Recipes

Imperial soup

Imperial soup is a first course in broth of ancient origins. Today it has become a Sunday dish, even Artusi talks about it in his famous book.

The imperial soup is a typical first course of Emilia Romagna, in particular of the areas of Bologna and Ravenna . In addition to the name, it has the ingredients that are imperial. In fact, once upon a time, butter and parmesan, the undisputed sovereigns of the recipe, were the prerogative of the rich. Today the imperial soup, also known as imperial soup, has become one of the Sunday dishes on Bolognese tables.

The preparation is rather particular: the cubes found inside the edge are in fact a batter based on eggs, semolina, parmesan and nutmeg which is first cooked in the oven and only then in the broth , strictly made of meat. Unusual but really tasty, we recommend you try it.

Preparation

Imperial soup

In a bowl, beat the eggs with a fork then add the parmesan , semolina , nutmeg and a pinch of salt until you obtain a batter.

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add it to the mixture, stirring until it is incorporated.

Pour everything into a baking tray lined with baking paper measuring approximately 20×30 cm to form a layer of approximately half a centimetre. Press well with the back of a spoon to compact it. Then cook at 180°C for 20 minutes , until the surface is golden.

Remove it from the mold, remove the baking paper and, once warm, cut it into half centimeter cubes .

Bring the capon or meat broth to the boil and add the imperial soup, leaving it to cook for 2 minutes . Serve it piping hot.

We also leave you a short video with all the steps to make the dish.

The imperial soup is just one of the many Bolognese recipes. If you want to try another particular dish typical of this area we recommend passatelli prepared with a mixture based on grated bread, parmesan and eggs then cooked in broth.

Conservation

The imperial soup cubes will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days. It is also possible to freeze them and, when needed, immerse them in the boiling broth while still frozen.

Origin and history

Sòppa inperièl , the dialect name of the dish, has a high-sounding name which, as we mentioned in the introduction, seems to derive from the ingredients that compose it. In reality, another hypothesis traces its origin to the Austrian krinofel , a similar soup brought to the Emilian territories in the early 19th century by Maria Luigia, wife of Napoleon I and Duchess of Parma.

The recipe was then taken up again at the end of the 19th century by Pellegrino Artusi who included it in his historic recipe book with the name "Soup composed with semolina" . The difference between the current recipe and the Artusian one is that the latter made the semolina harden in the pan and not in the oven.

A typical holiday dish, particularly Christmas and Easter, as well as family Sundays, the imperial soup was registered in 2006 at the Chamber of Commerce of Bologna by the Italian Academy of Cuisine.

Similar recipes include soup in the bag and royal pasta in broth, typical of the Marche region, in which the semolina is replaced by flour, a grated lemon zest is added and the dough is often enriched with spinach, carrots and tomato to obtain a tricolor version.