Lella’s Tuscan Bread Soup by Lucy Burdette

LUCY BURDETTE: When John and I visited the beautiful city of Siena, Italy last month, we very much enjoyed taking a cooking class with Scuola di Cucina di Lella. I’ve taken other classes in the past (Japan and France,) but this was a first for John. It’s a wonderful way to get a window into the culture of the place you are visiting.

For this class, we and five other American couples made a fantastic multi-course meal under the supervision of an Italian chef and the school’s owner, Lella. I will share the recipe for the Italian bread soup, and add some drool-worthy photos of the whole meal at the end. Lella called this ‘poor soup’, as it’s made of leftover dried bread so that nothing is wasted. This version is based on the recipe from Lella’s family.

Ingredients for the soup (serves 3-4 people)

Sliced stale Tuscan or ciabatta bread, about half a loaf (or sliced and toasted)

Approximately 1.5 pounds ripe tomatoes, chopped, or canned chopped tomatoes

4-5 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil 

2-3 cloves of garlic (see note) 

Handful of fresh basil

One chili pepper, or to taste (I used one jalapeno) 

Chicken, beef, or vegetable soup stock, amount as needed

Warm the broth in a pan while you prepare the rest of the soup. Put the oil, the seeded chili pepper, and the whole cloves of garlic in the pan. Now heat the oil up, making sure the heat is low enough so that the garlic stays white. Add the basil and continue to stir. Now add the very finely sliced bread and continue to mix using two wooden spoons as if you are mixing a salad. Keep cooking and stirring until the bread has absorbed all the oil and is brown. Add the tomatoes, cover completely with the hot broth and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Simmer for about an hour on low heat. Remove the large pieces such as the garlic cloves, basil leaves, chunks of tomatoes, and bread, and put them through a food mill, or blender. Add the pureed ingredients back into the soup.

Note: The chef used elephant garlic, which is milder than the dried garlic we usually find in our grocery stores. I used the garlic John grew in our garden this summer. And ps, I think I needed more tomato and less bread, though it was very tasty!

 

During this meal, we also enjoyed homemade pici pasta (not as easy as it might look!)with  fresh tomato sauce, a pork loin stuffed with wonderful seasoning, potatoes roasted in the pork juices and wine, and panna cotta with caramel sauce. To die for! If you are lucky enough to visit Siena, do consider taking a class from the cooking school.

If you were planning to take a trip anywhere, based on what you would cook and eat, where would it be? 

***If anyone would like to try listening to the first book of my advice column mysteries, Deadly Advice by Roberta Isleib, it's on sale right now for 70% off!

USA Today bestselling author Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mystery series including A POISONOUS PALATE and A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS. Join her mailing list right here.

Book 15 in the Key West series, THE MANGO MURDERS, is in bookstores now!

The trade paperback edition of A POISONOUS PALATE is out now! 

And the trade paperback edition of A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS is out now!

Tiramisu for your Valentine #ValentinesDay #recipe by @LeslieBudewitz

LESLIE BUDEWITZ: I adore Italian food. And what’s not to love about butter, sugar, mascarpone, coffee, and chocolate? But I admit, I’d never really liked tiramisu. Not until last fall when we spent a few days in Florence, Italy with my brother and SIL, and took a cooking class. On the menu: individual tiramisu. Tiramisus? Either way, I’m a convert. (Also on the menu: eggplant appetizers, gnocchi, ragu, and chicken a la modenese, served with a lovely chianti. Stay tuned!)

We made dessert first because it needs to chill. As the person at our worktable who accidentally got a bit of yolk into the egg whites, Mr. Right was handed the electric mixer and ordered to whip the whites. (After the chef instructor fished out the stray bit of yolk with a spoon.) He excelled. When the chef returned to our group, he peered at the bowl, then Mr. Right, then turned the bowl upside down. The two British teenagers gasped, but the sparkle in his eye needed no translation: the chef knew – as did the adults – that the whipped whites were going nowhere.

Then one of the British girls stuck her finger in one she made so she would get to eat it. We all obliged. 

But the written recipe we were given – well, let’s just say things were lost in translation. Poor us, we had to experiment so you could join the fun. No shoes or passport needed. 

We had no trouble finding lady fingers in our small grocery, Alessi “Biscotti Savoiardi,” imported from Italy. For the coffee, save a cup from your morning pot or use instant espresso as we did.

What to serve them in? The cooking school had the perfect ramekins, but we decided ours were too small, and we wanted clear glass to show off the dessert. We used two versions: 1 cup prep bowls and squat ½ pint canning jars. Both came with lids for leftovers, a bonus, and both worked equally well. 

Tiramisu is served in many varieties, some drier, some more cake-like. No matter. This one is easy and yummy. Make it for yourself, your Valentine, or your book club and everyone will love you. 

Buon appetivo!

Making a special dinner for Valentine's Day? Going out? (It can be a tough day for some folks. Know that we love you and are glad you're here.)   

Tiramisu

3 large eggs, separated

scant 1/3 cup granulated sugar

pinch of salt 

8 ounces mascarpone, softened at room temperature

6 lady finger cookies

1 cup cold, strong coffee or espresso

cocoa powder

Separate the eggs, putting the whites in your mixer bowl and the yolks in a medium bowl. Add two tablespoons of the sugar and a pinch of salt to the whites and whip to stiff peaks, about 3 minutes. 

Add the remaining sugar to the egg yolks and whisk until combined. The mixture will be a beautiful lemon yellow. Add the mascarpone and whisk or stir quickly, until most, if not all, the lumps are stirred in. With a spatula, fold in a spoonful of the egg whites, then add the remaining whites and fold, scraping up from the bottom of the bowl with the spatula, until whites are fully incorporated. 

Put a tablespoon or more of the mascarpone cream in the bottom of each serving dish. Pour the cold coffee into a small bowl. Break a cookie in half and dip the pieces in the coffee – don’t soak them -- then lay both pieces in the bottom of your serving cup or bowl. Top with the rest of the mascarpone cream.

Use a tea strainer or spoon to dust the top of each cup with cocoa powder.

Chill at least two hours before serving. If you’d like, top with mint leaves or a berry, or serve another cookie alongside the tiramisu. 

Makes 6 individual servings. 

From the cover of BLIND FAITH, written as Alicia Beckman (in hardcover, ebook, and audio from Crooked Lane Books, October 2022)  

Long-buried secrets come back with a vengeance in a cold case gone red-hot in Agatha Award-winning author Alicia Beckman’s second novel, perfect for fans of Laura Lippman and Greer Hendricks.

Two women whose paths crossed in Montana years ago discover they share keys to a deadly secret that exposes a killer—and changes everything they thought they knew about themselves. 

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries and the Spice Shop Mysteries, continuing in July 2022 with Peppermint Barked. She's the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories. Death al Dente, the first Food Lovers' Village Mystery, won Best First Novel in 2013, following her 2011 win in Best Nonfiction. Her first historical short story, "All God's Sparrows," won the 2018 Agatha Award for Best Short Story. As Alicia Beckman, she writes standalone suspense, beginning with Bitterroot Lake (2021) and continuing with Blind Faith (October 2022, Crooked Lane Books).

A past president of Sisters in Crime and a current board member of Mystery Writers of America, she lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.

Swing by her website and subscribe to her seasonal newsletter, for a chat about the writing life, what she's working on, and  what she's reading -- and a free short story. And join her on Facebook where she shares book news and giveaways from her writer friends, and talks about food, mysteries, and the things that inspire her.