In the Marche region, a dish is still prepared to this day that already gives you an idea of its importance: the minestra imperiale, or colorata more informally. "Once it was made for weddings… now you don't get married anymore and so at most it's made for birthdays.” This is what Emidia tells us, Mimina di Montalto Marche, in the province of Ascoli Piceno. She’s one of the few ladies left that still prepares it according to the ancient original recipe. Even if you’re able to find the colored cubes of minestra imperiale in the various pasta factories from Matelica to Offida, it's quite a different thing to try the homemade soup prepared according to the traditional method – that takes hours and hours of time.
What is minestra imperiale?
Minestra imperiale is a popular dish in the Marche region of Italy, particularly in the province of Macerata, Fermo and Ascoli Piceno. It is a mixture of eggs, flour, Parmigiano Reggiano, lemon and nutmeg – which is then divided into three parts and different colors with the addition of spinach and tomato paste. The three different colours are just an aesthetic issue, most likely a reference to the Italian flag. Its particularity lies in its cooking: it cooks for hours and hours (at least three) inside a cotton bag closed with string, then it is cut into cubes; for this reason, the ideal way to prepare the dough would be the day before consumption. In the past, when it was prepared in large quantities, the three mixtures were cooked in three large pots. If the quantity is only for a few people, however, it is not possible because the dough would stick to the sack and so today they are cooked together. Given the length and complexity of the preparation, over the years, it’s made less and less… or other methods are preferred, such as baking which considerably shortens the time. "But [the] baked [version] does not come [out] well" explains Mimina "because it dries too much and becomes hard, while [when it is] prepared in the traditional way, it becomes soft and spongy as it should be, without being too compact. The taste is vaguely reminiscent of passatelli, from which it differs in consistency, shape and color.
The Gregori family
As we mentioned previously, minestra imperiale has been the dish par excellence of weddings for years. Mimina always prepared it when she was called together with her sister Annunziatina to cook at weddings. Mimina and Annunziatina, in fact, were among the first forms of catering in history, still famous today in the village as the sisters who always cooked so well. Mimina also passed this same passion for the world of food on to her family, in particular to her two nephews and nieces: Stefano opened the Olive Gregori farm, one of the few to produce Ascoli Piceno olives (that, before becoming the famous fried olive, were the local cultivar of Ascoli Piceno); her brother Luca, on the other hand, is finishing his studies in Agriculture and then he too plans to dedicate himself to the activity. This passion has most likely grown because they grew up with the knowledge of the inestimable value of their land, the Marche, and the importance of continuing to dedicate time to food production – whether in the countryside or in the kitchen. And in fact, Mimina "never tried the minestra imperiale she bought,” but she continued to prepare it at home according to the long tradition.
The traditional recipe of minestra imperiale
Serves 40
Precisely because of its long preparation, minestra imperiale is a dish to be eaten by many. Almost always a part of it is left over that you can freeze and consume later. The recipe that follows, therefore, is for 40 people, also because as Mimina says: "It is always better to prepare more than less, isn't it?”
Ingredients
40 eggs, 1 lb Parmigiano Reggiano, 4 cups flour, Grated peel of 2 lemons, Pinch of nutmeg, Pinch of salt, Butter to taste
Method
1. Prepare a chicken or beef broth (chicken is preferred).
2. Start preparing the mixture by beating the eggs with all the other ingredients – apart from the spinach. Mash ingredients and whisk.
3. Divide the dough into three parts: in one part add the spinach, in one part, the tomato paste and nothing to the last portion – to obtain three different colours (green, orange-red and yellow).
4. Put all three parts of the dough in a cotton bag or another equally resistant mesh fabric, close with string and cook in boiling water for about 3 hours.
5. Once ready, make sure that the middle part is also well cooked. Then remove the bag from the boiling water and let it cool without opening on a tray under a weight for about an hour.
6. When it has cooled, gently remove the dough from the bag and dice it.
7. Throw the cubes of soup into the chicken broth for a few minutes (as it is already cooked) and serve hot.