Introduction
Braising method of cooking employs the use of low heat to prepare food that has been cut in large portions. The food is only prepared by use of flavored liquid. Conversely, stewing method employs the use of smaller chopped pieces of meat, vegetables or chicken as compared to those used in Braising (Pierson 5). These methods are the mostly used in most places around the world. This paper explores the recipes and preparation of traditional European dishes by focusing on two regions that employ this method to determine the differences that exist between the traditional and its modern version.
Traditional and contemporary preparation of Ribollita
Ribollita bread soup is a popular dish for the people of Florense. Its origin dates back to the Middle Age period when roasted meat was dished up with unleavened bread (Miers and Fisher 22). The name of the dish is derived from the fact that the dish has to stay overnight while cooked to be eaten the following day as re-boiled food hence the name ribollita.
Recipe
Ingredients
Dried cannellini beans,
Unsalted bread,
Tuscan kale,
Cabbage,
Swiss chard,
Potatoes,
Tomato paste,
Thyme,
Onion,
Garlic cloves,
Celery,
Carrots,
Virgin oil,
Salt and pepper.
Preparation
1. Soak the beans overnight in water. Cook in a lot of water until tender and add salt to taste. Later, drain the beans but do not discard the water. Blend a portion of the beans and leave the other portion whole.
2.Fry chopped onion, carrots, garlic celery in a saucepan, and add some thyme to the frying pan as well. After some minutes, put in cut potatoes and vegetables and one spoon of tomato paste in warm water to melt.
3.Pour the liquid drained from beans in the saucepan together with the pounded beans and allow the soup to cook on low heat for one hour. Add the beans into the vegetables.
4.Cut the bread into small portions and put them inside the soup. Stir for some few minutes, and remove the pot from heat source then add olive oil, pepper and salt.
5. To make Ribollita soup, reboil it using both olive or virgin oil, and this should be done after 24 hours. (Capatti et al, 23).
Ribollita prepared in the restaurant is quite different from the original one. The difference is that the modern Ribollita has ingredients like cavolo nero leaves and fennel seeds. The cavolo nero leaves are added just before adding the bread. I am certain that the leaves make the dish more nutritious as it adds vitamin to the food.
Traditional and modern preparation of Gemusesupe
This is an Austrian vegetable soup that is prepared from cauliflower, Brussels, sprout, leak and green bean vegetables that are grown all over Austria.
Ingredients
Cauliflower leaves
Water
Salt