazioni. E' un po' imbarazzante dover ammettere di non aver mai vistato una regione del proprio paese, ma almeno in questo modo la visitero' virtualmente. Grazie!

Ciao Francy. La zuppa e' perfetta per questo tempo freddo che vi sta facendo compagnia in questi giorni. E usa verdure invernali. I pomodori arrosto in scatola non credo che si trovino in Italia, ma puoi usare quelli normali. Buon weekend!

Ciao Brii. After my mother passed away, I saw a photo of her with her parents: I had never seen it before. It was quite strange. On the other hand, I have seen a lot of photos of my father and his family during the years. I found some old photos of his village on FB and showed them to my father: he could not stop talking ;)

Ciao Ivy. I hope it is no longer that cold in Greece.

[Deb in Hawaii]

I love all the changes and additions you made to the soup--especially the kale. The soup definitely inspired several of us didn't it? ;-) Thanks for sharing it with Souper Sundays too.

[Simona Carini]

Thanks Deb. Indeed, it did. My pleasure, as always.

[Heather @girlichef]

What a beautiful write-up and even more beautiful bowl of soup, Simona. I, too, LOVE the addition of the Red Russian Kale - how perfect!

[Simona Carini]

Thanks, Heather!

[luca]

Gentile Simona, vorrei organizzare un food blogger contest con finale in Italia presso la mia struttura turistica www.paluffo.com

Possiamo scambiarci la email o se mi dai il tuo telefono o skype facciamo 2 chiacchiere in merito?

Grazie

Luca