This soup exemplifies the Ligurian love of vegetables, which is one of the things I love most about that cuisine. It demonstrates that with vegetables alone—there’s no meat or meat stock in it—you can cook immensely flavorful and satisfying dishes. This is my re-creation of the heavenly vegetable soup served by my cousin Lidia Bosazzi when my parents took my brother Franco and me to Genova before we immigrated to America. With more kinds of vegetables than I could count—and that aroma of pungent garlic, which I have never forgotten—this is one of the most satisfying soups I know. More than most dishes, soups accommodate variation and improvisation, and, as usual, I encourage you to experiment with this recipe. You don’t need every vegetable in the exact amount listed for the zuppa—use what you have or like. And even the all-important garlic can be reduced (or increased) according to your family’s taste. A substitution or addition that I recommend, in fact, is to use all the aromatic onion-family members that come in springtime—fresh spring onions and spring garlic with green shoots, scallions, baby leeks. They make every soup better. At home I make this in large quantities, and that is how I share it with you. With all the work of washing and chopping vegetables, I like to have plenty of soup to enjoy right away and a couple of quarts in the freezer for a future meal. You can cut the recipe in half if you like, but I believe you go through your days feeling better when there’s a delicious soup stored at home, ready to be enjoyed and to sustain you.
Ingredients
makes 4 quarts, serving 12 or more
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT
Step 1
Put the onion chunks, garlic cloves, basil, parsley, and 1/4 cup of olive oil in the food-processor bowl, and chop to a chunky-textured pestata.
Step 2
Pour the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil into the soup pot, and set over medium-high heat. Scrape in the pestata, and cook, stirring often, as it sizzles and dries, about 5 minutes.
Step 3
Meanwhile, lift the rehydrated porcini from the soaking liquid (reserve the liquid) and chop into fine bits. When the pestata just begins to stick to the bottom of the pan, drop the porcini, the chopped celery, carrots, tomato, and diced potatoes into the pot, and stir well. Cook over high heat, stirring, until the potatoes become crusty and start to stick to the bottom.
Step 4
Pour in the cold water and the porcini soaking liquid (except for the sediment in the container). Stir in the salt, and heat the water to a vigorous bubble. Drop in the cheese rind (if you have a piece or two), partially cover the pot, and adjust the heat to maintain a steady bubbling.
Step 5
Cook 45 minutes to an hour—until the vegetables begin to break down—and add the chicory, spinach, and peas. Return to a bubbling boil, and cook 30 minutes or longer, until the broth is concentrated and flavorful and the total volume has reduced by about a quarter. (You can serve all or some of the soup now. Let the remainder cool, then refrigerate or freeze.)
Step 6
To serve: Ladle the simmering soup into warm bowls. Sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of freshly grated cheese over each portion, and finish with a swirl of excellent olive oil. Pass more grated cheese at the table.
Making Your Own Pestos
Step 7
The name “pesto” comes from the verb pestare, which means “to pound” or “to crush.” As Italian cooks have long known, there are infinite possibilities when fresh herbs, spices, vegetables, nuts, fruits, and cheeses are pounded in a mortar—or, with today’s kitchen technology, processed at high speed—into a smooth, savory sauce. So, as you read the recipe for classic pesto alla Genovese, let your imagination go; think of all of your favorite flavors and how you can make your own pesto.
Step 8
The cardinal rule for all pestos is to use the freshest herbs, the best extra-virgin olive oil, the perfect cheese. And, to experience the freshness and intensity of the herbs, don’t alter their qualities by cooking them. So, when dressing pasta with an aromatic pesto, follow the basic procedures in the recipe for Trenette with Pesto Genova-Style (page 108). Quickly drain the pasta and toss it in a warm bowl or pan with the pesto (thinned with a bit of hot water from the pasta cooking pot if necessary) until all of the pasta is coated. Finish with a drizzle of oil and a sprinkle of grated cheese.
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