Name: Sopa coada (Pigeon and Bread Soup)
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped; 2 celery stalks, finely chopped; 2 large carrots, peeled and finely chopped; 3 pigeons (squabs), each about 1 pound, with livers; 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for frying bread; 2 tablespoons olive oil; Salt and freshly ground black pepper; 8 cups chicken stock, or as needed; 1 cup dry white wine; Pinch of ground cinnamon; 1½ pounds coarse country bread, sliced ½ inch thick and crusts removed; ¼ pound Parmesan cheese, preferably Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Italian Slow and Savory

By Joyce Goldstein

Published 2004

About

Although the title implies that this is a soup, do not be fooled. It is essentially a pigeon and bread pudding and is one of the stars of the Treviso kitchen. The earliest written record of the recipe appeared in 1886, when Venice was united with the rest of Italy, but the dish actually dates back to the Renaissance. Giuseppe Maffioli, in his book La cucina veneziana, suggests that the name may be related to a Sardinian dish called quata that is made with larks. The dialect na