Bread soup

Bring the broth to a boil with the bread, oil, and grated Parmesan cheese.

Cook for a long time until a creamy consistency is achieved.

Season with salt and serve in bowls.

A very humble soup that has equivalents in many Italian regions, from the

panade

of Piedmont and the Northeast to the pancotti of Central and Southern Italy. In alpine areas, mountain butter is used instead of oil. Aldo Bertoluzza writes about Trentino panada: “They say ‘it’s cooked when it speaks’; and this is a beautiful expression, because it is from that bubbling, or muffled and subdued sound, that we can be certain that the

panada

has reached the right cooking point.