Carabaccia – A Traditional Tuscan Recipe

Tuscan onion soup

‘Carabaccia’ is the name of a type of barge that was used to transport salt and sand from one side of Florence’s Arno river to the other. The name was then given to a soup recipe which emerged from the Renaissance kitchen of the Medici family. When Catherine di Medici moved to France to marry the son of a French King, she took along the Carabaccia recipe, which later became the famous French onion soup Soupe à l’oignon.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 kg onion, sliced finely
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 4 slices of unsalted Tuscan style crusty bread
• 8 tbs olive oil
• salt and ground pepper
• 1 1⁄4 L vegetable broth

Preparation

Grated pecorino cheese (sheep cheese). Sautè the onions, celery stalk and carrot in the olive oil. When the onion is soft add the boiling broth and cook on a low heat for about 40 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toast the bread and place a slice into each bowl. Pour the soup onto each slice of bread and garnish with plenty of grated pecorino.

Tuscan onion soup ‘Carabaccia’ is the name of a type of barge that was used to transport salt and sand from one side of Florence’s Arno river to the other. The name was then given to a soup recipe which emerged from the Renaissance kitchen of the Medici family. When…

Tuscan onion soup ‘Carabaccia’ is the name of a type of barge that was used to transport salt and sand from one side of Florence’s Arno river to the other. The name was then given to a soup recipe which emerged from the Renaissance kitchen of the Medici family. When…