Pumpkin and Cauliflower Soup with Spelt

It is funny how our perception of cold changes over years.
I still remember my grandfather who wore hand made wool socks (made with virgin wool, that my grandmother knitted for him, something like this) even in the summer. When we children laughed and asked him why, he always said he felt cold.
When I was younger ^__^ and first came to Italy I laughed at my husband, because what he called "cold" for me was a joke. In that period we lived in Pisa where temperatures rarely went below zero (max -3°C) and it basicly never snowed (if it did snow, it would disappear even before it managed to reach the ground). And I came from a country where temperatures easily reached -15 or -20°C during the night, and it snowed often and heavily during the winter.
The funny thing is, that now, some eleven years later, I suffer cold more than him. I'm still not the imagine of my late grandfather, but as I come to think about it, maybe I'm really getting old (not that my husband ever misses a chance to tell me that, being one year younger... "I'm so young and you're so old...").
While my daughters are so eager to wear ther wool caps, gloves and scarves, I'm feeling like those little strawberries that decided to come out in October, when they ignored us all summer. Really, I just picked up a red one today, two more almost ready (if they survive) and plenty more unfortunatly far from being mature... and all this while temperatures at night go down to 4°C. I feel like I belong somewhere else. I can't get rid of the feeling that I'm freezing. The only remedy is to cook or bake something.
Since the bread rolls were ready, the logical sequence seemed to be a soup of some kind. And I had just bought a pumpkin, so I went in search of a recipe.
The original recipe had also an addition of ginger oil (2 tablespoons of olive oil heated with a clove garlic, after that the garlic is removed and the grated ginger is added, this oil is then used to season the soup before serving), but I knew that wouldn't be appreciated by my kids so I omitted it (and added just a few small pieces of dried chilli pepper). I'm glad the kids appreciate these soups a lot, although I have to reduce everything into cream for them (aliens, especially when green, are not welcome in their plates).
And I just can't have enough, any soup is welcome on my table.

Pumpkin and Cauliflower Soup with Spelt
(from Cucina naturale, Nov. 2010)

* 500 g fresh pumpkin
* 1 small head of cauliflower (possibly Romanesco broccoli)
* 80 g spelt (grain)
* 2 celery stalks
* 1 carrot
* 1 onion
* 6 sage leaves
* 1 chilli pepper
* extra virgin olive oil
* salt
* 1 teaspoon of finely chopped parsley

Chop finely the carrot, the celery, the onion, the sage leaves and the chilli pepper.
Put everything into a soup casserole with 3 TBspoons of olive oil. Cook them on low heat for 15 minutes, until soft.
Cut the cleaned pumpkin into small cubes and the divide the cauliflower into florets.
Add them to the casserole and cook stirring  for 5 minutes.
Add the spelt and, after a couple minutes, 1,2 liters of hot water. Salt to your taste and let cook covered, on low heat, for 35 minutes.
If necessary, add a little more water in the end and the parsley.

Zuppa di zucca e cavolfiore con farro
( Cucina naturale, nov. 2010)


* 500 g zucca
* 1 cavolfiore piccolo (preferibilmente tipo romanesco)
* 80 g farro perlato
* 2 coste di sedano
* 1 carota
* 1 cipolla
* 6 foglie di salvia
* 1 peperoncino
* olio extra vergine d'oliva
* sale
* 1 cucchiaino di prezzemolo tritato


Tritate insieme la carota, il sedano, la cipolla, il peperoncino e la salvia. Metteteli in una pentola con 3 cucchiai d'olio e rosolateli a calore basso per 15 minuti.
Tagliate la zucca in cubetti piccoli e dividete il cavolfiore in cimette.
Unite la zucca e il cavolfiore al soffritto e lasciate insaporire per 5 minuti.
Aggiungete poi il farro e, dopo qualche minuto, 1,2 litri d'acqua calda. Salate e fate sobbollire per 35 minuti.
Controlate la densità della zuppa aggiungendo, se necessario, poca acqua e unite il prezzemolo.

Juha od buče i karfiola s pirom
(iz Cucina naturale, stud. 2010)


* 500 g buče
* 1 mala glavica karfiola (po mogućnosti šenon, ali može i obični)
* 80 g pira (u zrnu)
* 2 stapke celera
* 1 mrkva
* 1 glavica crvenog luka
* 6 velikih listova kadulje
* 1 čili papričica (po želji)
* ekstra djevičansko maslinovo ulje
* sol 
* 1 žličica nasjeckanog peršina


Očistite mrkvu, luk i celer pa zajedno s opranim i osušenim listićima kadulje ( i papričicom ako je koristite) usitnite u sjeckalici/multipratiku.
Stavite pirjati usitnjeno povrće s 3 žlice maslinovog ulja, na laganoj vatri, oko 15 minuta.
Buču očistite (od kore, sjemenki i unutrašnjih vlakana) i nasjeckajte na kockice.
Karfiol podijelite na cvjetiće i operite. U receptu se preporučuje zeleni (šenon / romanesco), pa sam baš njega i koristila.
Dodajte buču i karfiol omekšalom povrću i pirjajte sve skupa još 5 minuta.
Dodajte zatim pir i nakon još par minuta zalijte s 1,2 l tople vode.
Posolite i kuhajte na laganoj vatri 35 minuta.
Provjerite gustoću juhe (ako vam je pregusta dodajte još tople vode, ako vam je prerijetka kuhajte još malo otkriveno dok se dovoljno ne zgusne.