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| Alternative names | Minestra maritata (in Italian) |
|---|---|
| Course | Primo (Italian course) |
| Place of origin | Italy |
Italian wedding soup, known in Italian as minestra maritata, [a] is an Italian soup consisting of green vegetables and meat in broth. It is a staple in many Italian restaurants and diners in the United States, and is central to Neapolitan cuisine; described by food writer Arthur Schwartz as "the king of Neapolitan soups". [2]
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The name wedding soup comes from a mistranslation of the Italian minestra maritata, which translates as 'married broths'. The dish has no association with weddings in Italy. [2] Instead, its name references a marriage of the meat and vegetables inside the broth. [3] The pairing is gendered, with porcine meat representing a man and green vegetables a woman. [2] This cultural metaphor is elaborated on by the Neapolitan food writer Nello Oliviero, emphasizing the contrast of the fat of the pig with the delicacy of the vegetables: [2]
[It takes] time, competence, patience and money [to make a great marriage]. The vegetables must be selected for variety and picked over, washed many times. The husband is put on to bubble in his broth, which must be skimmed, defatted, strained and, at the end, clarified, so that it becomes limpid and of an amber hue. It is in this broth that the vegetables become tender.
Italian wedding soup is an example of the large soups that are common in southern Italy, often prepared around ingredients that are understood to pair well. Most of these soups contain some form of pasta, with Italian wedding soup being a rare exception. [4] In the late 16th century, the prelate Giovanni Battista del Tufo described the soup as "the daily food of the true Neapolitan", affirmed by Schwartz, who wrote it was "the mainstay of the people before pasta became the staff of life". [2]
Another omission in the soup is tomatoes, as the dish's origin predates their introduction to Italy. [2] The greens that are included are typically a mix, often two or three among cabbage, chicory, dandelions, endive, fennel greens, or foraged greens. [4] In Campania, broccoli rabe is a key ingredient, described by Schwartz as "essential, a law". [2] In Naples, the pork penzetelle is preferred among sausages. It is an assemblage, made from the offcuts of meat. [1]
