Super Soups – In the Shadow of the Dolomites

On a recent trekking adventure through these majestic mountains of Northern Italy, my fellow hikers and I found ourselves gushing over the soups at dinner as much as we did over the dramatic peaks and dare-devil terrain we encountered during the day.

Most hotels and Gasthäuse (guesthouses) in this part of the world (called the Südtirol in German and Alto Adige in Italian) include breakfast and dinner in the price of a room. And every dinner, whether in stylish hotel or bare-basics hut, includes an impressive homemade soup. (This "Frothy Little Soup with Dried Wildflowers" is at Alpenblick Hotel, Sexten, Italy.)

                                      

You’d think the cooks would run out of ideas, enthusiasm, or both when forced to crank out a different potage every night. Instead, the chefs at the two hotels where we overnighted in the Sexten Dolomites managed to blow away our hearty band of trekkers with yummy creations five out of five nights.

                                       

At Hotel Alpenblick in the town of Sexten, we were treated to an elegant Potato Cappuccino, a creamy blend of potatoes, onions, leeks, vegetable stock and cream. Chef Renato Cervo cooks everything together slowly with bay leaf and fresh marjoram, then blends it and passes the mixture through a sieve to get that awesome silky texture. At the last minute he beats cold butter into the mix, creating the creamy “foam” texture of a classic cappuccino. For us, he garnished the "capp" with a cluster of wispy potato “sticks," a drizzle of truffle oil and a few wisps of chervil. Other presentations include a garnish of sautéed porcini mushrooms, pictured here.

                                         

Another night, chef Cervo whipped up a fabulous Jerusalem artichoke soup that almost took up a whole line on the printed menu with its name: Topinamburschaumsuppe.  Topinambur is German for Jerusalem artichokes, also called Sunchokes.  With just a touch of cream added at the end, the soup is primarily a blend of the nutty tubers, meat or vegetable broth, onions, garlic, potatoes, white wine and a bit of whole wheat flour. On top, Cervo floated impossibly thin, crackly artichoke  “chips.” 

Good thing we were were out hiking for 6 or so hours every day, because the Alpenblick kitchen didn’t stop with the soups. One night we were treated to paper-thin slices of beef carpaccio, woven into a pinwheel pattern together with summer lettuces and herbs. Sharing the plate was a warm “brioche” filled with mushrooms from the surrounding woods.

                                         

Another night Cervo dressed up the traditional cheese dumplings called Knödeln with a salad of marinated,caraway flecked white cabbage.  And every night he gave our weary band of travelers a sugary shot in the arm with his stunning, and drop-dead-delicious dessert plates.  There’s nothing quite like an “After-Eight Chocolate Parfait Cone on Pineapple Carpaccio with Forest Fruits” to give you a second wind for playing cards or listening to music in the bar. We also loved the almond millefeuille, pictured here, filled with white chocolate mousse and served with a fresh cherry ragout.

                                       

COMING UP: An Onion Soup Gratinée that would leave Julia Child insane with jealously. 

NOTE: Many of the small village hotels in the Dolomites offer fabulous four- or five-course feasts (plus breakfast and charming rooms with flower-festooned balconies) for an amazingly reasonable price of $200- $250 a night for two people. Even the hike-to “huts” in the mountains concoct delicious three-course dinners, with ingredients that were schlepped up in backpacks or on chairlifts. A "Hütte" room for two, with dinner and breakfast, typically costs about $130.

For more information, check out VisitDolomites, South-Tirol.com, and DolomiteMountains.com.

 

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