Frankenstein soup

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PRESENTATION

Zuppa Frankenstein is one of those Halloween soups that totally grabs you even before you take a bite. Really, it’s inspired by that Italian knack for making veggies fun for kids. This dish? It takes a simple, healthy green velouté and turns it into something fun and kinda creepy. Italians go all out with food presentations, and this Frankenstein soup is, well, no exception. Served in clear glasses, it shows off that bright, vivid green color. And the monster faces? Oh man, think olive slices for eyes or strips of pepper for a mouth. Really, the best part might be the black Venere rice on top—it looks like Frankenstein’s famous hair and gives the whole thing a super playful vibe. Kids love how it looks, and since it’s full of blended veggies, parents love how smooth and tender it feels.

When you serve this spooky soup recipe at a Halloween bash or any October get-together, you get more than just good food. You get a dish everyone will really talk about. Italian families sometimes whip up different versions based on whatever veggies they have—which is great—but it’s always about having fun and making dinner a little less serious. Zuppa Frankenstein works as a starter that’s both creamy and a bit sweet from the veggies, with just the right amount of moist texture. Makes it extra appealing for kids, for sure. And look, people even add extra decorations like cheese teeth or crunchy breadsticks to nail that monster look. This is one of those festive soup ideas that checks all the boxes for easy Halloween recipes—it’s healthy, easy to tweak, and gets kids really really interested in eating their greens. Whether you’re adding spooky touches or sticking to the basics, if you’re hunting for a Halloween soup that’s tasty, entertaining, and a total crowd-pleaser, Zuppa Frankenstein makes your table different and your guests smile. Seriously good.

INGREDIENTS
Ingredients for 4 glasses of 6.5 oz each
Spinach 8 cups (250 g)
Broccoli 4 cups (300 g)
Peas 2 cups (300 g)
Carrots 1
Celery - 1 stalk
Rice - Venere rice 200 gr
Salt - fine as needed
Broth - vegetable as needed
Olive oil - extra virgin as needed
Water 4 ¼ cups (1 l)
Preparation

How to prepare Frankenstein soup

To prepare the Frankenstein soup, place the cleaned celery and carrot, cut into fairly large pieces, in a pot and add water and a pinch of salt 1; bring to a boil and in the meantime clean the broccoli, remove the florets from the central stem, and place them in a bowl 2. Wash the spinach, remove the toughest part of the stem 3, and set them aside.

When the water reaches a boil, add the broccoli 5, cook for about 5 minutes, then add the spinach 6 and finally the peas 6.

Cook over medium heat for at least 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft; if the cooking water dries out too much, add a ladle of vegetable broth 7. Once cooked, remove the pieces of carrot and celery 8 and blend the vegetables with an immersion blender 9

until you obtain a smooth cream, a sort of puree 10. Separately, in a high-sided pot, heat some salted water 11, and once it reaches a boil, add the black rice 12 and cook for about 20 minutes or the time indicated on the package.

Once cooked, drain the black rice 13 and season it with a drizzle of olive oil 14. Everything is ready to assemble the soup: take wide glasses with a capacity of about 6.5 oz and draw the key features of Frankenstein's face with a black marker: slightly arched eyebrows, eyes, and mouth 15;

then portion the soup into the glasses 16 and garnish the surface with a couple of tablespoons of black rice 17: they will be Frankenstein's hair. Your Frankenstein soup is ready to amaze your children 18!

Storage

Store the Frankenstein soup in the refrigerator for a couple of days covered with plastic wrap. You can freeze the soup separately and then assemble the glasses with the rice as needed.

Advice

You can make the puree with other vegetables like chard or artichokes, as long as they are green like Frankenstein's face!

For the translation of some texts, artificial intelligence tools may have been used.