ZUPPA DI CAVOLO CANVESANA - CANAVESE CABBAGE SOUP

I was looking for recipes to eat cabbage and came out with this one from these great Italian cooks. I have to admit it, I couldn't find the Taleggio cheese and used Brie instead. Also, I used soy lin bread instead of white, but I can see that for this recipe white bread works better. The soup is really mild but delicious. I used the broth from "Crockpot-au-feu" which I had made for dinner the previous night. You can see the recipe in this blog.  

INGREDIENTS
800g Savoy cabbage, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1.5l chicken stock
175g leftover or stale white bread, baked until dry
220g Taleggio cheese, sliced (use Bel Paese, Brie or Fontina if not available)
80g Parmesan, freshly grated
75g unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

Brodo di gallina - Chicken stock
1kg chicken legs and wings
1 carrot
2 celery sticks
1 onion, halved
2 bay leaves
a handful of black peppercorns

METHOD:
To make the chicken stock, put the chicken legs and wings in a saucepan with water to cover, about 2 litres. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to the boil. When boiling, turn the heat down, and skim off the froth. Simmer, uncovered, for about 2 hours. Strain and remove the fat. Chill and use as required within 4-5 days or freeze.

Put the cabbage in a pan and cover with lightly salted water. 

Bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, until the cabbage is very soft. Drain well.
Bring the stock to the boil in a pan.
In a separate large pan, place a layer of cabbage, then a layer of dried bread pieces, Taleggio slices and Parmesan. 

Layer up like this as many times as you can, until all the ingredients have been used.

Using a wooden spoon, make a whole in the layered ingredients and fill it with a little of the boiling stock, so that the stock reaches all the bread, which will absorb it and soften. 

Pour over as much hot stock as is needed to just cover the ingredients and place over a gentle heat to keep warm.

Melt the butter in a small pan and fry the garlic gently until just beginning to colour. 

Pour this over the top of the soup and mix everything together. (It might not look pretty, but it tastes delicious!)
Serve immediately.

Serves 4