Italian onion soup – Cipollata

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 250 g pork ribs
• 30 g bacon, streaky, smoked
• 3 large onions
• 3 medium-sized garlic cloves
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small carrot(s)
• 1 small leek(s)
• 4 tbsp celery, only the stalks
• 400 g water
• 8 g chicken stock powder
• 2 pinches of black pepper, freshly ground
• 2 slices of white bread
• 120 g Pecorino, alternatively mountain cheese
• 10 g fried onions

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes

A creamy, rich pork soup served with baked bread. Recipe from Tuscany.

Separate and wash the pork ribs. Cut the bacon into small cubes. Trim and peel the onions at both ends. Halve 1 onion lengthwise and roughly chop 1 half. Cut the remaining onions crosswise into approximately 5 mm thick rings. Trim both ends of the garlic cloves, peel them, and cut them crosswise into thin slices. Wash the carrot, leek, and celery. Peel the carrot and roughly chop everything. Bring the water to a boil and dissolve the chicken stock in it. Add the roughly chopped vegetables along with the ribs and simmer with the lid on for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large pan, fry the bacon in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onion rings and garlic and fry until translucent. Strain the stock and deglaze the onion rings with it. Return to the pot and simmer for 1 hour. Trim the meat from the cooled ribs, chop into bite-sized pieces, and add to the onions. Pass the carrot pieces through a coarse sieve and add the puree to the onions. Toast the white bread in the toaster until light brown. Coarsely grate the pecorino cheese. Sprinkle the white bread with it and bake or grill with top heat until the cheese has melted. Season the soup with pepper and divide it among serving bowls. Place the white bread slices in the soup and sprinkle with the fried onions. Serve warm and enjoy.