Sope e Mignestre

No Italian region has more soups than Friuli-Venezia Giulia. An old saying in the region has it that there are 365 days, so you can make 365 different soups. This was an admonition to be creative, and it flourished in this region’s approach to food. The basic idea was that when all that was available was water and whatever ingredients could be gathered, those would be combined to make the soup du jour. Until the region became more affluent, for many residents soup was the meal dujour. So there is a legacy of intriguing and substantial soups in Friuli-Venezia Giulia with a wide range of ingredients, some of which you will find presented below.