Today, I’m told, Italians celebrate the Halloween that we in America have popularized around the world with costumes, candy for the children, and parties for the adults. Of course, this is all great fun and my children always celebrate Halloween on October 31st. But, I’ve also been told that the Italian traditions for the days after Halloween, All Saints Day and All Souls Day on November 1st and 2nd are still followed in Italy, and the food traditions have remained intact.
Since my father passed away almost 5 years ago, I have come to realize the importance of a day like All Souls Day. I want my children to remember the times they shared with their grandfather and other relatives who are no longer with us. Setting aside a special day to get together and reminisce about the past is one way to make sure we remember the times we cherished together as a family. After all, our connections to the past help to shape our future as well.
I was especially happy when I recently came across a blog by Cinzia from Instant Italy about All Souls Day. I discovered that in Liguria Italians celebrate All Souls Day with a special chick pea soup that uses ribs to flavor the broth, called ceci con le costine. I’ve made my own version of this soup to for my Sunday “remembrance” dinner in November this year. Given the circumstances (i.e. given that it is still 2020), this soup will be a warming treat I can present in decorative jars and drop on a few doorsteps.
Why not try to make this soup for your family? My version is like a simple minestrone soup, but without the pasta and the cooking time can be split up into two days. It’s a great way to start off the fall season!
If you’d like to read Cinzia’s blog to learn more about how Italians celebrate the Halloween season, just click on this link: All Saints’ Day in Italy.
-Kathryn Occhipinti
Recipe is listed below. Check out my latest Instagram video from Conversationalitalian.french and watch me make the dish if you like!
Chick pea and rib soup for All Souls Day in Italy (Cece con le Costine)
Ingredients
For the Broth
(Best if made a day ahead)
1 lb. pork ribs or veal soup bones
Olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, papery skin removed
1 medium onion, skin removed and quartered
2 stalks of celery, chopped coarsely
3-4 carrots, chopped coarsely
1 bunch fresh parsley tied with cooking twine
1 lb. bag of dried chick peas, soaked in water overnight to soften -or- 2 cans (16 oz.) chick peas, drained
Ingredients
For the Soup (To be added to the broth)
1 onion, finely chopped
3 carrots, finely chopped
2 stalks of celery, finely chopped
chick peas, either dried/soaked or canned (as above)
1 can (28 oz.) Italian plum tomatoes, chopped
Fresh or frozen Swiss Chard or Spinach
Procedure
Make the Broth
(Day 1)
Use a large soup pot or stock pot for this recipe.
Pour 2 Tbsp. of olive oil into the stock pot. Add the pork ribs or veal bones and 2 cloves of garlic, intact but flattened with the back of a knife. Salt and pepper the ribs. Brown the ribs on all sides over medium heat, turning while they cook.
Add 16 cups of water and the coarsely chopped onion, celery, carrots and the bunch of parsley. Stir.
Cook the broth uncovered as follows: Bring to a boil over high heat and then lower to medium low heat to keep the broth at a simmer until the meat has cooked and is falling off the bone, about 2 -3 hours. Skim off any foam that forms on the top of the soup periodically, but do not stir the soup while the broth is cooking.
After the broth has cooked long enough to gain flavor from the ribs and vegetables, remove the ribs and vegetables and parsley.
Put the pot of broth into the refrigerator if you have two days to make the soup. This will allow any fat to float to the surface and harden so it can be skimmed off the next day. Otherwise, proceed to make the soup.
Make the Soup
(Day 2)
The next day, take the broth out of the refrigerator and skim the fat off the top.
Put the pot on the stove. Add the soaked chickpeas and cook until they have softened, about 1 hour. (If you have a bag of old chick peas have been sitting in the cupboard for awhile, they may take longer to soften.)
Remove 1 cup of the pre-cooked chick peas and puree. Add back to the soup.
If using canned chick peas instead of dried, add the canned chick peas, with one cup pureed, at this time into the soup.
Add the finely chopped onion, celery, carrot and chopped plumb tomatoes with their juices from the can. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Cook until all vegetables have softened.
Add Swiss chard leaves or spinach leaves. Cook until the greens have wilted.
Serve the soup hot, with grated Parmesan cheese and a loaf of crusty Italian bread.
Conversational Italian for Travelers Just the Important Phrases (with Restaurant Vocabulary and Idiomatic Expressions) is YOUR traveling companion in Italy! All the Italian phrases you need to know to enjoy your trip to Italy are right here and fit right into your pocket or purse.
Kathryn Occhipinti, MD, is the author of the Conversational Italian for Travelersseries of books and a teacher of Italian for travelers to Italy in the Peoria and Chicago area. “Everything you need to know to enjoy your visit to Italy!”
Visitlearntravelitalian.com/download.html to purchase/download Conversational Italian for Travelers and find more interesting facts and helpful hints about getting around Italy!Learn how to buy train tickets online, how to make international and local telephone calls, and how to decipher Italian coffee names and restaurant menus, all while gaining the basic understanding of Italian that you will need to know to communicate easily and effectively while in Italy. —From the staff at Stella Lucente, LLC
Chick Pea Soup with Ribs (Ceci con le Costine) for All Souls Day
Italian chicken broth with wispy strands of eggs is called “Egg Drop Soup” at my family’s home but is known better as Stracciatella, or “Rags Soup.” For the perfect children’s chicken soup, instead add tiny pastas called pastina stars to your homemade chicken broth. Which is better? Make them both and you decide!
When I was a child, my mother’s chicken soup was a welcome treat that accompanied the cool breezes of fall and sustained us through the cold winter months. We children loved when she returned home from the “chicken farm” down the road with stewing chickens because we knew that her delicious chicken soup would soon follow!
Italian chicken soup starts with a hearty chicken broth, or “brodo.” Chicken broth is simplicity to make, with just a few ingredients most home cooks have around the house. My mother would drizzle beaten eggs into her chicken broth to make wispy yellow strands of scrambled eggs, for “Egg Drop Soup” as my family called it, also known by its more traditional name of “Stracciatella “ or “Rags Soup.” And, I think every Italian adult has fond memories of their lunches at home as a young child, especially when they discovered tiny star-shaped “pastina” pastas in their chicken broth for “Pastina Soup!”
To make the most flavorful Italian chicken soup, start with a broth made with “stewing” chickens. Stewing chickens are the older, tougher chickens that will soften but not loose their flavor entirely and make a nice broth after even just 1 to 1 1/2 hours of cooking in liquid. The meat of stewing chickens usually can be removed from the bones and added to the soup if desired. Younger frying or broiling chickens can also be used to make chicken broth, but in this case the cooking time should be increased to 2 or 3 hours and by this time most of the chicken’s flavor will have been given up to the soup, rendering the chicken flavorless.
Italian moms know that adding a small tomato will make the chicken broth sweeter, a small potato will add a little starch for body, and if you leave the outer leaves on the onion the broth will become a golden color. Try my family’s simple method and I’m sure your children will agree: Italian chicken soup is the quintessential comfort food!
1 stewing chicken, 3-4 lbs., rinsed, quartered
with fat trimmed off
4 carrots, rinsed and chopped coarsely
2 celery sticks, rinsed and cut in half
1 onion, (skin on or off), rinsed and cut in half
1 small tomato, quartered
1 small waxy potato (not russet), yellow or red
Optional: Small bundle of fresh parsley stalks from garden
salt to taste
Method for Italian Chicken Broth
Rinse the stewing chicken well. Ask the butcher to quarter it for you, or cut the chicken into quarters if needed. Rinse again to clean off again.
(Additional step if desired to give a clearer broth: Pre-cook the chicken briefly: Put chicken in a pot of cold water and bring to the boil slowly. Skim off the foam that comes to the top, then discard the water and continue with the rest of the method.)
Place the quartered chicken into a large soup pot. Add cold water 3/4 to the top of the pot.
Add the carrots, celery, onion, tomato and potato.
Bring to the boil and then quickly turn down heat to keep the broth cooking at a simmer.
Continue to cook the soup uncovered. Skim off any “skuzz” or “foam” that floats to the top periodically, but do not stir the broth, which will yield a cloudy soup.
When the soup has cooked down to desired flavor — at least 1 1/2 to 2 hours, remove the chicken and the vegetables.
Taste the chicken and if it remains flavorful, remove it from the bones and reserve the meat to add to the soup if desired. The vegetables will usually lose all their flavor and should be discarded and new, finely-chopped vegetables added to the finished soup. (If not, the soup should probably be cooked for a little longer time, but that is of course a matter of taste!)
Strain the broth to remove any small particles that may have formed.
(Additional step that can be omitted: If you do not need the broth right away, or if on a low-fat diet, store the strained broth in a pot in the refrigerator. By the next day, the fat will have floated to the top and hardened and can easily be skimmed off with a spoon.)
Add salt to the broth as desired and then finish as below and make into a soup.
Italian Egg Drop Soup
Ingredients
(Makes about 4 cups)
4 cups Italian chicken broth, homemade or canned
2 eggs, beaten lightly
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
salt to taste
Optional: Fresh parsley stalk and leaves from garden for garnish
Method for Egg Drop Soup*
Use a small bowl or large measuring cup with a spout, if possible. Mix the eggs and Parmesan cheese together lightly.
Place the 4 cups of cold chicken broth into a pot that can hold about 6 cups.
Adjust salt as desired.
Use medium-low heat to gradually bring the broth to a boil. Watch closely as the broth comes to a boil.
When small bubbles start to appear, and the broth is almost at a simmer, while mixing, drizzle the egg/cheese mixture into the pot slowly, allowing the eggs to cook briefly before adding more of the mixture.
When all egg has been added and partially cooked, mix lightly with a fork to keep the egg separated until the egg has completely cooked.
Watch the Instagram video below to see this method in action!
*For an alternative method, that will yield small strands of egg mixed more completely into the soup,called Stracciatella soup, omit the Parmesan cheese. Mix about 1 cup of the warm broth into the lightly mixed eggs and then pour all of the egg/broth mixture into the warm broth. Bring to a boil and watch the smaller egg strands form.
To make larger “rags,” omit the Parmesan cheese and very lightly beat the egg mixture so that some of the white remains visible. Bring the soup to a low boil, and drizzle in the egg mixture a bit at a time while stirring gently with a fork.
When the egg is cooked through, it is ready to eat, topped with Parmesan cheese of course!
Italian Pastina Soup for Children
Ingredients
(Makes about 4 cups)
4 cups Italian chicken broth, homemade or canned
1/3 cup pastina (little stars) pasta
Method for Pastina Soup for Children
For 4 cups of chicken broth, use 1/3 cup pastina star pasta
Place the 4 cups of cold chicken broth into a pot that can hold about 6 cups.
Cook as you would for any other pasta:
Set the chicken broth on the stove over medium high heat and heat to a rolling boil.
Add salt to taste, cover, bring to boil again, and then uncover and add pastina pasta.
Stir pasta, cover and bring to a boil again.
Take cover off and stir.
Let the pasta cook until al-dente (“to the tooth”). In this case, you will see the pasta stars grow. When pasta has finished cooking, ladle the soup into a bowl .
Present to small children with Italian bread for a warm and satisfying lunch!
— by Kathryn Occhipinti
Kathryn Occhipinti, MD, is the author of the Conversational Italian for Travelersseries of books and a teacher of Italian for travelers to Italy in the Peoria and Chicago area. “Everything you need to know to enjoy your visit to Italy!”
Visitlearntravelitalian.com/download.html to purchase/download Conversational Italian for Travelers and find more interesting facts and helpful hints about getting around Italy!Learn how to buy train tickets online, how to make international and local telephone calls, and how to decipher Italian coffee names and restaurant menus, all while gaining the basic understanding of Italian that you will need to know to communicate easily and effectively while in Italy. —From the staff at Stella Lucente, LLC
Italian Chicken Broth: Make Egg Drop Soup or Make it with Pastina Stars
What makes my Thanksgiving turkey soup Italian, you ask? Well, maybe it actually is an American soup – since turkey is the quintessentially American bird – but made with an Italian touch! Let me explain.
Of course, here in America it is not Thanksgiving without turkey. And, the Italian cook hosting Thanksgiving dinner will not want anyone to miss out on their fair share (read enormous share) of turkey. Which means a large turkey for every family size. Which means the best part of Thanksgiving – leftovers!
Working under the Italian traditions that demand: (1) no food be wasted and (2) all left overs be transformed into a new and delicious dish, one Thanksgiving evening I decided that it would be a waste to throw out the left over turkey bones with all the small bits of meat still clinging to them. Instead of putting the turkey carcass into the garbage, I broke it up a bit and put it into my large stock pot. Then I added a few coarsely chopped vegetables, left over fresh parsley, covered all with water and let the pot simmer on the stove top.
When my 6 year old daughter came down from her room on the second floor of the house and made her way back into the kitchen to ask why I was still cooking and what is was that smelled so good, I knew I had a hit! She insisted on having some of the soup that very night.
I have had a standing request from my family to make Thanksgiving turkey soup every year since that time. The slightly sweet, mild flavor of the roasted turkey comes out beautifully with the long cooking that a soup requires. And, with virtually no effort on my part, the family has a warm, easy meal to heat up themselves for the rest of the weekend.
For the quintessential “Italian” contribution to the soup, add a box of pappardelle noodles or small soup pasta in your favorite shape to make your Thanksgiving turkey soup complete!
I have broken up the steps to make my Thanksgiving turkey soup into two separate days, but once the family smells the broth simmering on the stove, they may want you to finish the soup for a light evening meal that very same night!
Thanksgiving turkey soup with pappardelle noodles ready to serve
Ingredients
For the Turkey Broth (Day 1) 1 (12-16) pound roasted turkey carcass
3 carrots, each cut into 3–4 pieces
2 stalks of celery, cut into 3–4 pieces
2 medium onions, skin removed, cut into halves
1 small clove garlic, skin removed
1 large bundle of fresh parsley stems or 1/4 cup dried parsley
For the Soup
(for 16 -20 cups of broth)
(Day 2) 2 carrots, peeled and chopped finely*
1 stalk celery, chopped finely*
1/4 cup dried parsley or 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
salt and white pepper
4 rounds of pappardelle pasta, coarsely broken into desired length
(Granoro N. 134) or 1/2 cup Ditali Rigati 59 pasta (Granoro brand) or miniature pasta of choice
Pre-cooked, left-over turkey breast meat, chopped to desired size
*See below for note about how to chop soup vegetables.
Make the Turkey Broth (Day 1)
Put the turkey carcass and any left over bones desired into a large stock pot.
Make turkey broth for the Thanksgiving turkey soup in the largest pot you have!
(This step can be skipped, but for the clearest broth: Cover the bones with cold water, bring to a rolling boil and then turn down to a simmer. Simmer for 10 – 15 minutes and skim off the “froth” that will come to the surface. Pour out this water and then continue with the steps that follow.)
Add the vegetables and whole garlic clove into the pot with the turkey bones.
Note that these vegetables will be cooked until they have released all their flavor and will be removed before making the final soup, so there is no need to peel and chop them finely. Just wash, chop coarsely, and add to the soup pot.
Tie a bunch of parsley stalks together with food string and add them to the soup pot.
Turn the heat up to high and cover the pot to get it to boil. When the water comes to a boil, remove the lid and lower the heat to medium. Keep the water at a low boil/simmer and let the bones and vegetables cook slowly for 3–5 hours.
Skim any surface froth that may develop during cooking with a large spoon, but do not stir, or the broth will get cloudy.
Add additional water if necessary and continue cooking until the broth has the desired flavor. The broth should reduce during the cooking time, and the final amount will vary, depending on the size of the bird you start with and how long you let the soup cook. But expect enough soup to make about two pots of soup of 16 -20 cups each.
When the broth is done, the carcass should be falling apart, the meat should be falling off the bones and the vegetables will be very mushy.
Turn off the heat and let cool. Remove larger pieces of bone and vegetables with a straining ladle to leave the broth in the pot.
Pour the broth through a colander with fine holes to remove any particulate matter, then store it in a large plastic containers in the refrigerator overnight.
(I usually get enough broth to fill at least 2 large bowl-shaped plastic containers when using a turkey 12 lbs. or larger, so I put one in the refrigerator and freeze the rest to make turkey soup later in the month.)
Make the Soup (Day 2)
The next day, remove the broth from the refrigerator. Skim off the fat that will have floated to the top and hardened overnight and discard.
Place the desired amount of broth into a large pot.
Add the chopped carrot and celery and bring to a boil, cooking until the vegetables have softened a bit.
Add salt and a bit of white pepper to taste.
When the water is boiling, add the pasta of your choice, and cook according to package directions. The pappardelle pasta I use takes only 6 minutes to cook.
Cook to “al dente” (a little firm) according to package directions. If not serving the soup right away, under cook it a bit, because pasta will absorb water as it sits in the soup.
Prior to serving , add the pre-cooked, left over turkey breast (or dark meat if preferred) cut to desired size and chopped parsley to warm through.
Serve in a large soup bowl garnished with fresh parsley.
Refrigerate leftovers to eat later in the week, if there are any!
*How to Chop Soup Vegetables Carrots: Cut lengthwise to half, and then lengthwise again to get quarters. Line them up side by side and then cut crosswise from the tips to the base of the carrot to get small, even pieces that look like quarters of a circle. Celery: Cut lengthwise through each celery stalk as many times as needed to give pieces the same thickness as the carrot pieces. (You will need more lengthwise cuts at the thicker part of the celery near the base.) Then cut crosswise from the tip to the base to get small, rectangular pieces of celery about the same size as the carrot pieces.
— by Kathryn Occhipinti
Kathryn Occhipinti, MD, is the author of the Conversational Italian for Travelersseries of books and a teacher of Italian for travelers to Italy in the Peoria and Chicago area. “Everything you need to know to enjoy your visit to Italy!”
Visitlearntravelitalian.com/download.html to purchase/download Conversational Italian for Travelers and find more interesting facts and helpful hints about getting around Italy!Learn how to buy train tickets online, how to make international and local telephone calls, and how to decipher Italian coffee names and restaurant menus, all while gaining the basic understanding of Italian that you will need to know to communicate easily and effectively while in Italy. —From the staff at Stella Lucente, LLC
Chick Pea Soup with Ribs (Ceci con le Costine) is a tradition in the northwest Italian region of Liguria as part of the celebration of All Souls Day.
