Cardoon soup

Name: Cardoon soup
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: Thistles 2.2 lbs; Meat broth 4 ¼ cups; Butter 3 tbsp; Extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp; Eggs 4; Grana Padano PDO cheese grated 3.5 oz; Lemons 1; Fine salt to taste; Black pepper to taste

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Gluten Free

Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Serving: 4
Cost: Low

PRESENTATION

Cardoon soup is really one of those beloved dishes that you just find everywhere during winter holidays in regions like Abruzzo, Molise, Piedmont, and Campania. Cardoons? Well, they look a bit like celery but taste more like artichokes. Really unique, right? This gives the cardoon soup a slightly earthy flavor, which is awesome for chilly days. In Piedmont, they use the prized ‘cardi gobbi’—fat, curved cardoons—and cook them until they’re super tender in the broth. And look, a classic touch in so many Italian homes is to crack an egg right into the bowl. The hot soup scrambles it, adding a rich and almost creamy texture.

This isn’t some fancy dish; it’s more like a rustic, hearty meal meant to fill and warm you up. Thing is, what makes the cardoon soup recipe so special is how every region adds its own little twist. In Campania, they throw in small meatballs, creating an even heartier meal called ‘cardone beneventano.’ Which is great. It’s all about family and tradition, you know? So... People from both southern and northern Italy have these cherished memories of Italian cardoon soup during Christmas.

The house fills with that homey aroma, and the mild cardoon with savory broth, maybe topped with a sprinkle of cheese, makes it extra comforting. Some versions even have a touch of truffle, creating a cardoon soup with truffle that’s a real treat. And the Campanian style—with its tiny meatballs—adds a juicy bite to every bowl. Fans of hearty, filling winter vegetable soups often look up how to cook cardoon since this old-school veggie isn’t used in many dishes. So, whether you’re into Mediterranean soup recipes or just really craving something cozy and savory, this soup brings a slice of Italian tradition right to your table. Pretty much.

How to prepare Cardoon soup

To make the cardoon soup, start by preparing the broth following our Beef Broth recipe. Now take care of cleaning the cardoons: remove the outer leaves 1, trim the ends, and use a vegetable peeler to remove the strings 2. Cut the stalks into pieces about 2 inches 3, you should get about 1.5 lbs,

fill a bowl with water and squeeze lemon juice into it. As you cut the cardoon stalks, immerse the pieces in the acidulated water to prevent them from turning brown 4. Now, in a pot, bring salted water to a boil, immerse the cardoons drained from the soaking water 5 and blanch them for a couple of minutes, leaving them al dente. In a pan, melt the butter with the olive oil 6;

once the cardoons are blanched, drain them using a slotted spoon 7 directly into the pan where you melted the butter with the oil 8, season with salt and pepper and sauté the cardoons in the pan for 5 minutes. Now transfer the cardoons to another pot 9

add the meat broth 10 and cook for another 5 minutes 11. Take 4 cocottes to serve the cardoon soup, and in each one, pour a whole egg, beat the eggs with a fork 12,

season with grated cheese 13 and add the drained cardoons 14, finish the dishes by pouring the hot broth 15. Your cardoon soup is ready to be enjoyed hot!