Seupa à la Valpellineintze

Seupa à la valpellineintze comes from the Valpelline, north of Aosta. It is a thick soup baked in the oven: bread, cabbage, fontina and stock, with a little cinnamon. It is a good example of Aosta Valley mountain cooking, made from little and very filling.

Serves 6

• 300 g stale bread
• 300 g fontina
• 200 g butter
• 2 litres beef stock
• 1 savoy cabbage
• 1 onion
• ground cinnamon
• salt and pepper

Method

1. Cut the bread into thin slices.
2. Finely shred the cabbage and slice the onion.
3. Cut the fontina into thin slices.
4. In a saucepan, melt 100 g of the butter and fry the onion in it.
5. Add the cabbage and cook over a low heat for 15 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
7. In an ovenproof dish, build up layers in this order: bread, the cooked cabbage and onion, cheese, a pinch of cinnamon.
8. Repeat until all the ingredients are used up.
9. Pour the hot stock over everything, until the bread is well soaked.
10. Dot the top with the rest of the butter, in small pieces.
11. Bake for about 40 minutes, until the top is golden and crisp.

To serve

Bring the dish straight to the table and serve piping hot. In winter, seupa is often a main course, served with a Fumin or a Torrette.