Soups From Italy & Greece 🌞

Last edited Tue Aug 26, 2025, 02:39 PM - Edit history (1)

Creamy Tomato-Basil Soup



Yields about 8 cups ;
serves 6

Sweet vine-ripened tomatoes are the key to flavor in this creamy soup. If your
tomatoes are not at their peak of sweetness, add 1/2 tsp. sugar to the soup

1 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
6 large sprigs fresh basil, plus small sprigs or leaves for garnish
4 lb. ripe red tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 quart homemade or lower-salt chicken broth
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup heavy cream
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar

1. In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion
and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 7 minutes. Tie the basil
sprigs together with a piece of kitchen twine. Add the large basil sprigs,
tomatoes, chicken broth, 11/2 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper to the onions. Bring
to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to medium low, and let simmer until
reduced by one-quarter, about 20 minutes. Let cool. Remove the basil sprigs.

2. In a blender, purée the soup in batches until very smooth, at least 3 minutes.
Strain the soup through a fine sieve into a clean pot and bring to a simmer over
medium heat. Remove from the heat; stir in the cream and balsamic vinegar.
Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Ladle the hot soup into bowls and
garnish with the small sprigs or leaves of basil. —Joanne Weir

from "Fine Cooking Italian"
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/13256087

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Corn and Cabbage Soup
LAHANOSOUPA ME KALAMBOKALEVRO



Makes 6 to 8 servings

Soup in Roumeli is a markedly simple affair—there
are many old bread-based soups and vegetable-andrice
soups much like what one finds in the rest of the
traditional Greek larder. I came across this very
northern recipe and liked it, even though it is a dish
that has all but disappeared from the region’s table
today. It went the way of the dinosaur sometime in
the 1960s, a kind of turning point in the annals of the
traditional Greek kitchen, when much of the country’s
simple fare disappeared in favor of the foods of
affluence. I have changed the recipe slightly to include
chicken stock instead of plain water as the base.

3 cups cored and shredded green cabbage, washed and drained
1⁄2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 large red onions, chopped
6 to 8 cups chicken stock, as needed
3⁄4 cup fine yellow cornmeal
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and
blanch the cabbage. As soon as the water comes
back to a boil, remove the cabbage and drain. Set
aside.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet over
medium heat and cook the onion, stirring, until
wilted, about 8 minutes. Add the cabbage and cook,
stirring, for about 8 minutes.

3. In another large pot, bring 6 cups of the
stock to a boil. Add the cornmeal in a slow, steady
stream, stirring constantly, to keep it from clumping.
Simmer it until thick and creamy but liquid,
about 15 minutes. Add the sautéed vegetables and
simmer for another 10 minutes. If the soup is too
dense, dilute it with some or all of the remaining
stock and simmer to warm through.

Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper and serve.

from " The Glorious Foods of Greece"
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/1273032

Sluuuurp!