Minestra maritata
The name means married soup — not from a wedding, but from the marriage of meat and greens. It is one of Naples' oldest dishes, cooked at Christmas and Easter: several cuts of pork and bitter leafy greens — escarole, chicory, cabbage. The key is blanching the greens separately. Cooked straight in the broth they would give it bitterness and a grey colour; blanched, they lose excess bitterness and bring only a pleasant bitter note.
Your own work in that: 5 min.
- Meat broth 150 min
- Blanching the greens 20 min
- Combining 30 min
- Resting 15 min
- Serving 5 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneSimmer the meats in one pot
Put the ribs, shoulder and prosciutto rind in a pot, cover with cold water and bring to a boil, skimming. Add the onion, carrot and celery and simmer 2 hours over low heat. Add the sausage for the last 40 minutes.
Ingredients: 600 g pork ribs · 300 g pork sausage · 300 g pork shoulder · 100 g prosciutto rind or bone · 3500 ml water · 1 pcs onion · 1 pcs carrot · 2 pcs celery · 2 tsp salt
Several cuts of pork — each adds something.Lift out the meats and tear them
Lift out the meats, strip them from the bone and tear into bite-sized pieces, slicing the sausage. Strain the broth and skim off excess fat — leave some, as it carries flavour.
Ingredients: 600 g pork ribs · 300 g pork sausage · 300 g pork shoulder · 100 g prosciutto rind or bone · 3500 ml water · 1 pcs onion · 1 pcs carrot · 2 pcs celery · 2 tsp salt
Wash the greens thoroughly
Separate the greens into leaves and wash in several changes of water. Escarole and chicory hold grit at the base of the leaves. Cut them coarsely — in minestra the leaves should be present, not finely chopped.
Ingredients: 500 g escarole or chicory · 400 g savoy cabbage · 300 g kale or cavolo nero · 300 g chard
Blanch the greens separately
Cook the greens in salted boiling water 5–8 minutes, each kind separately, until tender, then drain and squeeze lightly. Blanching takes off excess bitterness and keeps the broth from turning grey.
Ingredients: 500 g escarole or chicory · 400 g savoy cabbage · 300 g kale or cavolo nero · 300 g chard
Separately and briefly — bitterness stays in the water.Combine the greens with the broth
Add the blanched greens to the broth and simmer together 20 minutes. The leaves take up the meat's flavour and the broth the greens' gentle bitterness. This is the marriage of the name.
Ingredients: 500 g escarole or chicory · 400 g savoy cabbage · 300 g kale or cavolo nero · 300 g chard
Twenty minutes together — that is the marriage.Return the meats to the pot
Add back the torn meat and sausage, heat 10 minutes and season with salt. The soup should be thick with greens and meat, with little broth — closer to a stew than a consommé.
Ingredients: 600 g pork ribs · 300 g pork sausage · 300 g pork shoulder · 100 g prosciutto rind or bone · 3500 ml water · 1 pcs onion · 1 pcs carrot · 2 pcs celery · 2 tsp salt
Rest a quarter hour
Take off the heat and rest 15 minutes before serving. Minestra maritata is best not straight from the stove but slightly cooled, once the flavours have knit.
Ingredients: 600 g pork ribs · 300 g pork sausage · 300 g pork shoulder · 100 g prosciutto rind or bone · 3500 ml water · 1 pcs onion · 1 pcs carrot · 2 pcs celery · 2 tsp salt
Serve with pecorino and bread
Ladle into deep bowls, scatter generously with grated pecorino and serve with toasted bread. Add a pinch of chilli flakes if you like. The next day the soup is better still.
Ingredients: 80 g pecorino · ½ tsp chilli flakes · 8 pcs bread
Before you start
Whatever meats you have
Traditionally minestra maritata takes various cuts from the winter pig slaughter: ribs, sausage, a piece of belly, ham rind, sometimes salami. Variety is what counts — each cut brings a different fat and depth.
Bitter greens are the base
Escarole, chicory and cabbage balance the richness of the meat with their bitterness. With spinach or lettuce alone the soup is bland. Without escarole, frisée and kale come closest.
Three days in the fridge
The soup keeps three days and improves daily. Fat collects on top once chilled — lift some off with a spoon. It freezes well in portions.