Florentine Herb Minestra
A peasant and court soup at once: spinach and herbs melted in broth, bound with bread and grated cheese, the daily comfort of a Florentine childhood.
A peasant and court soup at once: spinach and herbs melted in broth, bound with bread and grated cheese, the daily comfort of a Florentine childhood.
When childhood comes back to me, it is the smell of this minestra that my nurses served me at the Palazzo Medici. Take good spinach and all the garden herbs, let them melt gently, then bind with breadcrumbs and well-dried grated cheese. It is no feast dish, no — but it is the soup of my homeland, and even as Queen of France, I never tired of it.
- •Spinach and herbs (chard, parsley, borage) — two good armfuls (green base)
- •Broth — to cover (liquid)
- •Stale breadcrumbs — a handful (binding)
- •Grated dry cheese — at discretion (umami, salt)
- •Olive oil — a drizzle (Tuscan fat)
Florentine Herb Minestra
A peasant and court soup at once: spinach and herbs melted in broth, bound with bread and grated cheese, the daily comfort of a Florentine childhood.
Why this dish? Florentine by birth, Catherine kept all her life the taste for herb soups and spinach from her Tuscan childhood — the preparation “à la florentine” (on a bed of spinach) is traditionally associated with her.
When childhood comes back to me, it is the smell of this minestra that my nurses served me at the Palazzo Medici. Take good spinach and all the garden herbs, let them melt gently, then bind with breadcrumbs and well-dried grated cheese. It is no feast dish, no — but it is the soup of my homeland, and even as Queen of France, I never tired of it.
Ingredients (period version)
- Spinach and herbs (chard, parsley, borage) — two good armfuls (green base)
- Broth — to cover (liquid)
- Stale breadcrumbs — a handful (binding)
- Grated dry cheese — at discretion (umami, salt)
- Olive oil — a drizzle (Tuscan fat)
Ingredients
- Fresh spinach — 400 g (base)
- Swiss chard or mixed greens — 200 g (green complement)
- Vegetable or chicken broth — 1 liter (liquid)
- Stale bread — 100 g (binding)
- Grated Parmesan (or pecorino) — 60 g (umami)
- Olive oil — 3 tbsp (fat)
- Salt, pepper — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Wash and coarsely chop the spinach and herbs.
- Melt them for 5 minutes in olive oil, then add hot broth.
- Add the crumbled bread, simmer for 15 minutes until the soup thickens.
- Blend lightly (or leave rustic), season with salt and pepper.
- Serve with a generous shower of grated cheese and a drizzle of raw olive oil.
How it was made : Bread-thickened minestre were daily fare for all classes in Tuscany: nothing was wasted, stale bread thickened the broth. At court, they refined it with more cheese and better meat broth.
The contemporary twist : A poached egg placed in the center and a drizzle of new olive oil, like a Florentine “uova in camicia”.
Sources : Bartolomeo Scappi, Opera dell'arte del cucinare (1570) · Platina, De honesta voluptate et valetudine (c. 1474)
Catherine de Medici · Charactorium
